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| C |
|
A third-generation programming language designed ca. 1972 for systems programming on Digital Equipment Corporation Unix computers. C became immensely popular due to its simplicity, efficiency, and flexibility that allows programs to be easily adapted to new environments. |
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| C++ |
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One of the most used third-generation object-oriented languages, a superset of C developed in 1986. |
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| cache |
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A temporary storage area
in computer memory where frequently accessed data can be stored for fast
access. |
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| cardinality |
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The number of rows in a table. See
also column, row, and table. |
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CASE—
Computer Aided Systems Engineering |
|
The combination of dictionary, generator, graphical, project management, and other software tools to assist
computer-development engineers in maintaining systems. |
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| CBD—component based development |
|
Development
methodology in which preassembled building blocks of code are combined. |
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| CDN—content-delivery network |
|
A network specializing
in the delivery of streaming audio and video. |
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| cell |
|
A single data value of
an expression. In a dimensioned expression, a cell is identified by one
value from each of the dimensions of the expression. For example, in a variable
with the dimensions MONTH and DISTRICT, each combination of a month and
a district identifies a separate cell of that variable. See also dimension,
expression, and variable. |
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| CGI—Common Gateway Interface |
|
A standard defining a set
of rules by which a Web server passes a Web browser’s request to an
application program and receives back data for forwarding to the browser. |
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| change data
capture |
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The process of capturing changes made
to a production data source. Change data ensures that data is synchronized with
the original source and reduces data volume in a data warehousing environment.
|
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| char |
|
In programming, the keyword
used to declare a variable of type character. |
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| checkpoint |
|
A database server event that, at a
point in time, writes all modified database buffers in the system global
area to the data files. |
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| child |
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A value at the level below
a given value in a hierarchy. A value can be a child for more than one parent
if the child value belongs to multiple hierarchies. See also dimension,
hierarchy, level, parent. |
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| churn analysis |
|
An application that profiles groups
of customers in order to understand issues that impact attrition and customer
retention. |
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| class |
|
In programming, a type
that defines the implementation of a particular kind of object. In Java,
the class definition defines instance and class variables and methods, as
well as specifying the interfaces the class implements and the immediate
superclass of the class. If the superclass is not explicitly specified,
the superclass will implicitly be Object. |
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| cleansing |
|
The process of transforming
the operational and external source data into a defined and standardized
format using packaged software applications before moving the data into
a data warehouse. Also referred to as data cleaning, data cleansing, or
scrubbing. See also source data. |
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| clickstream |
|
A record of a user's activity
on a Web site, including every page visited, the amount of time spent on each, and the order in which the pages were visited. |
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| client |
|
In the client/server model
of communications, the entity that remotely accesses resources of a computer
server, such as power, memory, or software. |
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| client/server |
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An architecture that links
many personal computers or workstations (clients) to one or more large processors
(CPUs or servers). |
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| cluster |
|
In data warehousing, a
means of sorting and storing related data from different tables, advantageous
in an environment where related data is commonly queried together. |
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| clustering
technology |
|
Technology that allows
individual computers to share the same data and back each other up to prevent
system failures. Oracle9i Real Application Clusters is the most advanced
form of this technology. |
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| COBOL |
|
A third-generation programming language. |
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| column |
|
A means of implementing an item of data within a table. See attribute, row, and table. |
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| command |
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An instruction in a programming language.
|
|
| Common Gateway Interface (CGI) |
|
A standard defining a set of rules
by which a Web server passes a Web browser’s request to an application
program and receives back data for forwarding to the browser. |
|
| Common
Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) |
|
A language-independent
distributed object model specified by the Object Management Group (OMG). |
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Common
Warehouse Metadata Interchange (CWMI)
|
|
A standard specification
to enable the interchange of warehouse metadata among data management and
analysis tools and among warehouse metadata repositories. Oracle is a member
of a multivendor working group to identify and enable this standard. |
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Common
Warehouse Model (CWM)
|
|
Oracle's open standard
for data warehousing. CWM integrates all aspects of warehousing, incorporating
both technical and business metadata. |
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| compiler |
|
A program to translate source code
into code that can be executed by a computer. |
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| component-based development |
|
Development methodology in which preassembled
building blocks of code are combined. |
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| composite |
|
A list of dimension-value
combinations in which a given combination has one value taken from each
of the dimensions on which the composite is based, in order to store sparse
data in a compact form. |
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| composite
key |
|
A key in a database table
that is made up of a number of column or field values. Synonymous with compound
key. |
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| compound
key |
|
A key in a database table
that is made up of a number of column or field values. Synonymous with composite
key. |
|
Computer-Aided
Systems Engineering (CASE)
|
|
The combination of dictionary, generator, graphical, project management, and other software tools to
assist computer-development engineers in maintaining systems.
|
|
| concatenated index |
|
An
index that is created on a composite key.
|
|
| concatenated
key |
|
A key in a database table
that is made up of a number of column or field values. |
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| conjoint |
|
A
dimension that is built on base dimensions in order to achieve fine control
over the status of individual combinations of base dimension values. Each
value in a conjoint is a combination of values, one from each of the conjoint's
base dimensions. Contrast with composite. See also dimension, dimension
value, sparsity, and variable. |
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| constellation
model |
|
A
warehouse model that comprises a collection of star models. See also snowflake model and star model. |
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| constraint |
|
The
part of the WHERE clause in a SQL SELECT statement that identifies the
column or field value that qualifies the query.
Any
factor that restricts a business in terms of availability, dependencies, resources, time scales, or other factor. See also business rule.
|
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| container |
|
In Java, an entity that
provides life cycle management, security, deployment, and runtime services
to components. |
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| container-managed
persistence |
|
When the transfer of data between an entity bean's
variables and the underlying resource manager is managed by the enterprise
bean's container.
|
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| container-managed
transaction |
|
When an Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) container
defines the boundaries of a transaction. An entity bean must use container-managed
transactions.
|
|
| content-delivery network (CDN) |
|
A network specializing
in the delivery of streaming audio and video. |
|
| cookie |
|
On the internet, a piece
of information sent by a Web server and saved on the client’s hard
disk for future use whenever making additional requests from that server.
Typically, a cookie records user preferences for a particular site. |
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| CORBA—Common Object Request Broker Architecture |
|
A language-independent distributed object model specified by the Object Management Group (OMG).
|
|
| corporate data model |
|
A model of the business needs and data requirements
for an online transaction processing system. |
|
| cost-based
optimizer |
|
A
statistical mechanism that analyzes where and how to retrieve data from
the Oracle7 and Oracle8 servers to ensure fast access to data.
|
|
| CRM—customer relationship management |
|
The set of processes and
supporting software that allows an organization to collect and leverage
information on customer interactions with sales, marketing, and customer
service departments. |
|
| crosstab |
|
A
layout of multidimensional data in rows, columns, and pages. In data warehousing,
a crosstab can be used to display summary information and show how data
varies across dimensions, such as sales by region by month. A crosstab is
sometimes called a matrix. See also rotate. |
|
| cube |
|
A logical organization
of multidimensional data. The edges of the cube contain dimension members,
and the body of the cube contains measure values. For example, sales data
can be organized into a cube whose edges contain values from the time,
product, and customer dimensions and whose body contains values from the
volume sales and dollar sales measures. |
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| customer relationship management (CRM) |
|
The set of processes and
supporting software that allows an organization to collect and leverage
information on customer interactions with sales, marketing, and customer
service departments. |
|
| CWM—Common
Warehouse Model |
|
Oracle's open standard
for data warehousing. CWM integrates all aspects of warehousing, incorporating
both technical and business metadata. |
|
| CWMI—Common
Warehouse Metadata Interchange |
|
A standard specification
to enable the interchange of warehouse metadata among data management and
analysis tools and among warehouse metadata repositories. Oracle is a member
of a multivendor working group to identify and enable this standard. |
|
| Cyberspace |
|
A term originated by author William
Gibson in his novel Neuromancer that is currently used to describe the internet
medium and the range of information resources available through it. |
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