Glossary

GLOSSARY

A Comprehensive Guide to the common terms used in MDriven Documentation and Tools

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A

Access Expression

an expression that controls whether the ViewModel is shown or not

Access Groups

these control what is visible and/or enabled for a user in a certain role or situation

Actions

what a user or an API can execute to create an effect in the running system

Angular JS

an open-source JavaScript framework that lets you build well-structured, easily testable, and maintainable front-end applications by using the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern

AsString

a method or operator that's available on all objects of all classes - on a model object, it usually takes the default string representation and returns that

AssetsTK

the strategy to move files along with your model onto the server that runs your Turnkey application every time you upload your model

Associations

the connection or relationship between Classes and Objects

Association classes

additional information on the relationship between Classes

Async Ticket

a pattern you can easily add to your model, backed by recent MDrivenServers

Attribute

data stored within a modeled class, usually stored in an SQL Server database as a field

AutoForm

a view generated from the backing model in MDriven Designer e.g. if you have a view based on SysSingleton, an autoform from SysSingleton will add all the different attributes of that class to a ViewModel. It is a shortcut to get a basic setup of views in a system.

Autoguid

a DB-generated Guid value

Azure

a cloud platform designed by Microsoft to simplify the process of building modern applications

B

BEM

BEM stands for Block, Element, Modifier. It is a convention on how to structure CSS rule

Blazor

a web framework for building web UI components (Razor components) that can be hosted in different ways

Blob

Binary Large Object - usually stores a string of bytes - has a Blob type that can be image, text, or binary

Boolean

a data type that represents one of two possible values, typically denoted as true and false

Bug

an error, flaw, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces unexpected or incorrect results

C

CodeDress

a function that allows you to write strongly typed C# code in Visual Studio and have that code implemented in a Turnkey site

Class

a group of objects with similar properties (attributes), common behaviour (operations), common relationships to other objects, and common meaning (“semantics”)

Class Actions

actions that always have the context or the root objects as the object of a class

Class Diagrams

shows classes and their relations

Collection

a data structure or container that allows developers to store, organize, and manipulate a group of related data items

Column

a synonym to attribute - called column because it is represented that way and usually called the same in an SQL database

Combobox

a picklist or dropdown list

Component

a general term but most common with MDriven, it is something that is part of the User Interface - like a diagram component

Constraints

ways to introduce business rules in the model rather than using state machines and guards

Context

the circumstances that form the setting for a statement or idea in terms of which it can be fully understood

CORS

an HTTP-header-based mechanism that allows a server to indicate any origins (domain, scheme, or port) other than its own from which a browser should permit loading resources

C-Sharp (C#)

a programming language developed by Microsoft that runs on the .NET Framework

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

allows you to control the formatting of your website

CSS Grid

a layout system in web design and development that allows developers to create complex two-dimensional grid-based layouts for websites and web applications

D

DateTime

a type of attribute or column that stores date and time together, commonly used as a nullable attribute

DB

short for database

Debugger

the place where you can find out what is wrong with OCL and EAL expressions. You can also see what SQL is being generated and sent to the backend SQL server along with timing for increasing performance

Decimal data type

a numerical data type used to represent decimal numbers with a fixed precision and scale

Deepclone

a reference to the idea of cloning many objects as a structure either as a direct clone or as a transformation from one object graph to another

Derived attributes

calculated fields that subscribe to all the values they are calculated from

Derived associations

writable associations that update other attributes or links when they themselves are set

Diagram

the representation of the UML model. Diagrams show a perspective of the model or use case of a range of classes

Domain Driven Design (DDD)

the idea that the model should adhere to the terms and definitions of the domain the system is built for

E

EAL

when OCL language is used for action

ECO

the core engine for all MDriven applications that, given a UML model and a Persistence Mapper, will help any .net application handle the objects of that model in memory

Evolve

refers to the process of updating the SQL schema so that it matches the model. It is used repeatedly during the development process

F

Fashion

all the code to create a finish - the right look and feel

Float

a data type that represents a decimal number with floating-point precision

G

Gist

a type of code that describes what type of information the system is handling and which business rules guard the dynamics of that information

Global Actions

actions for the user to initiate something global in the always-available application

Grid

a flexible layout structure used to display and arrange various types of content, not necessarily limited to data

H

History Server

a special mode of the MDriven Server that records or changes to a running MDriven Server so that the database can be seen at a specific point in time

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)

the standard markup language for creating Web pages. HTML describes the structure of a Web page

I

IIS (Internet Information Services)

a web server software developed by Microsoft for Windows Server operating systems used to host and manage websites and web applications on the Internet or an intranet

Integer

a data type that represents whole numbers

J

JSON (Javascript Standard Object Notation)

the text representation of an object in Javascript and is widely used in many transport formats for serializing objects, for example, it is the object notation in a Rest Interface

K

L

Linq (Language Integrated Query)

an addition to the .net framework that can be used to write query expressions in C# code for other .net language code

M

MCoins

an MDriven artificial coin system enabling users to pay for all MDriven services. One MCoin is equal to the value of 1 Euro

MDriven

a rule engine that, given a UML model and a Persistence mapper, will help any .net runtime handle the objects of that model in memory. MDriven is also the name of a Visual Studio Plugin that brings MDriven, Modlr, Derived Code, Derived DB scripts, and Database Evolution to Visual Studio

MDriven Designer

a UML modeling tool that allows you to capture sufficient details to cover every aspect of a software system

MDriven Framework

an MDriven tool that allows you to write strongly typed c# code, accessing all the types and classes from your model

MDriven Server

an IIS application that stores your MDriven data in a database

MDriven Start

a series of introductory texts to introduce and guide new users through MDriven Designer

MDriven Turnkey

a new way to develop Internet applications

MDriven Portal

a bridge to the different parts of the MDriven World

Method

part of a class - could also be called a function - and executes operations either in OCL, EAL, or C#

MetaModel

a model of another model. In the MDriven context, it usually refers to the model that holds the Designer's user's model. For example, there's a metamodel Class that describes how a ViewModel is stored in the UML model

Mockotype

MDrivenDesigner started in simplified mode

Model

a UML model that describes data stored in an application

Modernity

the code the infrastructure of a system needs to work

Modlr

a file format of MDriven Designer

MVC

a design pattern Model U controller; a statically or fully serverside rendered web page that is returned by the MDriven Turnkey Server

MySQL

a widely used SQL server that is free-to-use and open-source

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.net

a developer platform made up of tools, programming languages, and libraries for building many different types of applications.

Nuget

the package manager for Microsoft development platforms including .net.

Null

is empty - none.

O

OAuth

an open standard for token-based authentication and authorization.

OCL

the query and action language used in MDriven.

OCL Expression

a statement in OCL that evaluates or indicates an action language does something.

OCL Operator

a method or function to be performed on or with an object and parameters in an OCL expression.

OCL PS

a subset of the OCL language that can be translated to SQL.

OclSingleton

an operator that helps you implement the Singleton pattern.

Object

an instance of a class.

OpenDocument report

a report created by the feature in MDriven to take an OpenDocument standard to make e.g. a Microsoft Word or Excel document and merge that with data from a ViewModel.

OpenID

the protocol to negotiate authentication and get back an access token that your app can verify comes from your OpenId authority so that you may trust the information in the ticket - like the user-email maybe - or some claim that the user is admin or the like.

Opting out Actions

the work done by a Designer to exclude Class actions or ViewModel actions from a ViewModel so that they are not shown to the end user.

ORCID

an ID system used for online identification in the scientific world.

ORMapping (Object Relation Mapping)

a feature of the MDriven system to store objects in an SQL database by mapping one class to one table in the basic format but with the inheritance available in the class, not the SQl server.

P

Package

a "container" for a model section.

Parse

an operator on value types to convert from string representation of, for example, from DateTime to the values stored in the DateTime type attribute.

Periodic action

a ViewModel action that runs automatically over and over again when the Disabled expression is False.

Persistence

the ability of a program or application to store and retrieve data even after the program is terminated or the system is shut down.

Persistence mapping

a technique used in MDriven to map objects in an object-oriented programming language to relational database tables.

Pivot table

a table of values that are aggregations of groups of individual values of a more extensive table within one or more discrete categories.

PlacingContainer

a way to organize a view based on the box-in-box principle.

Prototyping

the process in which you whip something together quickly as a mock-up to show or test it to learn something that otherwise would be hard to know.

PSEval

an OCLOperator that makes it possible to use OCL PS in any OCL expression.

Q

QueryPlan

the ability to statically analyze a ViewModel to know ahead of time what data it will use.

R

Realtime

communication done point to point at the time of need.

Rest Services

services executed by connecting to a URL that defines operation and parameters and returns an answer – not seldom as JSON objects.

Reverse derivation

when you use code (EAL) to process a composite value into separate parts when updating.

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Seeker

a special ViewModel for searching the database.

Self

a reference to the current context - equivalent to "this" in C#.

selfVM

a variable available within the context of a ViewModel.

Serverside actions

actions used when you want to delegate work to the server.

Serverside jobs

actions with views that the MDriven server can execute in a periodic fashion to do things automatically either on a clock or as a reaction to something the user does such as SysAsync Ticket.

Set

a collection of something.

SignalR

a .net software component used for Realtime communication.

Singleton

the name of a design pattern that establishes a Class that will only have one object instance.

SOAP

a calling protocol between servers much like REST.

SQL (Structured Query Language)

a language to store and organize information in databases.

SQLServer

the general term and Microsoft's name of their relational database for SQL server; another vendor is MySQL.

SQLite

a small database engine suitable to embed in applications as a data store for a single user.

Snippets

small, saved UML model pieces that can be inserted into the UML mode by the Designer for easy access to repetitive model pieces or special features.

State Diagram

another way to describe the states of your domain with your information.

State machine

helps us describe the different allowed states an object can be in and how it is transitioned between these states.

String

a data type used to represent a sequence of characters.

StylesInModel

MDriven's name for integrating style information into the UML model, making styles easier for users with CSS knowledge - it is available across different client technologies.

SVG

Scalable Vector Graphics - a great way to express data in a form other than text.

SysAsyncTicket

a model pattern that gets easy access to serverside jobs when they're part of for example a process that needs both user interaction and serverside actions like assigning a number in a sequence.

SysSingleton

a Turnkey application's primary place to store login information and can be seen as the root object of an application. See also Singleton pattern.

SysUser

a System User.

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Tagexpander

discovers files in _AssetsTK/Views/EXT_OverridePages that are named according to this pattern: .tagexpander.cshtml

Tag extensions

the ability to attach a tag that is a key value pair of settings for most things in the model that gives access to additional features.

TaggedValues

an extension mechanism that is available on all model elements in MDriven.

Tajson

a declarative approach to receive, send, transform, and store JSON messages, with setup and maintenance environment done in minutes.

Tiny MCE

an open-source HTML editor that is used in a lot of Turnkey applications to give the user access to editing text content.

Tkusercss

a file in which you can introduce your new styles that match the names of the styles given in the ViewModel columns style attribute.

Tuple

a word describing something “taped together from bits and pieces of other stuff”.

U

UI

a User interface.

UML (Unified Modeling Language)

a way to visualize the structure of a model.

URL

short for Uniform Resource Locator.

V

Validation rules

rules to help you improve the quality of the data recorded and applied by the user according to the standards you've specified.

ValueStore

a general term to describe classes and tables of items that are used to store values used in an application.

vCurrent_

a variable that shows what the user has focused on/clicked on last in the ViewModel nestings.

ViewModel

a UML model containing all the information of the application but doesn't have clear perspectives or views of how that information should be used.

ViewModel Actions

actions that have access to the views' context like vCurrent and vSelected. It is part of the ViewModel in contrast to the Class action which has the context of a modeled class.

ViewModel Editor

an editor where you design an MDriven application's user interface and APIs.

VistaDB

an embedded DB licensed from Gibraltar Software.

Visual Studio

refers to Microsoft Visual Studio application for software development. MDriven Designer can be installed as an addition to Visual Studio.

vSelected_

the variable shown when the user allows multi-select in grids in the ViewModel nestings.

W

Web API

a set of components that simplify HTTP programming.

WebApplication

refers to the general application executing on the web or web server or consumption of web users. Also can refer to an Azure web app, a web server hosted on Microsoft Azure.

Web UI

a web user interface that permits users to interact with software and other content running through a web browser.

Wednesdays at MDriven

a bi-weekly customer Google Meet online meeting where the MDriven team shows new product features, gets feedback from customers, and answers their questions.

WECPOF

the prototyping ability and runtime assembly MDriven Framework users can use to get the Prototyping engine inside their own applications.

WPF

short for Windows Presentation Foundation.

X

Xamarin

a free and open-source mobile app platform for building native and high-performance iOS, Android, tvOS, watchOS, macOS, and Windows apps in C#.

XML

a software- and hardware-independent tool for storing and transporting data.

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