WebSphere(R) Commerce glossary

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A

access bean
A wrapper for an enterprise bean that is typically used by client programs. An access bean hides the complexity associated with home and remote interfaces.
access control policy
A group of constraints and criteria, established by the Site Administrator, restricting a user's access only to those resources necessary for carrying out the responsibilities relevant to their assigned role.
access group
A type of member group used to define access control. Commands and views are associated with one or more access groups, allowing members assigned to that role to have access to those views and commands. IBM(R) WebSphere(R) Commerce predefines a set of access groups. The Site Administrator uses the WebSphere Commerce Administration Console to assign access to these groups, and to add new groups, if necessary.
accessory
A type of merchandising association where a suggested product is chosen as an addition to the currently displayed or selected product. See also cross-sell and up-sell.
Business Edition onlyAccount Representative
The Account Representative role is the primary role responsible for creating contracts for accounts, changing orders for accounts, and monitoring account activity. Account Representatives are part of the sales organization, and as such may be involved in the creation of targeted sales promotions such as discounts and coupons.
Business Edition only action group
An explicitly defined group of operations corresponding to Java(TM) commands that act on resources.
activate
(1) To initiate a merchandising program. (2) To transfer an enterprise bean from secondary storage to memory.
ad copy
The information, images and other media used to support a marketing activity. Also referred to as sales collateral.
address book
A collection of shipping and billing addresses owned by a customer. These are useful for a customer who wishes to purchase gifts and ship them to different addresses.
ad hoc inventory receipt
A record of physical inventory that arrived at a specific fulfillment center at a specific time, and was not expected inventory.
applet
An application program, written in the Java programming language, that can be retrieved from a Web server and executed by a Web browser. A reference to an applet appears in the markup for a Web page, in the same way that a reference to a graphics file appears; a browser retrieves an applet in the same way that it retrieves a graphics file. For security reasons, an applet's access rights are limited in two ways: the applet cannot access the file system of the client upon which it is executing, and the applet's communication across the network is limited to the server from which it was downloaded. Contrast with servlet.
application
In Java programming, a self-contained, stand-alone Java program that includes a static main method. It does not require an applet viewer. Contrast with applet.
application partitioning
In the scheduler, the grouping together of heavily running jobs. This helps to avoid overloading the scheduler's default application pool.
application server
A server program in a distributed network that provides the execution environment for an application program. For example, the WebSphere Commerce Server provides the execution environment for online stores.
Business Edition onlyapprovable action
A command or group of commands invoked by a user that cannot be executed without prior approval from an approver within the organization.
Business Edition only approval flow
The series of steps initiated when a user attempts to execute a task involving an approvable action. The process first verifies that the user is authorized to invoke the command. If the user is authorized, the request for command execution is sent to the appropriate approver for acceptance or rejection. Multiple levels of approval are possible.
Business Edition onlyapprover
The individual authorized to approve or reject an approvable action.
Business Edition only approver group
The designated users within a specific organization to whom an approval request is directed when an approvable action is invoked. Requests are directed to the entire unit, rather than a single individual.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
A standard code for representing characters using binary values. The standard code is used for information interchange among data processing systems, data communication systems, and associated equipment. The ASCII character set uses the numbers 0 through 127 to represent all English characters as well as special control characters. Most PC-based systems use an 8-bit extended ASCII code, with an extra 128 characters used to represent special symbols, foreign-language characters, and graphic symbols. UNIX(R) and DOS-based operating systems, with the exception of Microsoft(R) Windows NT(R), use ASCII for text files. Windows NT uses the newer Unicode standard. Conversion programs allow different operating systems to change a file from one code to another.
asset store
A store that contains a collection of sharable resources (business artifacts, business processes, and storefront assets) that can be leveraged in other types of stores. An asset store does not perform or record business transactions; it is simply a holder of assets that can be used by other stores. See store. See also catalog asset store and storefront asset store.
atomic catalog entry
A non-divisible collection of catalog entries available for purchase. Commonly referred to as a prebuilt kit.
ATP inventory
See available to promise inventory.
attribute value
The property of a defining attribute such as a specific color (blue or yellow) or size (medium). You must predefine attribute values before assigning them to products. Attribute values are implicitly related to their defining attribute. Each possible combination of defining attribute and attribute value creates a new SKU.
auction
A method of sale involving negotiating and dynamically establishing the price and other terms of sale for goods and services, typically to the highest bidder.
available to promise (ATP) inventory
Inventory on hand minus inventory allocated to backorders and reserved inventory.
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B

B2B (business-to-business)
See B2B direct.
B2C (business-to-consumer)
See consumer direct.
B2B direct
The B2B direct business model supports commerce transactions involving products, services, or information between two businesses or parties. Typical B2B direct transactions occur between buyers, suppliers, manufacturers, resellers, distributors, and trading partners. The ToolTech sample store is an example of a B2B direct business. See direct sales business model. Contrast with consumer direct.
back-office business logic
The implementation of business logic, using commands and customized code, allowing a customer to complete an action in the storefront. For example, the implementation of business logic that allows a customer to complete an order. Contrast with storefront assets.
backorder
The status of an ordered product when inventory allocation has determined that the product is not available.
base search space
An implementation of the Product Advisor. This style of implementation uses WebSphere Commerce base database tables to facilitate searching a particular category of products. See also separate search space.
batch
A collection of payment transactions, such as captures, credits, capture reversals, and credit reversals, processed as a group. A batch is submitted as a single unit to the Acquirer's financial system. Business guidelines regarding the use of batch processing are developed by credit acquiring institutions. Merchants also establish policies that align with these guidelines.
bean
A definition or instance of a JavaBeans component. See Java bean.
beaninfo
A Java class that provides explicit information about the properties, events, and methods of a bean class.
bean-managed persistence (BMP)
In the EJB development environment, persistence that is managed by an entity bean. Contrast with container-managed persistence (CMP).
BMP
See bean-managed persistence.
broadcast job
A job that runs on all clones at once. Like any other job, it is handled by the scheduler.
buffer
A portion of storage used to temporarily hold text, markup tags, and other objects.
bundle
Provides single-click function for referring to multiple items. More formally, a bundle is a composite catalog entry consisting of at least one code. When a bundle is added to an order, it is decomposed into its orderable items, which are then added to the order, and the price is aggregated. A bundle cannot be directly purchased. See also kit.
business intelligence
The consolidation and analysis of data collected in the day-to-day operation of a business, which is then used as a basis for better business decisions and competitive advantage.
business intelligence report
This report is generated by WebSphere Commerce Analyzer, which analyzes commerce data in a separate datamart. The data is moved from the WebSphere Commerce database, and analyzed on a scheduled basis. Once this analysis, known as data mining, is complete, this report provides information about established patterns in the data.
Business Edition onlybusiness policy
A set of rules followed by a store or group of stores defining business processes, industry practices, or the scope and characteristics of business offerings.
Buyer (buy-side)
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that makes purchases from the Seller's Web site on behalf of a customer account. Typically, purchases are made under one or more agreements negotiated with the Seller.
Buyer (sell-side)
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that handles negotiations and ordering, keeps track of inventory, makes purchase order decisions, tracks reasons for returns, and tracks expected inventory records and receipts.
Business Edition only Buyer Administrator
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that manages the information for the buying organization. The Buyer Administrator creates and administers the suborganizations within the buying organization and manages the various users, including approving users as Buyers (buy-side).
Buyer Approver
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that approves orders made by the Buyer (buy-side) before the order is submitted for purchase with the Seller.
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C

cache
A special-purpose buffer storage, smaller and faster than main storage, used to hold a copy of instructions and data obtained from main storage and likely to be needed next by the processor.
calculation code
Associated with order items, catalog entries, or catalog groups to specify how discounts, shipping charges, sales or use taxes, and shipping taxes should be calculated.
calculation rule
Defines how a calculation will be done. Each calculation code contains a set of calculation rules. In general, only a subset of a calculation code's calculation rules are applicable for a particular set of order items. For example, different rules apply when shipping to different regions.
calculation scale
A set of ranges that can be used by a calculation rule. For example, for shipping charges, you may have a set of weight ranges that each correspond to a particular cost. That is, a product weighing 0 to 5 kg might cost $10.00 to ship, while a product weighing 5 to 10 kg might cost $15.00 to ship.
call center
In WebSphere Commerce, a group of staff who are assigned as users in the Customer Service Representative access group, during which time they may invoke some functions on behalf of a customer. For example, they can update customer information, including the password; they can also update orders or place a new order.
iSeriescalling command ID
A numeric identifier for a command that calls an API function.
campaign
A planned series of operations including advertisements and suggestive selling techniques, that are pursued to achieve a defined set of business objectives. In the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, campaigns are used to coordinate and aggregate groups of campaign initiatives.
capture
The process by which the Acquirer receives payment from the customer's financial institution and remits payment. A "capture" is the guarantee that the funds are available and that the transfer will take place.
catalog
See online catalog.
catalog asset store
A collection of catalog artifacts that creates a virtual catalog. See asset store. See also storefront asset store.
catalog entry
(1) An object in an online catalog. An entry has a name, description, list price, and other details. A catalog entry can be a product, item, dynamic kit, prebuilt kit, or bundle. (2) In the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, a generic term for orderable merchandise or services in the catalog.
catalog group
A collection of one or more catalog entries or catalog groups which create a navigational hierarchy for an online catalog.
category
A group of objects that have similar properties. In WebSphere Commerce, categories are used to organize products or services offered by the store. For example, a clothing store may include categories arranged by lifestyle (casual, formal, outdoor), gender (male, female), or age (infants, children, adults). A category is usually implemented as a catalog group. See also child category, parent category, and top category.
Category Manager
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that manages the category hierarchy by creating, modifying, and deleting categories. The category hierarchy organizes products or services offered by the store. The Category Manager also manages products, expected inventory records, inventory, return reasons, and vendor information.
category page
A Web page in an online store that displays product categories. Category pages connect customers to child category pages or to products that belong to the selected category.
category table
A dynamic table that displays category information in a series of rows and columns.
CCF
See Common Connector Framework.
certificate authority (CA)
An organization that issues certificates. The CA authenticates the certificate owner's identity and the services that the owner is authorized to use, issues new certificates, renews existing certificates, and revokes certificates belonging to users who are no longer authorized to use them.
Channel Manager
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that manages the channel hub, as well as the distributors and resellers associated with that hub, including creating and importing distributor and reseller contracts.
child category
A category that is subordinate to another category in a hierarchy. See also parent category.
child organizational entity
One or more further levels of organizational entities that exist beneath the parent organizational entity.
clickstream
In Web advertising, the sequence of clicks or pages requested as a visitor explores a Web site.
Clickstream Engine
The Macromedia LikeMinds Personalization Server component that accesses transaction information and generates recommendations based on users' shopping behavior as they navigate a Web site. WebSphere Commerce generates events based on shopping behavior, including viewing a product detail page and adding items to a shopping cart or wish list. These events are forwarded to the Clickstream Engine.
clickthrough rate
In Web advertising, the number of clicks on an ad on an HTML page as a percentage of the number of times that the ad was downloaded with a page. Contrast with impression.
client
A functional unit that receives shared services from a server. For example, a personal computer requesting HTML documents from a Web server is a client of that server.
clone
An identically configured copy of an object, such as an application server. Clones can be used for workload management purposes, for example, to support horizontal scaling and vertical scaling.
CMP
See container-managed persistence.
code
A number which uniquely identifies a catalog entry in the WebSphere Commerce system. A product code is used as the prefix for creating individual SKU codes.
collaborative filtering
A technology that calculates the similarity between users based on the opinions and ratings of a number of other people. Collaborative filtering uses the behaviors of those customers who most closely resemble the current customer as a functional basis for making predictions and recommendations for the current customer.
command bean
A Java bean that contains the programming logic to handle a particular request. The WebSphere Commerce commands follow the WebSphere command programming model. There are four types of commands: controller commands, task commands, data bean commands, and view commands.
commerce server
See WebSphere Commerce Server.
commit
To end a unit of work by releasing locks so that changes made by that unit of work become available to other processes.
commitment boundary
A point at which there are no changes to a database file pending within a job.
commitment control
A way of grouping file operations that allows the processing of a group of database changes as one unit or the removal of a group of database changes as one unit.
Common Connector Framework (CCF)
Interface and class definitions that provide a consistent means of interacting with enterprise resources (for example, CICS(R) and Encina(R) transactions) from any Java execution environment.
component store archive
A sample store archive for a component of a composite store archive. These component store archives are available for each business model.
composite catalog entry
A collection of catalog entries that breaks down to its separate components when ordered. Commonly referred to as a bundle.
composite store archive
Contains the organization structure, predefined user roles, and necessary access control policies to create the appropriate store environment, plus a working sample store or site. Each of the parts that make up the composite store archive are also available as separate store archives. WebSphere Commerce provides sample composite store archives for each business model.
Composition Services
The component of the WebSphere Commerce messaging system that provides a formatted output for messages using JSP templates.
compound key
In a relational database, a key that consists of two or more attributes in a relation.
compress
To reduce the size of a set of data, such as a file, in order to save space or transmission time.
configurator
Software that provides a dynamic rules-based kit (bundling) capability to determine a group of items that may be sold together. The configurator may also supply a price for the configuration. This grouping is based on pre-defined rules in addition to user interaction with the configurator.
consumer direct
The consumer direct business model supports commerce transactions involving products, services, or information between businesses and consumers. Consumers typically purchase goods or services directly from a business in a consumer direct scenario. The FashionFlow sample store is an example of a consumer direct business. See direct sales business model. Contrast with B2B direct.
container-managed persistence (CMP)
In the EJB development environment, persistence that is delegated to an enterprise bean's container, as opposed to being managed by the bean itself. Contrast with bean-managed persistence (BMP).
Business Edition onlycontract
In WebSphere Commerce, an agreement representing the terms and conditions that apply to a transaction. See also default contract.
controller command
A command that interacts with a Web controller directly. On completion, a controller command returns the name of a view task to be executed. The Web controller determines the correct implementation class of the view command and then invokes it.
counter value
A displayed monetary amount converted from the shopping currency into a different currency.
cross-sell
A type of merchandising association that is related or complementary to the currently displayed or selected product. See also accessory, product recommendation, and up-sell.
CSR
See Customer Service Representative.
customer
A user of an online store.
customer facing store
An online site where users may obtain information regarding products and conduct business transactions regarding these products. Business transactions may include retail purchases, transactions between businesses, and transactions between a government organization and citizens or businesses. WebSphere Commerce uses the generic term store to describe the online space where all of these business transactions take place. WebSphere Commerce supports the following customer facing stores: hub store, direct sales store, hosted store. See also store.
customer group
A type of member group consisting of a collection of customers who have been grouped by a Site Administrator because they share similar shopping patterns or characteristics. Typically, customer groups are based on information that customers provide during registration. Customer groups may be entitled to incentives (such as discounts) or be shown different product and category pages than other customers. A customer can belong to one or more customer groups per store.
customer profile
All information about the customer that is held by the Seller. This can include basic demographics, order history, or operational data such as the user ID and shipping address. Customer profiles are dynamic; Marketing Managers define the criteria for including a customer in a customer profile. Customer profiles can be the targets of campaigns.
Customer Service Representative (CSR)
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that manages customer inquiries. The Customer Service Representative also processes customer registration, returns, and orders. Some businesses may have a Customer Service Supervisor, who has authority to complete actions that cannot be accessed by a Customer Service Representative, such as approving system-denied returns records. The Customer Service Representative also works with auctions, such as withdrawing bids and managing discussion forums.
Customer Service Supervisor
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that has access to all customer service tasks. The Customer Service Supervisor manages customer inquiries (such as customer registration, orders, returns, and auctions) and has authority to complete tasks that cannot be accessed by a Customer Service Representative, such as contacting customers regarding payment exceptions (for example, credit card authorization failures) and approving system-denied returns records.
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D

data bean
A type of Java bean that is placed into a JSP file. The data bean represents data that is accessible by the Store Developer. Data beans can have associated commands that are invoked when the JSP instantiates the data bean at run time.
data bean command
A command associated with a data bean, and called by a JSP file. This command retrieves data for the data bean from a persistent object, such as an entity bean.
data bean manager
A module that invokes a data bean command to fetch data from corresponding entity beans.
data mart
A subset of a data warehouse that contains data tailored for the specific needs of a department or team. A data mart can be a subset of a warehouse for your entire organization.
default contract
In WebSphere Commerce, an agreement representing the terms and conditions that apply to all transactions. A default contract is required for all stores.
default organization
The organizational entity that is used when a user registers and does not identify an organizational entity. In addition, guest users are created under the default organization.
defining attribute
A property of an item in an online store such as its color or size. Items can have several defining attributes. Defining attributes are used for SKU resolution. See also attribute value and descriptive attribute.
delete cascade
A DB2(R) process that causes an action to be taken on rows in a database when another row is deleted.
delete rule
A rule associated with a referential constraint that either restricts the deletion of a parent row or specifies the effect of such a deletion on the dependent rows.
demand chain
A demand chain is a value chain that supports both direct sales channels and indirect sales channels. The Commerce Plaza sample site is an example of an indirect sales channel demand chain. See also supply chain.
demilitarized zone (DMZ)
In network security, a network that is isolated from, and serves as a neutral zone between, a trusted network (for example, a private intranet) and an untrusted network (for example, the Internet). One or more secure gateways usually control access to the DMZ from the trusted or the untrusted network.
deployment
(1) The act of packaging enterprise beans into a JAR file for distribution to a container on an enterprise bean server. (2) The process of making WebSphere Commerce application code available for use. This process includes packaging customized commands, data beans, and enterprise beans into JAR files. The JAR files must then be installed and configured within a container.
deployment descriptor
An XML file that describes how a module or application should be deployed, by specifying configuration and container options. For example, an EJB deployment descriptor passes information to an EJB container about how to manage and control an enterprise bean.
descriptive attribute
An additional description for an item. For example, special instructions for clothing care or required battery types. Descriptive attributes are not used for SKU resolution. See also defining attribute.
direct sales business model
Supports commerce transactions involving products, services, or information directly between businesses and consumers or between two businesses or parties. WebSphere Commerce supports the following types of direct sales business models: consumer direct and B2B direct.
direct sales store
A customer facing store that supports the exchange of products, services, or information directly between businesses and consumers, or between two businesses or parties. See also hub store and hosted store.
discount
A price incentive offered to customers to promote a purchase.
display format
A set of display preferences that a customer at a multicultural store can select, depending on their language and locale. For example, a multicultural commerce site may have different formats for United States English and Japanese. These display formats would differ in the language of the text as well as such features as currency, units of measure, and data formats.
display page
(1) A page in a catalog that displays category and product information. (2) A page in an online store that is generated in response to a command.
disposition
In WebSphere Commerce, disposing of or transferring inventory that has been returned to the Seller's fulfillment center by a customer.
Business Edition onlydistributor
In WebSphere Commerce, in the context of the demand chain business model, a distributor is defined as an indirect seller of products. A distributor does not sell directly to end users of the product, but only to other sellers, such as resellers. A distributor may provide its own value-add services of modifications to the product, and may also choose to group products for sale into kits or bundles differently from its suppliers.
Business Edition only distributor proxy store
A store that acts as a placeholder for an external distributor store, allowing resellers to conduct business indirectly by way of the proxy store.
DMZ
See demilitarized zone.
document type definition (DTD)
The rules that specify the structure for a particular class of SGML or XML documents. The DTD defines the structure with elements, attributes, and notations, and it establishes constraints for how each element, attribute, and notation may be used within the particular class of documents. A DTD is analogous to a database schema in that the DTD completely describes the structure for a particular markup language.
domain name
In the Internet suite of protocols, a name of a host system. A domain name consists of a sequence of subnames that are separated by a delimiter character.
downstream
In the direction of data flow or towards the destination of transmission; generally from an information server toward an end user.
DTD
See document type definition.
dual display
The simultaneous display of a monetary amount in the shopping currency, and one or more counter value amounts in a different currency.
dynamic
Pertaining to an operation that occurs at the time it is needed rather than at a predetermined or fixed time. Contrast with static.
dynamic kit
A group of products that are ordered as a unit. The information about the products contained in a dynamic kit is controlled by an external configurator and supplied at order entry time. The individual components of a dynamic kit cannot be modified in the order, but they can be reconfigured by the configurator. The entire configuration must be fulfilled together. See also bundle and kit.
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E

Business Edition only EDI
See electronic data interchange.
EJB
See Enterprise JavaBeans.
EJB container
A run-time environment that manages one or more enterprise beans. The EJB container manages the life cycles of enterprise bean objects, coordinates distributed transactions, and implements object security. Generally, each EJB container is provided by an EJB server and contains a set of enterprise beans that run on the server.
Business Edition onlyelectronic data interchange (EDI)
The exchange of structured electronic data between computer systems according to predefined message standards.
e-mail activity
A method of delivering merchandising and marketing content to customers. E-mail activities deliver customized e-mail messages, based on JSP templates, which can include advertisements, suggestive selling initiatives, and promotions, among other merchandising and marketing content.
e-Marketing Spot
In WebSphere Commerce, data on a Web page that typically results from a marketing activity such as a campaign.
encryption
The conversion of data into a form that cannot be easily understood so as to prevent unauthorized access, especially during transmission.
enterprise bean
A component that implements a business task or business entity and resides in an EJB container. Entity beans and session beans are both enterprise beans.
Enterprise JavaBeans
A component architecture defined by Sun Microsystems for the development and deployment of object-oriented, distributed, enterprise-level applications.
entity
In object-oriented design, an item that can be treated as a unit and, often, as a member of a particular category or type. An entity can be a concrete thing or an abstract idea.
entity bean
In EJB, an enterprise bean that represents persistent data maintained in a database. There are two types of entity beans: container-managed persistence (CMP) entity beans and bean-managed persistence (BMP) entity beans. Contrast with session bean.
exception condition
An abnormal condition that may arise during execution of a program.
expected inventory
Inventory that has been ordered from a vendor and that is expected to be received by the Seller. This information is contained in an expected inventory record.
expected inventory record
Lists the inventory that has been ordered from a vendor and that is expected to be received by the Seller. An expected inventory record may contain information for multiple items, fulfillment centers, and dates. See also inventory receipt.
Extensible Markup Language
See XML.
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F

factory
In object-oriented programming, a class that is used to create instances of another class. A factory is used to isolate the creation of objects of a particular class into one place so that new functions can be provided without widespread code changes.
failover
In high-availability cluster multiprocessing (HACMP), an active node's acquisition of resources that were previously owned by another cluster node in order to maintain the availability of those resources.
feature attribute
Specifies how the information about products is to be displayed to customers. For example, features with numerical descriptions can be displayed to a customer in either ascending or descending order.
foreign key
In a relational database, a key in one table that references the primary key in another table.
framework
A set of object classes that provide a collection of related functions for a user or piece of software.
fulfillment center
Serves as a storage warehouse where products are packaged and shipped to customers. Fulfillment centers, stores, and shipping carriers are treated as separate entities.
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G

gateway
A functional unit that connects a local data network to another network.
geo-code
In WebSphere Commerce, an application-specific code representing a geographical region.
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H

horizontal scalability
The ability to distribute Java virtual machine processes across multiple physical machines.
host
A computer that provides an access point to a network. A host can be a client, a server, or both a client and server simultaneously.
host name
In the Internet suite of protocols, the name given to a computer. Sometimes, host name is used to mean the fully qualified domain name; other times, it is used to mean the most specific subname of a fully qualified domain name. For example, if mycomputer.city.company.com is the fully qualified domain name, either of the following may be considered the host name:
  • mycomputer.city.company.com
  • mycomputer
hosted store
A customer facing store that is hosted by the site operator for the owner of the store. The store owner may have the option of administering the store. See also hub store and direct sales store.
hosting sales business model
Supports hosting of merchants or other businesses by an Internet Service Provider or other hosting provider.
HTML
See Hypertext Markup Language.
HTTP
See Hypertext Transfer Protocol.
HTTP Web controller
See Web controller.
hub store
A customer facing store that enables partners or clients. See also direct sales store and hosted store.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
A markup language that conforms to the SGML standard and was designed primarily to support the online display of textual and graphical information that includes hypertext links.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
In the Internet suite of protocols, the protocol that is used to transfer and display hypertext documents on the Web.
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I

IDE
See Integrated Development Environment.
ID resolution
The generation of reference numbers prior to loading XML elements into a database. ID resolution is used to uniquely identify data within the database system.
impression
In Web advertising, an ad's appearance on an accessed page. For example, if a Web page displays three ads, each ad would have one impression. Online publishers often sell ad space according to impressions. Contrast with clickthrough rate.
inbound message
A message that WebSphere Commerce receives from an external or back-end application. The Transport adapter supports five inbound messages in XML format: Order Status Update, Product Inventory Update, Product Price Update, Customer Update, and Customer New. Inbound messages are used to integrate WebSphere Commerce with other systems.
information roadmap
An overview of a set of information resources, along with guidance on how to navigate through that information. For example, what is the starting point, or how a particular user should progress through the different pieces of information to learn about the product or specific tasks.
input method
A component that converts key strokes into text input that could not otherwise be typed directly, such as characters that are not native to your operating system. For example, the input method component can be used to type Japanese text on an English keyboard.
instance
See WebSphere Commerce instance and Web server instance.
integrated development environment (IDE)
A set of integrated tools for developing software, that are accessible from a single user interface.
interest item
An item that a customer has indicated for recurring or potential purchase. An interest item is stored with quantity information, but not price information. An interest item list consists of one or more interest items.
inventory allocation
Designating inventory for an order against inventory that actually exists in a fulfillment center. Allocation is not the same as reservation, which is a more stringent policy, and does not typically apply to orders. Contrast with inventory allocation against expected inventory.
inventory allocation against expected inventory
Designating inventory for an order against inventory that is expected to be received at a fulfillment center. This information is typically found in an expected inventory record. Contrast with inventory allocation.
inventory on hand
Inventory that is physically available to fulfill orders.
inventory receipt
The receipt of products at a fulfillment center. Products may have been expected and recorded in expected inventory records, or received ad hoc. Ad hoc inventory receipts are not recorded in expected inventory records.
inventory sharing arrangement
An arrangement whereby a store makes its inventory receipts available to another store for inventory allocation.
IP address
The unique 32-bit address that specifies the location of each device or workstation in the Internet. For example, 9.41.41.103 is an IP address.
ISO 4217
A three-letter format standard adopted by the International Organization for Standardization, used to indicate the currency in which a monetary amount is expressed. For example, the United States dollar is expressed as USD.
item
(1) A catalog entity that has a code. All items that are related to a particular product exhibit the same set of attributes and are distinguished by their attribute values. An item does not need to be associated with a product. If an item has no distinct attributes, it does not have an associated product. An item can be purchased. (2) For WebSphere Commerce Accelerator users, an item is known as a SKU.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

J

JAR file
JAR (Java Archive) is a platform-independent file format that aggregates many files into one. Multiple Java applets and their components (.class files, images, sounds, and other resource files) can be bundled in a JAR file and subsequently downloaded to a browser in a single HTTP transaction.
Java
An object-oriented programming language for portable interpretive code that supports interaction among remote objects. Java was developed and specified by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Java bean
A reusable software component that follows the JavaBeans specification from Sun Microsystems, Inc. Beans have standard ways of implementing their properties, methods, and events so they can be examined and manipulated programmatically. WebSphere Commerce and Commerce Studio include WebSphere Commerce specific beans that you can use to add dynamic information to store pages created with JavaServer Pages technology.
JavaBeans
As defined by Sun Microsystems, a portable, platform-independent, reusable component model.
Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)
A specification for enabling Java programs to access databases using SQL queries.
Java Message Service (JMS)
An API from Sun Microsystems, Inc. that supports the formal communication known as messaging between computers in a network. Using the JMS interface, a programmer can invoke enterprise messaging systems such as WebSphere MQ.
JavaScript
A Web scripting language that resembles Java.
JavaServer Pages (JSP)
A server-side scripting technology that enables you to embed Java code within static Web pages (HTML files) and to execute the Java code when the page is served. As a result, you can use JSP technology to create product data pages, which typically contain dynamic content, such as products, product prices, and attributes.
JDBC
See Java Database Connectivity.
job
A WebSphere Commerce command that is scheduled to run at a specified time or interval.
JSP
See JavaServer Pages.
JSP file
A scripted HTML file that has a .jsp extension. Allows for the inclusion of dynamic content in Web pages.
jurisdiction
A geographical region for tax or shipping purposes representing a country or region, province or territory, zip code range, or an application-specific geo-code.
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K

kit
A collection of catalog entries that are ordered as a single item. A kit is available in one of three types: dynamic kit, prebuilt kit, and static kit. See also bundle.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

L

LDAP
See Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
An open protocol that uses TCP/IP to provide access to information directories.
list price
A price that is part of the catalog entry. Since a catalog may be produced by a manufacturer, who would supply a list price as part of the description of each entry, the list price is not necessarily the price at which an entry is sold. The price at which items are sold is determined by a store and is known as the offer price. Thus, displaying the list price is, in general, not always appropriate. If a store creates its own catalog entries, then it may display either the list price or the offer price in its catalog.
load balancing
A method of dividing the amount of work that a computer has to do between two or more computers so that all online users get served faster. If one server starts to get swamped, requests are forwarded to another server with more capacity. Typically, load balancing is the main reason for computer server clustering. Since load balancing requires multiple servers, it is usually combined with failover and backup service.
Business Edition onlyLogistics Manager
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that manages fulfillment. The Logistics Manager has access to all operational tasks, including the duties of the Pick Packer, Returns Administrator, and Receiver.
LUHN formula
An industry standard used by many credit card companies for rudimentary prevention of credit card fraud.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

M

manifest
A shipment confirmation that may contain tracking identification information.
marketing event
In WebSphere Commerce, any event within the system that is considered to be significant for the purposes of marketing. Most marketing events are directly driven by customer behavior. Examples include catalog browsing, navigation, and shopping cart activity.
Marketing Manager
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that monitors, analyzes, and understands customer behavior. The Marketing Manager also creates and modifies customer profiles for targeted selling and creates and manages campaigns.
Business Edition only marketplace
A business-to-business electronic commerce Web site in which those organizations granted access to the site are presented with a unified view of the products and services being traded. They are also provided with a variety of trading mechanisms to facilitate trade among themselves.
master catalog
The main catalog containing all products, bundles, prebuilt kits, SKUs, descriptions, and standard pricing. Each product belongs to a single category. See also online catalog and sales catalog.
member
A person, group, or organization known to the system. A member can be a user, an organization, an organization unit, or a member group. A member may act as a customer or an administrator, or may own entities. Business Edition only A member must first become a member of the marketplace before becoming a user.
member group
Member groups implement role-based control in WebSphere Commerce. The type of member group indicates its intended usage. A customer group is for general use, while an access group is for access control purposes.
merchandising association
An association between two catalog items for the purpose of a sales activity. For example, a camera may have a "requires" merchandising association with a set of batteries, and a particular shirt may have a "goes with" merchandising association with a particular pair of pants. See accessory, cross-sell and up-sell. See also product recommendation.
Merchant Initiated SET(TM)
A SET Secure Electronic Transaction LLC extension for SET Secure Electronic Transaction messages. The Merchant Initiated SET extension permits a merchant to use SET messages for authorization and capture of orders that were placed by the cardholder using a transmission method other than SET.
model
A statistical concept, which describes a data mining target pattern. Models detail relationships for which the data is mined, and evaluated. The data is analyzed and clustered into one or more segments when the model is applied to a dataset.
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N

node
A connection point in a network; either a redistribution point or an end point for data transmissions. In general, a node has programmed or engineered capability to recognize and process or forward transmissions to other nodes.
non-registered customer
A customer who is not registered with a store. Non-registered customers are created when a customer adds something to the shopping cart, but has not yet registered.
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O

object
(1) An item that a user can manipulate as a single unit to perform a task. An object can appear as text, an icon, or both. (2) In object-oriented design or programming, objects are grouped into classes that share common data definitions and member functions. Each object in the class is said to be an instance of the class.
offer
A price for a product, in one or more currencies, along with a set of conditions such as an effective time range or an acceptable quantity range, which must be satisfied in order to use the price. Also known as a trading position. See also trading position container.
offer price
A price at which items are offered by a store. The offer price is the final price paid, before taxes, discounts, and shipping. Offer prices can be qualified by quantity ordered (that is, you can have a different price per quantity), time frame, member groups, or contract. When items are actually placed into an interest item list or into an order, the price shown is the offer price. See also list price.
online catalog
General term for a collection of catalog groups or catalog entries available for display and purchase at an online store.
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)
A standard application programming interface (API) for accessing data in both relational and nonrelational database management systems. Using this API, database applications can access data stored in database management systems on a variety of computers even if each database management system uses a different data storage format and programming interface. Contrast with Java Database Connectivity.
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) driver
Each database that supports ODBC has its own ODBC drivers. A driver provides a set of standard application programming interfaces to perform a variety of database functions such as connecting to the database, performing dynamic SQL functions, and committing or rolling back database transactions.
operational report
This report is based on data from the WebSphere Commerce database, and is created in real time.
Business to consumerOperations Manager
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that manages order processing, ensuring that orders are properly fulfilled, payment is received, and orders are shipped. The Operations Manager can search for customer orders, view details, create and edit returns, and manage order information. Business Edition only See Sales Manager.
order
(1) One or more items, products, prebuilt kits, bundles, or SKUs, or a combination thereof, selected for purchase. An order contains quantities, prices, shipping information, and tax and shipping charges, which are compiled and displayed to customers after they initiate the ordering process. In WebSphere Commerce, an order can be in one of the following order states: new, pending, shipped, completed, or canceled. (2) One or more products, their prices, and the quantity specified, that a customer has selected to purchase or has purchased. A Customer Service Representative can also place an order on behalf of a customer. In addition to products, a customer order includes a billing address; shipping address (not applicable to downloadable purchases, such as software); shipping method, carrier, and service; payment information; tax and shipping charges; and any comments or price adjustments stipulated by the person placing the order. Business to consumer An Operations Manager ensures that orders are properly fulfilled, payment is received, and orders are shipped. Business Edition only A Sales Manager ensures that orders are properly fulfilled, payment is received, and orders are shipped.
organization
In WebSphere Commerce, a business or company. For example, IBM is an organization. An organization can have several organizational units; for example, the IBM Electronic Commerce Division. A typical WebSphere Commerce organizational hierarchy includes artificial organizational entities created specifically to support access control; for example root organization, default organization, and child organizational entity. Each organizational entity can have multiple users, but each user can belong to only one organizational entity.
Business Edition only organization administrator
In WebSphere Commerce, the representative of a member organization who establishes organizational approval flows, and assigns roles to the users within the organization.
outbound message
A message generated by WebSphere Commerce that is sent to a back-end system. The WebSphere Commerce Transport adapter supports one outbound message, called Order Create. This message contains order information copied from the WebSphere Commerce Server to back-end systems, where further order fulfillment processes take place. Outbound messages are used to integrate WebSphere Commerce with other systems.
output queue
A generalized mechanism to separate a set of products that require special treatment in the fulfillment process. An output queue may direct information about ordered products to a printer or a file. For example, monogramming would require special attention; sending products to be monogrammed to the same output queue would allow for this.
owner
(1) A member who owns an entity. (2) One who has access and permission to operate on an entity.
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P

package
(1) A shipping unit that may be tracked by a shipping carrier. (2) In the WebSphere Commerce schema, a package object represents a collection of catalog entries that has a code and is ordered as a single item. For WebSphere Commerce Accelerator users, a package is also known as a prebuilt kit.
packing slip
A printed document containing a list of all the products in a given release. Typically, this document also contains the ship-to address, shipping carrier information, and sometimes pricing information. The packing slip is used by packers to package the products in a release for shipping. It may then be included in the package itself so that the customer can verify that the correct products were sent.
parametric search
A search of the online catalog in which the user specifies attributes or values as criteria.
parent category
A category that contains other categories in a hierarchy. See also child category.
partner group
In WebSphere Commerce, a designation for business partners, which assigns them a set of entitlements and privileges. For example, a manufacturer may assign resellers a designation of Gold, Silver, or Bronze, based on their success in selling the product line, or their volume of sales.
partner site
A Web site operated by a business partner, such as a distributor or a supplier.
Business Edition only p-card
See purchasing card.
persistence
A characteristic of data that is maintained across session boundaries, usually in nonvolatile storage such as a database system or a directory. A bean persists by having its properties, fields, and state information saved to and restored from storage, rather than ceasing to exist when the application that created it is not running.
personalization
(1) The use of customer knowledge to present a customized shopping experience. (2) Creating for a given user a set of associated information that can be used to customize resources for that person.
personalization engine
The Macromedia LikeMinds Personalization Server component that identifies which algorithm is used to generate customer recommendations. The LikeMinds Personalization Server supports five different engines: Clickstream, Purchase, Item Affinity, Preference, and Product Matching. WebSphere Commerce interacts with the Clickstream Engine.
Business Edition only personalized attributes
In the RFQ trading mechanism, a list of attributes created by a selling organization that a buyer must use when sending an RFQ to that organization. In addition to the predefined attributes provided by the Seller, buyers may specify unique attributes in designated attribute fields.
PGP
See Pretty Good Privacy.
pick batch
A group of releases that are managed as a unit in a fulfillment center.
Pick Packer
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that picks products from fulfillment centers and packs the products for shipping to customers. The Pick Packer also manages pick tickets and packing slips which are used to confirm shipment of products during order fulfillment.
pick ticket
A printed document containing a list of all the products required to fulfill the releases in a given pick batch. This document is used by pickers to gather the products that must be packaged and shipped for all of the releases included in the pick batch.
portlet
A Web component, similar to a servlet, that is specifically designed to be aggregated in the context of a composite page.
Business Edition onlypost-approve
The execution of the post-approve command, if any, when an approvable action is approved. For example, the post-approve command might transmit a special notification process. See also pre-approve and post-reject.
Business Edition onlypost-reject
The execution of the post-reject command, if any, when an approvable action is rejected. For example, the post-reject command might check for the size of the order and notify a manager if it is above a certain amount. See also post-approve and pre-approve.
Business Edition onlypre-approve
The execution of a command prior to the approval of the approvable action which initiated the approval request. For example, prior to the approval of an order, the command that checks inventory is executed to ensure that the product is in stock. See also post-approve and post-reject.
prebuilt kit
(1) A collection of catalog entries that has a code and is ordered as a single item. See also bundle and kit.
prebuilt kit component
An item that is sold as part of a prebuilt kit.
preferred currency
The currency indicated by a customer as the one in which he or she would prefer to see prices. The preferred currency is indicated in the customer profile. See also shopping currency and supported currency.
preferred language
The language indicated by a customer as being the one in which he or she would like to conduct transactions. The preferred language may be indicated either in the customer profile or by use of the langId parameter, which is available from the URL-based controller commands. See also shopping language.
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)
An electronic transfer protocol that allows for the private exchange of files or mail using public key encryption.
primary key
In a relational database, a key that uniquely identifies one row of a database table.
Business Edition onlyProcurement Buyer (buy-side)
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that uses the account belonging to the buyer organization to make purchases from the Seller and sends pending orders to the procurement system for approval.
Business Edition only Procurement Buyer Administrator
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that registers and approves users as Procurement Buyers (buy-side). The Procurement Buyer Administrator manages the various users and creates and administers the suborganizations within the buying organization.
Business Edition only procurement card
See purchasing card.
product
A catalog entity that can be viewed as a group of items that share attributes. All items that are related to a particular product exhibit the same set of attributes and are distinguished by their attribute values. A product cannot be purchased.
Product Manager
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that is responsible for determining the best way to display, price, and sell products in the online store. The Product Manager suggests discounts and traces customer purchases. The Product Manager also determines suggestive selling techniques, and creates and manages auctions and bid controls. The Product Manager role is equivalent to a merchandising manager.
product page
A Web page that displays detailed information about a product in an online store.
product recommendation
A sales and marketing technique in which catalog inventory is suggested to customers based on their profile or on independent criteria. See cross-sell and up-sell. See also merchandising association.
production server
A WebSphere Commerce Server that is live for business. See also staging server.
project
A unit or organization of files and assets in WebSphere Studio. For example, you create a project in WebSphere Studio in which you manage all of the Web assets for your store.
proxy store
A store that represents a business partner's operational assets and handles the business logic that allows a WebSphere Commerce site to interact with an external business partner. A proxy store does not include a storefront and cannot be accessed by users. See store.
publish
In WebSphere Commerce, to transfer files to a location on the WebSphere Commerce Server. Using the Administration Console, you can publish the store archive to a WebSphere Commerce Server, thus creating an operational store. The store archive must be published to a WebSphere Commerce Server before you can view an operational store.
Business Edition onlypurchasing card
A credit card that a business can offer its departments or employees to allow them to buy business-related items. A business will make arrangements with the card issuer to govern the purchases that card holders can make. For example, maximum limits can be imposed and the cards can be restricted to only allow purchases of certain items. Purchasing cards can also have preprogrammed limits for purchase amounts. Also known as a procurement card.
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Q

iSeriesQWEBCOMM
(1) The name of the WebSphere Commerce product library. (2) A subsystem space for WebSphere Commerce jobs. (3) The name of the default Web server instance; this Web server instance is used for running multiple WebSphere Commerce instances.
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R

Receiver
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that receives inventory at the fulfillment center, receives returned products as a result of customer returns, and tracks expected inventory records and ad hoc receipts for ordered products.
redirection URL
A URL used in a URL command to indicate the page that should be sent to the user upon completion of the command.
reference store
An online store which contains fully functional code for selected features of an online store, for example, auctions. Reference stores are designed to be used by store developers as code samples of the highlighted features.
referential integrity
(1) The state of a database in which all values of all foreign keys are valid.
(2) The condition that exists when all intended references from data in one column of a table to data in another column of the same or a different table are valid. Maintaining referential integrity requires that DB2 Universal Database(TM) for z/OS(TM) enforce referential constraints on all LOAD, RECOVER, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations.
referrals
Records that show the number of times a third-party business or Web site has referred customers to the Web site. Referrals can be recognized where the Seller and the third-party measure the number of referrals for recognition purposes. They can also be unrecognized where the Seller measures referrals for their own purposes. Referrals can be measured through various techniques including clickstream analysis, clickthrough rates, affiliate marketing services, and surveys.
registered customer
(1) A customer who is registered with a store. To register, a customer provides personal information to the WebSphere Commerce system, such as an e-mail address. (2) In WebSphere Commerce, a defined role that allows the reseller to shop in the marketplace. Resellers must first register in the marketplace and be approved by the Seller Administrator in order to attain the Registered Customer role.
release
In a WebSphere Commerce store, a set of products in a given order that have the same ship-to address, fulfillment center, and shipping carrier. Products in a release may be shipped in multiple packages. For example, a release could contain four computer monitors. It would not be practical to ship them all in one large box, but they are still considered a single release. Products that would otherwise be part of a single release may be released separately if the Seller's policy dictates.
report context
The basis for a displayed report. The context changes depending on which function you are using in the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator. Available report contexts include campaigns, initiatives, and a combined context.
Business Edition onlyrequest for quote (RFQ)
The trading mechanism used when a buyer solicits quotes for a specific set of goods or services. It can be used if a buyer does not find a particular item in the catalog, finds an item without a price, or wants to establish a long-term supply arrangement for a fixed-price item.
Business Edition onlyreseller
In WebSphere Commerce, in the context of the demand chain business model, a reseller is defined as a business that sells products to businesses (such as end users or other resellers), after having obtained the goods from manufacturers, distributors, or other resellers. A reseller may provide its own value-add services of modifications to the product, and also may choose to package or bundle products differently from its suppliers.
reserved inventory
Inventory that has been designated for a particular purpose, and is not available to allocate to orders.
resource bundle
Contains the text for the store pages. If the store supports more than one language, the resource bundle will contain multiple "bundles," that is one bundle per language. The bundle files are created and accessed according to the Java PropertyResourceBundle API.
Business Edition only resource group
A group of resources that can include business objects such as contracts or a set of related commands. In access control policies, resource groups specify the resources to which the policy authorizes access.
return
One or more products, their prices, and the quantity specified, that a customer has selected for a refund from the store in which the product was originally purchased. The refund can be in the form of a credit, refund, or replacement product. Depending on your business, a return does not always require the customer to physically return the unwanted product. For example, a refund for a magazine subscription would not require a physical return.
return merchandise authorization (RMA)
Authorization from the Seller for a customer to return products ordered from a store and receive a credit, refund, or replacement product. At the Seller's discretion, a product may not need to be returned in order to receive a credit, refund, or replacement product.
Returns Administrator
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that manages the disposition of returned products.
Business Edition only RFQ
See request for quote.
Business Edition only RFQ response
When using the RFQ trading mechanism, the reply a Seller sends to a buyer who has sent them an RFQ. The RFQ response indicates the terms and conditions under which the Seller will sell the products or services to that buyer.
RMA
See return merchandise authorization.
role
Defines what access levels a given user has and the specific resources they can modify at those levels. The user may be limited in how they can access information if they do not have the proper role. Multiple roles are permissible.
roll back
To remove changes that were made to database files under commitment control since the last commitment boundary. To return to a previous stable condition.
root organization
The top level of an organization, which owns site level access control policies, and is automatically assigned all roles included in the WebSphere Commerce product.
rule
A statement that associates a set of actions with a set of test conditions. The basic form of a rule is: if condition, then action. Rules are used extensively to implement personalization.
rule project
Contains information that your site requires to interact with the Blaze Advisor Rule Server.
rule service
An interface used to interact with the Blaze Advisor Rule Server. A rule service has defined input and output methods to facilitate communication between the two applications.
run-time environment
(1) An execution environment. (2) In WebSphere Commerce, an active Web site conducting business.
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S

sales catalog
A section of your master catalog containing a much more flexible structure for customer display purposes. While you can only have one master catalog per store, you can have as many sales catalogs as you want. See also master catalog.
Business Edition onlySales Manager
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that manages order processing, ensuring that orders are properly fulfilled, payment is received, and orders are shipped. The Sales Manager can search for customer orders, view details, manage order information, and create and edit returns. Business to consumer See Operations Manager.
sample store
A fully functional online store, provided in store archive format with WebSphere Commerce. Sample stores are designed to be used as a base on which you create your online store.
sample store archive
The sample stores provided with WebSphere Commerce are packaged as store archives and referred to as sample store archives.
SAR file format
In WebSphere Commerce, SAR (store archive) is a platform-independent file format that aggregates many files into one. See store archive.
scalable
Pertaining to the capability of a system to adapt readily to a greater or lesser intensity of use, volume, or demand. For example, a scalable system can efficiently adapt to work with larger or smaller networks performing tasks of varying complexity.
scheduler
A multithread, multiprocess background server designed to handle the scheduling and launching of jobs, based on a simple timing scheme.
schema
The set of statements, expressed in a data definition language, that completely describe the structure of a database. In a relational database, the schema defines the tables, the fields in each table, and the relationships between fields and tables.
Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (S-HTTP)
A security-enhanced variation of HTTP. S-HTTP allows servers and clients to authenticate each other and to define the kind of security used in transmissions. S-HTTP is an alternative to another well-known security protocol, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). See also secure server.
secure server
A server that encrypts files it is sending and decrypts files it has received to facilitate secure communication with a client.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
A security protocol that allows the client to authenticate the server and all data and requests to be encrypted. The URL of a secure server protected by SSL begins with HTTPS (rather than HTTP). See also secure server.
security
The protection of data, system operations, and devices from accidental or intentional ruin, damage, or exposure.
segment
A data mining construct that groups input data records within a given dataset, on the basis of similar characteristics. Each group is called a segment. Within a segment, each piece of data is evaluated (or scored) for the degree to which it fits the segment to which it belongs. This statistical conformance is represented by a number, called the score, which ranges between 0.0 and 1.0. In DB2 Intelligent Miner, this concept is known as a cluster.
Seller
(1) A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that has access to all WebSphere Commerce Accelerator capabilities. (2) The role that supervises the overall store objectives and management, in addition to tracking the store sales. The Seller role is equivalent to a merchant.
Business Edition only Seller Administrator
The Seller Administrator manages the information for the selling organization. The Seller Administrator creates and administers the suborganizations within the selling organization and the various users in the selling organization, including the assignment of appropriate business roles.
separate search space
An implementation of the Product Advisor. For this style of implementation, you must create additional database tables containing metadata to facilitate searching a particular category of products. See also base search space.
server
(1) A functional unit that provides shared services to one or more clients over a network. (2) A computer or program that responds to commands from a client. Examples include a file server, a print server, and a mail server. See also WebSphere Commerce Server and Web server.
servlet
An application program, written in the Java programming language, that is executed on a Web server. A reference to a servlet appears in the markup for a Web page, in the same way that a reference to a graphics file appears. The Web server executes the servlet and sends the results of the execution (if there are any) to the Web browser. Contrast with applet.
servlet engine
The function of the Web application server that manages servlets. It manages the creation and deletion of servlets, dispatches the appropriate servlet for each URL it receives, and specifies which servlets should be automatically loaded into memory at start time and which servlets should be loaded upon initial request.
session bean
In EJB, an enterprise bean that is created by a client and that usually exists only for the duration of a single client/server session. There are two types of session beans: stateful session beans and stateless session beans. Contrast with entity bean
session ID
A unique identifier that is assigned when a customer accesses WebSphere Commerce. For a non-registered customer, the session ID is assigned by the system. For a registered customer, the session ID is the login user ID.
SET Secure Electronic Transaction
An industry standard for secure credit card and debit card payments over open networks such as the Internet. The SET protocol ensures confidentiality of information, integrity of all transmitted data, authentication of the cardholder and the merchant, and interoperability.
shipping carrier
A company that provides shipping services from a fulfillment center to a customer.
shopper
See customer.
shopping cart
A pending order. See also interest item.
shopping currency
The currency that is used by a store in its transactions with a particular customer. See also preferred currency and supported currency.
shopping language
The language that is used when displaying pages to a particular customer. If the customer's preferred language is supported by the store or site, then the preferred language is used as the shopping language. Otherwise, the shopping language is the default language for the store or site. See also preferred language.
S-HTTP
See Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
In the Internet suite of protocols, an application protocol for transferring mail among users in the Internet environment. SMTP specifies the mail exchange sequences and message format. It assumes that the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is the underlying protocol.
Site Administrator
A defined role in WebSphere Commerce that installs, configures, and maintains WebSphere Commerce and the associated software and hardware. The Site Administrator responds to system warnings, alerts, and errors, and diagnoses and resolves system problems. This role typically controls access and authorization, manages the Web site, monitors performance, and manages load-balancing tasks.
SKU (stock keeping unit)
In a catalog, a SKU represents each orderable piece of merchandise. It can include variables for department, class, vendor, style, color, size, and location. In the WebSphere Commerce database schema, a SKU is known as an item.
SMTP
See Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.
source catalog entry
A product or SKU that contains one or more merchandising associations. When a source catalog entry is displayed, the user can view the defined merchandising associations. See also target catalog entry.
SQL (Structured Query Language)
A standardized programming language that is used to define and manipulate data in a relational database.
SSL
See Secure Sockets Layer.
staging server
An instance of a WebSphere Commerce Server that is used for testing purposes before new functions or data are deployed to the production server.
state
(1) Stages in the life cycle of an object that identify the current status of that object. Multiple states are arranged to create a business flow. See also state machine. (2) An object's characteristic that is manifested in its public and private data members, and can be divided into two categories: essential state and non-essential state.
stateful
Of or pertaining to a system or process that keeps track of the state of interaction. Contrast with stateless.
stateful session bean
A session enterprise bean that acts on behalf of a single client and maintains client-specific session information (called conversational state) across multiple method calls and transactions. Contrast with stateless session bean.
stateless
Having no record of previous interactions. A stateless server processes requests based solely on information provided with the request itself, and not based on memory from earlier requests. Contrast with stateful.
stateless session bean
A session enterprise bean that does not maintain any conversational state. Stateless session beans are pooled with others in a container. Contrast with stateful session bean.
state machine
In WebSphere Commerce, the state machine enforces the validity of user actions, tracks the execution of actions within an instance of the business process, and provides the run-time user interface with a list of actions for an instance of the business process. In doing so, the state machine enables the configuration and execution of successive steps in the workflow process.
static
Pertaining to an operation that occurs at a predetermined or fixed time. Contrast with dynamic.
static kit
A group of products that are ordered as a unit. A static kit is a type of kit. The information about the products contained in a static kit is predefined and controlled within WebSphere Commerce. The individual components within the order cannot be modified and must be fulfilled together. A static kit will backorder if any of its components are unavailable. See also prebuilt kit.
stock keeping unit
See SKU.
store
In WebSphere Commerce an online store is the place where all transactions for your online business occur. WebSphere Commerce supports several different types of entities that are defined as stores. These store types include customer facing store, asset store, and proxy store.
store archive
A compressed file that contains all the assets (including file assets and database information) necessary to create a store. Publishing the store archive to a WebSphere Commerce Server creates an operational store. See SAR. Business Edition only Store archive files are also used to package and deliver organization structures, predefined user roles, and access control policies necessary to create the environment for your store or site, as well as for packaging collections of assets used to create a catalog or storefront.
store entity
An abstract super class that can represent either a store or a store group.
storefront asset store
A collection of JSP files, commands, business processes (for example, order processing), business policies and access control policies that create a virtual storefront. See asset store. See also catalog asset store.
storefront assets
The part of an online store that customers see while shopping. Storefront assets include HTML pages, JSP files, style sheets, images, graphics, and other multimedia file types. Contrast with back-office business logic.
store owner
In WebSphere Commerce, this position controls and owns the database and the file assets related to the online store. A store owner can be an organization.
Structured Query Language
See SQL.
suborder
The part of an order that is being shipped to a specific address. An order can consist of multiple suborders. For example, a customer may indicate different shipping addresses for different products in the shopping cart. Each shipping address and the products associated with it constitute a suborder.
supply chain
A supply chain is a value chain that supports procurement and sourcing of goods. WebSphere Commerce supports sourcing of goods through private marketplaces. A private marketplace provides a forum for vendors to offer their wares for sale to buyers with whom they have contractual relationships. The Commerce Supplier Hub site is an example of a private marketplace supply chain. See also demand chain.
supported currency
A currency that an online store is capable of displaying and handling. See also shopping currency and preferred currency.
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T

targetable command
A command that can be executed on a different target container. A targetable command invocation incurs some overhead; making the task command not targetable can improve the performance of the overall command framework.
target catalog entry
A promotional product or SKU that is defined as a merchandising association. See also source catalog entry.
targeted e-mail
Communicating a campaign through e-mail to specific recipients based on customer profiling.
task command
A command that implements a specific application logic. In general, a controller command and a set of task commands together implement the application logic for a URL request. A task command is not targetable, meaning it is always executed in the same container as the controller command.
tax category
Indicates the different categories of tax a store may be required to collect, such as federal, state or provincial, and municipal tax. Each tax category must be assigned one of the tax types; either sales or shipping.
tax type
Indicates the type of tax; either sales or shipping. Each tax type has its own unique set of tax categories.
TCP/IP
See Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
template
In WebSphere Commerce, a template is a pattern that defines how information in the WebSphere Commerce database displays on a Web page. The template determines the location and type of text and images on the page, as well as other page attributes, such as a background color. The templates are created with JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology using HTML tags or beans that are linked to the WebSphere Commerce database.
top category
In an online catalog, a category of catalog entries that has no parent.
Business Edition onlytrading mechanism
Within WebSphere Commerce, a method by which buyers and Sellers carry out business transactions. Depending on the edition of WebSphere Commerce, these methods may include: fixed price, contract, RFQ, and auction.
trading position
See offer.
trading position container
Contains offers, also known as trading positions. The trading positions in a trading position container are made available to customers by associating the trading position with one or more contracts. A trading position container may be restricted. A customer shopping in a store cannot use offers in a restricted trading position container unless the customer is a member of one or more customer groups associated with that trading position container.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
A set of communication protocols that support peer-to-peer connectivity functions for both local and wide area networks.
transport
A means by which to send an outbound message from WebSphere Commerce.
trigger
A trigger is an object that initiates an action when an UPDATE, DELETE, or INSERT operation is run against a table. The action is called a triggered action and the operation is called a trigger event. Triggered actions can perform such tasks as:
  • Synchronizing other tables with changes made by trigger events
  • Validating input data
  • Generating values for newly-inserted rows
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U

Unicode
A universal character encoding standard that supports the interchange, processing, and display of text that is written in any of the languages of the modern world. It also supports many classical and historical texts in a number of languages. The Unicode standard has a 16-bit international character set defined by ISO 10646.
up-sell
A merchandising association with a related yet pricier product in the same product line as the currently displayed or selected product. See also accessory,cross-sell, and product recommendation.
URL
The address of a file on the Internet. The URL contains the name of the protocol, the fully qualified domain name, and the path and file location. See also URL command.
URL command
A controller command that has a URL interface. A URL command may be called by entering a URL in a browser.
use case
In WebSphere Commerce, a use case shows the flow of each user interaction in the sample store and acts as a template for creating your own store.
user
In WebSphere Commerce, a user can be either an administrator, or a customer. If the user is an administrator, the administrator can be further defined by registration type based on role. If the user is a customer, the user can be either registered or non-registered. A registered customer has a unique identifier or logon ID, a password, and is required to provide some profile data for registration purposes. Registered customers can be classified according to their profile type. A non-registered user only has limited privileges within the site, does not possess a unique identifier, logon ID, or password, and does not have to provide profile data. Often, a customer who is not registered is referred to as a guest user.
user distinguished name
An LDAP concept to refer to the unique key for locating a user (or member), organization, or organizational unit. This term is sometimes referred to as a member distinguished name, and is often abbreviated to "DN" as in "user DN" or "member DN." The DN for a user would list the path to follow in the LDAP structure so that the system is able to retrieve a user's information. That is, LDAP starts at the root organization, searches through any additional organizations under the root, and drills down to the user's node. For compatibility purposes, WebSphere Commerce creates DNs for users even if LDAP is not used.
user group
See customer group.
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V

value chain business model
A business model that supports transactions involving multiple enterprises or parties. Products, goods, services, or information are delivered through the parties of the value chain from producers to end users. WebSphere Commerce supports transactions through, and relationship management of the following two types of value chains:
vertical scalability
The creation of multiple Java virtual machine processes on a single machine.
view
An alternative representation of data from one or more tables. A view can include all or some of the columns in the table or tables on which it is defined.
view command
A command that is used to compose a view as a response to a client request.
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W

Web application document root
The location within the file system where an application's Web assets are stored (such as static HTML, JSP files, and GIFs).
Web application Web path
The portion of a URL associated with a Web application.
Web controller
An adapter to the WebSphere Commerce commands. There can be different types of Web controllers, one for each client invocation protocol, such as the HTTP request or WebSphere MQ request.
Web server
A server on the Web that serves requests for HTTP documents. The Web server controls the flow of transactions to and from WebSphere Commerce. It protects the confidentiality of customer transactions and ensures that the user's identity is securely transmitted to the WebSphere Commerce Server. The Web server implements the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol to achieve this level of security.
Web server instance
A unique configuration of the Web server to support one or multiple WebSphere Commerce instances.
WebSphere Application Server
Web application server software that runs on IBM HTTP Server and that can be used to deploy, integrate, execute, and
manage e-business applications.
WebSphere Commerce Accelerator
In WebSphere Commerce, a workbench of online tools used to maintain online stores through various store operations. If multiple languages are available on the WebSphere Commerce machine, you can complete these tasks for each language. Tasks that you are authorized to perform in your role are displayed on the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator home page menus. These tasks are based on user roles and authority levels.
WebSphere Commerce database
The database that contains the operational data for online stores.
WebSphere Commerce data beans
A set of Java beans, included with WebSphere Commerce and Commerce Studio, that access information from the database tables. Creating store pages using these beans allows you to display information that may often change, such as category and product lists or product prices.
WebSphere Commerce instance
A unique configuration of WebSphere Commerce to support an electronic commerce Web site, which may contain one or multiple stores.
WebSphere Commerce Recommendation Engine
Powered by LikeMinds, the software responsible for implementing collaborative filtering recommendations.
WebSphere Commerce Server
The server that handles the store- and commerce-related functions of an e-commerce solution. The WebSphere Commerce Server provides all of the WebSphere Commerce functionality in a Web container and an EJB container.
WebSphere MQ classes for Java Message Service
A set of Java classes that implement Java Message Service (JMS) interfaces by Sun Microsystems, Inc. to enable JMS programs to access WebSphere MQ systems.
widget
(1) An element of a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays information or provides a specific way for a user to interact with the operating system and application. Widgets include icons, pull-down menus, buttons, check boxes, scroll bars, windows, forms, and many other devices for displaying information and for inviting, accepting, and responding to user actions. (2) In object-oriented programming, each type of widget is defined as a class (or a subclass under a broad generic widget class) and is always associated with a particular window. A widget implements procedures through its widget class structure. Most if not all application development languages today, such as Java, come with a ready-made library of widgets that a programmer can incorporate and modify.
wrapper
A program or script that sets the stage and makes possible the running of another, more important program.
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)
The capability of a text editor to continually display pages exactly as they appear when printed or viewed through a Web browser.
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X

X.509 certificate
Client certificate authentication for users entering a secured WebSphere Commerce site.
XML (Extensible Markup Language)
A standard metalanguage for defining markup languages that was derived from and is a subset of SGML. XML omits the more complex and less-used parts of SGML and makes it easier to write applications to handle document types, to author and manage structured information, and to transmit and share structured information across diverse computing systems. XML is defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
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Y


Z