Common Gateway Interface. The method used by Web servers to carry out and transfer information to external programs. The CGI specification defines the method used by Web servers to carry out and transfer information to helper programs. When a CGI program is invoked by a Web server, it reads information passed from the server through a combination of environment variables and the standard input stream. The CGI program performs whatever activity it is designed to do, passes data back to the Web server, and terminates. CGI is an important feature in Web servers because it opens up the informational reach of the Web to virtually any kind of data available.

Also known as field. A category of information such as a product ID, sales region, or sales person name.

ASCII files that contain HTML codes and tags corresponding to data column fields in Microsoft dbWeb. These files act as "wrappers" to the dbWeb query and presentation forms, altering their appearance according to the HTML code specified in the file. You can reference .DBX files to create new data presentation forms in addition or as an alternative to Microsoft dbWeb’s standard Freeform and Tabular form.

An ODBC data connection that is mapped to an existing desktop or client-server database. When you create a dbWeb data source, you must assign it an ODBC data source. A dbWeb data source includes the name of the corresponding ODBC data source, information specific to the ODBC data source’s underlying database, and connection settings. Under a single dbWeb data source, you can create multiple schemas that reference the underlying database in a variety of ways.

A client application that is the user interface for the dbWeb Service. Through the Administrator, users of Microsoft dbWeb can define, modify, and delete data sources and their schemas. By changing preference settings, users can also affect the behavior of the dbWeb Service.

The main component and functional core of Microsoft dbWeb that runs as an NT service. Each time the service is called, it consults the schema database for information on how it should format query and data display forms and then responds to the Web server. All settings that affect the way the service behaves are enforced through the dbWeb Administrator.

See Custom format files.

A set of electronically linked information. Selected words or phrases act as links to other objects that may present themselves as text, pictures, audio, video, and so on.

A document markup language used on the World Wide Web. It is a language characterized by ASCII markers that act as placeholders for graphical objects or denotations for special text formatting.

Using Structured Query Language (SQL), the ODBC interface provides a standard that allows applications to access data in a variety of database management systems. ODBC uses modules, called drivers, in its data access layer. These drivers are specific to the target database management system (DBMS), yet they are transparent to applications that interact with ODBC on a higher level. This architecture maximizes an application’s interoperability—its ability to connect to different DBMSs simultaneously.

A precompiled SQL script that exists as a database object and whose running plan is predetermined by the database server for speed. Because procedures are data objects like tables and views, they are available to a dbWeb data source. Be aware, however, that procedures may or may not require parameters and may or may not return data. It is important that you choose a procedure that returns data, or browsers of your database will see only an empty form.

A question you pose about the data in your database. For example, you might want to know "How many orders of Pad Thai need to be delivered to customers living in San Francisco?" or "When did customer David Coon order Nasi Ambang from Kuala Lumpur?" Questions like these can derive SQL (Structured Query Language) statements that are issued to the database engine. A query may consult one or several tables, bringing the requested information together in result sets.

An alternative way of composing queries with little or no SQL. This method involves enumerating the database tables or views to be queried, the columns that comprise the result, and the criteria that each row column must meet in order to be included in the result.

Also known as record. A collection of information about a single object—person, place, or event.

A repository of data that Microsoft dbWeb needs to formulate queries against data sources and to format the presentation of the results. Without a schema, users will not be able to browse your data. Each dbWeb data source that you create can have one or more schemas attached to it, and each schema may use one or all of the data objects that are defined within that data source. Schemas determine the appearance of your QBE forms, the data objects that participate in your query, and the appearance of your query result forms.

A collection of information about a single entity—person, place, or thing. A table structure is characterized by its columns and rows.

A database object resembling a regular table in logical structure. It references columns derived from one or more existing tables and rows satisfying a specified criteria. Views can be created explicitly or as a result of a query involving one or more tables. Many of the actions performed on tables are also valid on views, depending on the database you use. The fundamental difference between views and regular tables is that views do not actually hold any data. The data queried from views still reside in the tables from which the view derived its logical structure.

A software program that listens on a TCP/IP network for requests. These requests, initiated by users from their browsers, cause the Web server to respond in various ways. The most common request made of a Web server is to retrieve a file formatted using HTML and send it back to the browser. The browser then parses the HTML file and presents it to the user in an attractive, graphical style.

The World Wide Web, or the Web. A graphical subset of the Internet.