Glossary
This is a list of commonly used terms that you might encounter in our press releases or on www.hwcs.com.
B
- Batch Processing
- A type of data processing in which a number of similar input items are grouped for processing serially with a minimum of operator intervention and no end user intervention.
C
- CICS
- Customer Information Control System. CICS is an IBM-licensed program that enables transactions entered at remote terminals to be processed concurrently by several different applications. CICS provides a common terminology and a set of programming commands that allow programmers to develop consistent user interfaces regardless of the type of terminal being used.
D
- DB2
- Short for Database 2, which is an open database environment supported on several computing platforms.
E
- EAI
- Enterprise Application Integration. EAI is a means of sharing data and processes in an unrestricted manner and allowing that data to be accessed by a wide variety of systems.
L
- Linux
- An open-source implementation of UNIX. Linux is distributed free of charge, and it runs on many platforms.
M
- Mainframe
- A very large computer that is able to support thousands of users at the same time. Users access the mainframe through a terminal.
- Middleware
- Software that connects two separate applications. For example, middleware can connect a database to a Web server.
O
- OLTP
- Online Transaction Processing. See online processing.
- Online Processing
- A type of data processing in which data is processed as it is entered into the system. Online processing provides immediate feedback to the user. It is the opposite of batch processing.
- OS/390
- An operating system developed by IBM for mainframe computers, predecessor to z/OS.
S
- Server
- A device that manages many resources. For instance, a database server is a computer that houses a database and processes information into and out of that database as instructed by the other computers that connect to the server. A server is typically dedicated to its task and cannot be used for other functions.
T
- Terminal
- An input device such as a keyboard or touch-screen coupled with a computer monitor or LCD display.
V
- VSAM
- Virtual Storage Access Method. VSAM is a file management system used on IBM mainframe computers.
- VTAM
- Virtual Telecommunications Access Method.
W
- Web Services
- A standardized way of integrating Web-based applications. It allows organizations to share data without needing to know the details of other organizations' computer systems.
Z
- z/OS
- An operating system from IBM that is highly secure and provides high performance for mainframe computers.
