A method within an application that defines actions to perform in response to an event. See also event handler.

Multiple messages sent to the same receiver object. The messages are separated by a semicolon (;).

On the Composition Editor, a selectable grouping of parts represented by an icon in the leftmost column of the parts palette. Selecting a category displays the parts belonging to that category in the next column over. See also parts palette.

A logical association of a group of methods within a class, with a name assigned by the class developer.

A stand-alone executable program that receives incoming CGI requests and routes them to the VA Smalltalk application. CGI Link runs on the HTTP server, which does not have to be the same as the machine running the VA Smalltalk application.

A Web Connection nonvisual part that holds a persistent data object. You can use CGI Link Session Data to store an application-specific object that remains valid from one CGI query to the next, for the duration of a session.

A text file that defines the information CGI Link needs in order to route incoming requests to the VA Smalltalk application. The CGI Link configuration file must be set up for your server.

A Smalltalk process within the VA Smalltalk image that receives requests from the CGI Link program. The CGI Link server must be running in order for a Web Connection application to work.

A special kind of HTTP request from a client browser that requests that a server-based program be run. A CGI query specifies the name of the program to run, along with any input parameters. See also Common Gateway Interface.

In VA Smalltalk, the code used to signal that an attribute has changed in value.

A literal that is any single character preceded by a dollar sign ($).

Customer Information Control System.

The specification of an object, including its attributes and behavior. Once defined, a class can be used as a template for the creation of object instances. "Class," therefore, can also refer to the collection of objects that share those specifications. A class exists within a hierarchy of classes in which it inherits attributes and behavior from its superclasses. See also inheritance, metaclass, polymorphism, defined class, extended class, private class, public class, visible class.

The definition of a class, containing:

A team member who develops and changes classes. The team member who created an edition of a class is that edition's class developer. Contrast with class owner.

An extension to the behavior of a class defined by another application. The extension consists of one or more methods that define the added behavior. These methods cannot modify the existing behavior of the defined class; they can add only behavior specific to the application that contains the extended class.

A tree structure that defines the relationships between classes. A class has subclasses down the hierarchy from itself and superclasses up the hierarchy from itself. The methods and variables of a class are inherited by its subclasses.

Private data that belongs to a class. The defining class and each subclass maintain their own copy of the data. Only the class methods of the class can reference the data directly. Changing the data in one class does not change it for the other classes in the hierarchy. Contrast with class variable.

A method that provides behavior for a class. Class methods are usually used to define ways to create instances of the class. Contrast with instance method.

Team member responsible for the integrity of that class in an application edition. The class owner is responsible for releasing class versions. Contrast with class developer.

Data that is shared by the defining class and its subclasses. The instance methods and class methods of the defining class and its subclasses can directly reference this data. Changing the data in one class changes it for all of the other classes. Contrast with class instance variable.

An object that requests services from other objects.

The model of interaction in distributed data processing in which a program at one location sends a request to a program at another location and awaits a response. The requesting program is called a client and the answering program is called a server.

In Dynamic Data Exchange, a request by a DDE client to a DDE server to unlink an existing hotlink or warmlink to a particular data item.

Interaction between objects for the purposes of performing services requested by client objects.

A standard protocol through which a Web server can execute programs running on the server machine. CGI programs are executed in response to requests from Web client browsers.

A set of elements in which each element is an object.

A set of characters enclosed in a pair of quotation marks (""). Smalltalk ignores comments and does not execute them.

A functional grouping of classes and related files within a product. See also system component.

A part that contains other parts; it can also contain data and behavior of its own. For example, a user interface view is a composite part composed of subparts such as entry fields, push buttons, and text. See also primitive part.

In the Common Widgets subsystem, a widget that is composed of other widgets.

In VA Smalltalk, a tool that is used to build a graphical user interface and to make connections between parts.

A subclass of an abstract class that is a specialization of the abstract class. For example, the concrete class OrderedCollection is a subclass of the abstract class Collection.

A description of a group of components that identifies, for each component, the component edition or version that is part of the group.

A named group of application editions. A configuration map usually represents a product or one of its major parts.

A team member who maintains the integrity of a configuration map.

In VA Smalltalk, a formal, explicit relationship between parts. Connections define the ways in which parts communicate with one another. Making connections is the basic technique used for building any VA Smalltalk application. See also attribute-from-script, attribute-to-attribute, event-to-action,event-to-script, parameter-from-action, parameter-from-attribute, and parameter-from-script connection.

A software development technology in which applications are assembled from reusable and existing software components known as parts.

The application to which a class definition belongs. A class can be defined in only one application in the image. Also referred to as the defining application.

In the Common Graphics subsystem, a method that sets instance variables for an instance of a graphics context.

In the Common Widgets subsystem, a method that creates and sets instance variables for a new widget instance.

Having its (a process's) rate of progress limited by the speed of the computer's central processing unit.

A set of editable database records, such as a query result table, or the current row of a query result table, currently displayed in the user interface of a database application. This term is used to distinguish the representation of a database table currently being worked on by an application's user from the corresponding data stored at the database.

An IBM licensed program that enables transactions entered at remote terminals to be processed by user-written applications. It includes facilities for building, using, and maintaining databases.