This is the project glossary which was started as part of the CCP4(i)/BIOXHIT db project.
This page outlines the meanings associated with terms used in this project.
Application: an executable program (which can be either compiled or scripted) that interacts with the project database.
Client API: a library of functions made available to applications that provide client access to the handler.
Dingbat: data item stored in the database. A dingbat is associated with a specific job and is used to store complex data which need additional processing to interpret, or which are dependent on the implementation language of the application (e.g. pickled Python objects).
Dictionary.com offers the following as a definition of the word "dingbat": "an unspecified gadget or small article, especially one whose name is unknown or forgotten". This term has been chosen to avoid possible confusion with words like "thing", "object" or "entity" that might appear to be more appropriate but have other meanings in programming and/or structural biology.
Fact: data item stored in the database. A fact is associated with a specific job and has an name and an associated value (both stored as strings).
Job: data item stored in the database. A job is associated with a specific project and is a collection of data (facts and dingbats) associated with a run of an application.
Handle: another name for job id; may also refer more generally to any identifier (such as project name) that is used to refer to a particular item in the database.
Handler: the handler is a brokering application which mediates interactions between client applications and the project database. It hides the implementation details of the data storage from the applications.
Project: loosely: a collection of data associated with the same structure solution or part of a structure solution. Within CCP4i, a project is currently implemented as a directory which contains files plus a flat-file datastore which records tracking information.
Project tracking database: a database which can store information about a sequence of steps performed within a project and the relationships between those steps.
Visualiser, Visualisation Tool: general term for any client application which provides a view of the data stored in the project.