Alfresco Glossary

The Alfresco glossary explains the meaning of terminology and acronyms that are used in Alfresco products.

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

AAC
See Advanced Audio Coding.
Access Control Entry
An Access Control Entry (ACE) defines a user's access rights to objects or items on a computer or network device.
Access Control List
An Access Control List (ACL) is a list of Access Control Entries (ACE).
ACE
See Access Control Entry.
Acegi security
The Acegi security project was the predecessor to Spring Security, which is a Spring sub-project providing security features to enterprise systems.
ACL
See Access Control List.
ACP
See Alfresco Content Package.
action
A unit of work that is performed on a node. Examples include adding an aspect, copying a node, or emailing notification.
Active Directory
Active Directory (AD) is a Microsoft directory service designed for Windows that helps to manage varied and complex network resources.
ActiveMQ
See Apache ActiveMQ.
Activiti Cloud
Activiti Cloud is the new generation of business automation platform offering a set of cloud native building blocks designed to run on distributed infrastructures.
Activiti process engine
Activiti is a lightweight, java-centric open-source BPMN engine supporting real-world process automation needs. It is open-source and distributed under an Apache license.
activity
An activity refers to the updates to content within a Share site, including the uploaded files, blogs, discussions, calendars, and the team wiki.
AD
See Active Directory.
ADF
See Application Developer Framework.
Admin Console
The Admin Console is an Enterprise-only application that gives you control over the management and settings of the Alfresco Content Services environment. It is a standalone console for managing the administration of the repository and comprises separate pages that identify a particular administrative activity or feature.
Admin Tools
Also known as Share Admin Tools. Admin Tools enables administrators to create and manage users and groups from within Share, set application preferences, manage categories and tags, and browse the system information in the node browser.

The Admin Tools option is visible on the menu bar only if you are an Administrator user or a user who is a member of the ALFRESCO_ADMINISTRATORS group.

Advanced Audio Coding
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is an audio coding system., designed to replace the MP3 format.
alf_data
Directory containing binary content and indexes.
alfresco-global.properties
The alfresco-global.properties file contains the default configuration settings. The global properties file contains settings for the location of the content and index data, the database connection properties, the location of third-party software, and database driver properties.
Alfresco Community Edition
Alfresco Community Edition is the open source alternative for content services. Distributed under the LGPLv3 license, it is free to download and use forever. Alfresco Community Edition has limits in terms of scalability and availability and is not supported, which makes it best suited for developers and technical enthusiasts in non-business critical environments.
Alfresco Content Package
Alfresco Content Package (ACP) files hold exported information produced when using the Export feature.
Alfresco Digital Workspace
Alfresco Digital Workspace is the new out-of-the-box user interface for accessing the capabilities of Alfresco Content Services. The Digital Workspace is built using the Application Developer Framework, giving you the flexibility to modify and extend the application to optimize the end-user experience.
Alfresco Governance Services

Alfresco Governance Services combines Records Management with Security Controls and Classification.

Alfresco Media Management
Alfresco Media Management provides the capability to transform and add metadata and relationships to your digital media.
Alfresco Mobile
Alfresco Mobile is a mobile document management app for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones, which enables you to view all your content stored in your on-premise or cloud accounts.
Alfresco Module Package
An Alfresco Module Package (AMP) is a collection of code, XML, images, CSS, that collectively extend the functionality or data provided by the standard repository. An AMP file can contain as little as a set of custom templates or a new category. It can contain a custom model and associated user interface customizations. It could contain a complete new set of functionality.
Alfresco Office Services
Installing Alfresco Office Services (AOS) allows Microsoft Office Suite applications (for example, Word, PowerPoint, Visio and Excel) to interact with Alfresco Content Services similar to SharePoint. AOS enables online editing for Office documents within Alfresco Share and allows users to modify Office files without checking them in and out. Alfresco Share locks the file while it is being modified and releases the lock when the file is saved and closed.
Alfresco REST API
The Alfresco REST API lets you access content in a repository, and in Alfresco Content Services in the cloud, from your own applications. The API is RESTful and consists of two parts; the standard CMIS API, which lets you manage and access content, and the Alfresco REST API which lets you manage additional features such as ratings and comments, which are not covered by the CMIS standard.
Alfresco Share
Alfresco Share is a rich web-based collaboration environment for managing documents, wiki content, blogs and more. Share leverages the repository to provide content services and uses the Surf platform to provide the underlying presentation framework.
Alfresco WAR
See Alfresco Web Application Archive (WAR) file is used to deploy Alfresco Content Services in existing web application servers.
AJAX
Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) is a method of building fast interactive web applications, which allows the web page to update very quickly by refreshing only the part of the page required by the user.
Amazon EKS
Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes (EKS) runs any standard Kubernetes management infrastructure across several Amazon availability zones. This reduces the single point of failure associated with running in a single availability zone.
Amazon RDS
Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) is a web service that makes it easier to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud. It provides cost-efficient, resizable capacity for an industry-standard relational database and manages common database administration tasks.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Provider of on-demand cloud computing platforms and services for computing, storage, networking, database, analytics, deployment, and developer tools.
AMD
See Asynchronous Module Definition.
AMP
See Alfresco Module Package.
Angular
Angular is a framework for building front-end applications.
AOS
See Alfresco Office Services.
Apache Tika
Apache Tika is metadata detection and extraction software. See Apache Tika for more information.
Apache Tomcat
Apache Tomcat, also known as Tomcat, is an open source application server developed by the Apache Software Foundation that provides an environment for Java code to run in cooperation with a web server. It allows software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies from Oracle Microsystems.

Tomcat is the default application server used by Alfresco Content Services.

Apache ActiveMQ
ActiveMQ is the open source message broker from Apache. See Apache ActiveMQ for more information.
API
See Application Programming Interface.
Application Developer Framework

Alfresco Application Development Framework (ADF) is a javascript-based framework to rapidly build engaging web applications. It provides a set of reusable Angular based user interface components and services, command-line tooling and Javascript APIs that surface Alfresco Process, Content, and Governance Services. Designed for developers, it allows the creation of responsive web applications.

Application Programming Interface
Alfresco Content Services supports multiple Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that allow developers to extend and customize the product.
Architecture Decision Record (ADR)

An architectural decision record (ADR) is a document that captures an important architectural decision made along with its context and consequences.

aspect
Aspects allow property and association definitions to be shared across many types of nodes. This means that a cross-cutting feature of an ECM domain model can be encapsulated and applied throughout the rigid part of the model represented by types.
Asynchronous Module Definition
Asynchronous Module Definition (AMD) is a standard for defining modules in JavaScript, such that the module and its dependencies can be asynchronously loaded. This approach is particularly useful in a browser environment.
AtomPub
Atom Publishing Protocol (AtomPub) is an application-level protocol for publishing and editing web resources.
Availability Zone

A distinct location within a region that is insulated from failures in other Availability Zones, and provides inexpensive, low-latency network connectivity to other Availability Zones in the same region.

back to top

bcrypt
bcrypt is a key derivation function (or KDF) that derives one or more secret keys from a secret value, such as a master key, a password, or a pass phrase using a pseudo-random function.
BPMN 2.0 standard
BPMN 2.0 (Business Process Model and Notation) is an open standard developed by the Object Management Group (OMG) to provide a notation that is easily understandable by all business users: business analysts designing processes, developers implementing technology to perform those processes, and business people managing and monitoring those processes.

BPMN creates a standardized bridge for the gap between the business process design and process.

breadcrumb
A navigation link that allows you to jump to any sub-level of the path.
business process model

A business process model represents the processes of an enterprise, so that the current process may be analysed, improved, and automated.

back to top

CachingContentStore
The CachingContentStore (CCS) class adds caching to any ContentStore implementation. Wrapping a slow ContentStore in a CachingContentStore improves access speed in many use cases. Example use cases include document storage using a XAM appliance or cloud-based storage, such as Amazon's S3.
CAS
See Central Authentication Service.
catalog
Digital Asset Management term. Cataloguing is the process of adding metadata to digital assets (for example, images and video). A catalog comprises the digital assets (that is, the assets that include descriptive metadata) stored in a repository.
category
A category allows you to organize your content to help you retrieve the content you are looking for. You classify your content items with categories. The categories are organized into related groups to form a hierarchy. You can link a content item to more than one category.
Central Authentication Service
The Central Authentication Service (CAS) is an authentication system that enables enterprise single sign-on to web sites.
<classpathRoot>
The <classpathRoot> is the default directory whose contents are automatically added to the start of your application server's classpath. The location of this directory varies depending on your application server.
CMIS
See Content Management Interoperability Services.
codec
Digital Asset Management term. A codec is a program that can encode and decode digital data (audio or video). H.264/MPEG-4 AVC is a codec. FFmpeg supports many common codecs.
composite action
A composite action is a collection of actions that are combined in a designated order to make one unit of work. If any action within the composite fails, then no other actions within this composite are completed. The unit of work can be any size that you determine.
condition
A condition is a test applied to an action used to determine whether the action can be performed.
container (Docker)
A unit of packaged software code, which includes all of the dependencies, so that the application can be run on different computing environemnts.
content
Files or documents made of two main elements: the content itself and information about the content (metadata). For example, documents, video, audio, images, XML, and HTML.
content aspect
See aspect.
Content Delivery Network
A Content Delivery (or Distribution) Network (CDN) delivers contents to users using servers and data centers provided by the CDN operator, for example, Amazon CloudFront.
Content Management Interoperability Services
The Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) standard defines a domain model and Web Services and Restful AtomPub bindings that can be used by applications to work with one or more Content Management repositories/systems.

The CMIS interface is designed to be layered on top of existing Content Management systems and their existing programmatic interfaces. It is not intended to prescribe how specific features should be implemented within those CM systems, not to exhaustively expose all of the CM system's capabilities through the CMIS interfaces. Rather, it is intended to define a generic/universal set of capabilities provided by a CM system and a set of services for working with those capabilities.

Source: http://docs.oasis-open.org/cmis/CMIS/v1.0/cmis-spec-v1.0.html

Alfresco Content Services fully implements both the CMIS 1.0 and 1.1 standards to allow your application to manage content and metadata in a repository or in Alfresco Content Services in the Cloud.

content model
A content model is a collection of related content types and aspects, and it describes the relationship between those content types.
content type
Content can be categorized as a type. The type describes the fundamental structure of the content. Content can be one type at any one time.
content store
By default, Alfresco Content Services is configured with two file content stores: the File Content Store and Deleted Content Store.
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
The primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time.
cURL
cURL is a command-line tool for getting or sending files using URL syntax. Libcurl is the equivalent library. cURL uses libcurl, which supports most common internet protocols.

back to top

DAM
See Digital Asset Management.
DAO
See Data Access Object.
dashboard
The dashboard is an interactive user interface that presents and organizes information to the user.
dashlet
A dashlet is an application that appears in the dashboard that presents information to the user. Users can organize dashlets into different layouts and set keyboard short cuts for each dashlet.
Data Access Object
A Data Access Object (DAO) can be used where data storage is required to provide an abstract interface between the data access and the application logic.
deleted content store
The deleted content store saves orphaned files that are removed (nightly, by default) by the content store cleaner.
description document
A description document provides the main configuration elements for a web script. The description document records the URL that initiates the web script, together with a given short name and description, and with authentication and transactional needs.
Digital Asset Management
Digital Asset Management (DAM) is the process of storing and manipulating digital assets, for example, video, audio, and image files.
dir.root
The dir.root property is specified in the alfresco-global.properties file. It points to the default directory alf_data, which contains the content indexes.
disposition schedule
Disposition schedules are a key function of the records management system. The disposition schedule defines the procedures required for maintaining records in the records management system until their eventual destruction or transfer to another location.

A disposition schedule contains one or more steps that define a particular action to be carried out at a date or after an event has occurred.

Docker
Docker is a platform for developers and administrators to develop, deploy, and run applications with containers.
Docker Compose
Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container Docker applications using a YAML file to configure your application’s services. The docker-compose up command lets you create and start all the services from your configuration. For more information, see https://docs.docker.com/compose/.
Docker Container

A Docker Container is a runtime instance of an image - what the image becomes in memory when executed (that is, an image with state, or a user process).

Docker Image

A Docker Image is an executable package that includes everything needed to run an application, for example, the code, a runtime, libraries, environment variables, and configuration files. A container is launched by running an image.

Dockerfile
A Dockerfile is a text document that contains all the command a user could call on the command link to assemble a Docker image. Users can create an automated build that executes several command-line instructions in succession with the docker build command.
Document Management
Document Management is the engine that Alfresco Content Services uses for storing and retrieving documents, including content contribution and categorization, advanced search, content transformation, versioning and auditing, collaboration, and security.
back to top

ECM
See Enterprise Content Management.
Embedded API
Embedded APIs are used by custom extensions executed directly against the content application server. Alfresco Content Services provides three main embedded APIs - Java Foundation API, JavaScript API and Template API.
Enterprise Content Management
Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is a set of technologies used to capture, store, preserve and deliver content and documents and content related to organizational processes. ECM tools and strategies allow the management of an organization's unstructured information, wherever that information exists.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_content_management

Exchangeable Image File Format
Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) is a metadata standard used to store technical information about digital images. Software such as ExifTool allows you to manipulate this metadata.
execution script
It is possible to create web scripts relying only on the scripting capabilities of FreeMarker templating language. However, an optional execution script gives the web script greater flexibility, especially when creating and/or updating objects. An execution script may be written in JavaScript or Java.
EXIF
See Exchangeable Image File Format.
<extension>
The <extension> directory is where you store files that extend and override the default files. When Alfresco Content Services is installed, there are sample files in this directory. Many of these files have a .sample suffix, which must be removed to activate the file.

For example: for Tomcat, <extension> is:<TOMCAT_HOME>/shared/classes/alfresco/extension/

back to top

FFmpeg
FFmpeg is an audio and video conversion program. See FFmpeg for more information.
File Content Store
The File Content Store saves the files or content items on a file system under the root directory. Within the root directory, the files are stored in numeric directories based upon the creation time of your document. The files are stored in a directory structure to assist incremental backup. The metadata of your file is stored in the database.
file plan
The file plan is a container for records, folders, categories and retention schedules. It's effectively a virtual filing cabinet for storing records, and is the basic structure of records in Alfresco Governance Services. This structure lets you classify and group records with similar characteristics.
Filing rule
A filing rule is specified in a Smart Folder Template and defines where a new file is stored in the repository, when it is uploaded to a Smart Folder. The filing rule also specifies the type and aspects that are applied to the new file, along with its property values.
Flash Player
Adobe Flash Player is free software used to stream and view video, audio and multimedia and Rich Internet Applications (RIA) on a computer or supported mobile device.
FreeMarker
FreeMarker is a template engine, which is a generic tool to generate text output based on templates. The output can be anything from HTML to auto-generated source code. FreeMarker is a class library that Java programmers can embed into their products.

One or more FreeMarker templates are required to render the web script output in the format for your specific needs. A web script is invoked calling a URL. The URL response is rendered via one of the supplied templates and is chosen at run time based on the required response content-type or status outcome. The template has access to all URL arguments, common repository data entry points and any data items built by the optional execution script.

Full Text Search
Full Text Search (FTS) is the search syntax used by Alfresco Content Services. It can be used standalone or it can be embedded in CMIS-SQL using the contains() predicate function. Alfresco Content Services supports the execution of a subset of the CMIS Query Language (CMIS QL) and Full Text Search queries directly against the database.

back to top

GhostScript
Ghostscript is a high quality, high performance Postscript and PDF interpreter and rendering engine. Source: https://ghostscript.com/faq.html

back to top

H.264 codec
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC is a commonly used video compression format.
Hazelcast
Hazelcast is an in-memory open source data grid based on Java. By having multiple nodes form a cluster, data is evenly distributed among the nodes. This allows for horizontal scalability both in terms of available storage space and processing power. Backups are also distributed in a similar fashion to other nodes, based on configuration, thereby protecting against single node failure. Source: Wikipedia
Helm
A deployment manager for Kubernetes to assist in simplifying installations and updates. For more information, see https://helm.sh/.
Helm charts
Packages that describe the infrastructure and installation of applications into a Kubernetes cluster. Parameterized values can be customized using a values.yaml file to override the default values.
Hyperic
VMWare Hyperic is an application monitoring and performance management tool for virtual, physical, and cloud infrastructures. For more information, see http://www.hyperic.com.

back to top

i18n
Internationalization is abbreviated to the numeronym i18n or I18N, where 18 stands for the number of letters between the first i and last n. I18n is the means of changing software to meet international requirements in terms of language, regional differences and requirements for other markets.
IDE
See Integrated Development Environment.
ImageMagick
ImageMagick is a software suite to create, edit, and compose bitmap images. It can read, convert and write images in a large variety of formats. Images can be cropped, colors can be changed, various effects can be applied, images can be rotated and combined, and text, lines, polygons, ellipses and Bézier curves can be added to images and stretched and rotated.

Source: http://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php

IMAP
See Internet Message Access Protocol.
ingest
A Digital Asset Management term. Ingestion is the process of supplying media to a Digital Asset Management system (like Alfresco Media Management) and adding metadata (descriptive information) to it to allow for better retrieval when searching.
Integrated Development Environment
An Integrated Development Environment or Interactive Development Environment (IDE) provides a framework for software development, delivered as an application. It provides a single interface with modules such as a code editor, compiler, debugger, version control and a UI builder.
Internet Message Access Protocol
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is a method of accessing and storing email on a mail server.
IPTC
The IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) is the global standards body for news media.
IPTC standard
The IPTC developed core and extended informational metadata standards that define a large number of fields to describe images. Alfresco Media Management fully supports this standard and exposes the metadata in Alfresco Share.

back to top

JAAS
See Java Authentication and Authorization Service.
Java Archive (JAR)
A Java Archive (JAR) is a package file format typically used to aggregate many Java class files and associated metadata and resources into one file for distribution, and include a Java-specific manifest file. They are built using the ZIP format and typically have a .jar file extension.
Java Authentication and Authorization Service
Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) is a set of Java packages that can be used for user authentication and authorization.
Java Foundation API
The Java Foundation API is a set of services providing full access to the capabilities of the repository. It is an in-process API meaning that the client must sit within the same process as the repository. For example, Alfresco Share uses this API and is packaged together with the repository in a single .war file for deployment to an application server.
Java Management Extension (JMX) interface
The JMX interface allows you to access Alfresco Content Services through a standard console that supports JMX remoting (JSR-160). Example consoles include, JConsole, MC4J, and JManage.
Java Virtual Machine
A Java Virtual Machine (JVM) interprets compiled Java binary code so that the computer processor can run instructions from a Java program.
JavaScript
JavaScript is a scripting language most often used for client-side web development. JavaScript is a trademark of Oracle.
JavaScript API
The JavaScript API allows script writers to develop JavaScript (ECMA Script) 1.6 compatible scripts that access, modify and create repository objects. The JavaScript API provides a simple, clean, and object-oriented access to well known Alfresco Content Services concepts such as nodes, properties, associations, and aspects.
JavaScript Object Notation
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is an open standard format that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSON
JavaServer Faces
JavaServer Faces (JSF) is a Java specification for building component-based user interfaces for web applications. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JavaServer_Faces
JBoss
JBoss is a division of Red Hat, who produce open-source middleware software. They produce a range of enterprise and community products.
JConsole
The JConsole graphical user interface is a monitoring tool that complies to the Java Management Extensions (JMX) specification. JConsole uses the extensive instrumentation of the Java Virtual Machine (Java VM) to provide information about the performance and resource consumption of applications running on the Java platform. Source: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/management/jconsole.html
Jetty web server
The Jetty web server provides an HTTP server and Servlet container capable of serving static and dynamic content either from a standalone or embedded instantiations. From Jetty7 onwards, the Jetty web server and other core components are hosted by the Eclipse Foundation. Source: http://eclipse.org/jetty/about.php
JLAN
JLAN, formerly known as the Alfresco Intelligent File System, is open-source software under the GNU Public License (GPL). JLAN is an embedded virtual file system that offers a Java client and server implementation of Microsoft Window’s CIFS (Common Internet File System) protocol, allowing content to appear as a shared drive.
Java Message Service

Java Message Service (JMS) is a Java Message Oriented Middleware (MOM) API for sending messages between two or more clients. A JMS queue is a staging area that contains messages that have been sent and are waiting to be read (by only one consumer). A JMS queue only guarantees that each message is processed only once.

JMagick

JMagick is an open source Java interface of ImageMagick. It is implemented in the form of Java Native Interface (JNI) into the ImageMagick API. Source: http://www.yeo.id.au/jmagick/

JODConverter
JODConverter automates conversions between office document formats using OpenOffice.org.
JSF
See JavaServer Faces.
JSON
See JavaScript Object Notation.
JVM
See Java Virtual Machine.

back to top

Keycloak
Keycloak is an open-source identity and access management solution for securing applications and services easily with little to no code.
Kubernetes
An open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

back to top

LibreOffice
LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite, developed by The Document Foundation. It was forked from OpenOffice.org in 2010, which was an open-sourced version of the earlier StarOffice. The LibreOffice suite includes programs for word processing, spreadsheets, slideshows, diagrams and drawings. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libreoffice
log4j
Apache log4j is an open-source logging library for Java, developed as an Apache Software Foundation project. For more information, see http://logging.apache.org/log4j/1.2/.

back to top

Maven SDK
The Maven SDK is a community project that provides an easy to use approach to developing applications and extensions for Alfresco Content Services.
MBean
An MBean (managed bean) is a Java object that represents a manageable resource, which is running in the JVM (Java Virtual Machine). Alfresco Content Services uses MBeans for JMX-based monitoring and management through read-only, configuration and management beans.
MD4
The MD4 Message-Digest Algorithm is a cryptographic hash function which is considered practically impossible to invert and have many information security applications.
MDX
MDX, also known as Multidimensional Expressions, is a query language for OLAP databases.
metadata
Metadata describes data itself, and provides information about the content of the data.
MIME type
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is a standard that extends an email to support processing of non-standard formats, for example, non-text or non-ASCII character sets.

MIME types form a standard way of classifying file types on the Internet. Internet programs such as Web servers and browsers all have a list of MIME types, so that they can transfer files of the same type in the same way, no matter what operating system they are working in.

A MIME type has two parts: a type and a subtype. They are separated by a forward slash (/). For example, the MIME type for Microsoft Word files is application and the subtype is msword. Together, the complete MIME type is application/msword.

MMT
See Module Management Tool.
Model-View-Controller
Model-View-Controller (MVC) is a design pattern for implementing user interfaces. The model is central and consists of application data and business logic. The view is the output, and the controller accepts input and converts it to commands for the model or view.
Module Management Tool (MMT)
The Module Management Tool (MMT) helps to install and manage modules packaged as AMP (Alfresco Module Package) files. These AMP files are applied to a target WAR file; for example, share.war.
Multi-tenancy
Alfresco Content Services supports multi-tenancy (MT) features that enable it to be configured as a true single-instance, multi-tenant environment. Multi-tenancy allows multiple, independent tenants to be hosted on a single instance, which can be installed either on a single server or across a cluster of servers.
Multicast
Multicast is communication from a single sender to multiple recipients.
MVC
See Model View Controller.
MyBatis
MyBatis is open-source software distributed under the Apache License 2.0. It is a Java persistence framework that couples objects with stored procedures or SQL statements using an XML descriptor or annotations. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyBatis

back to top

namespace
A namespace is an abstract container providing context for the items it holds and allowing items to have the same name (residing in different namespaces). Alfresco Content Services namespaces start with http://www.alfresco.org.

The top-level namespace sub-divisions are: model, identify a data model; view, identify a view of content held in the repository; ws, identify a web service definition; test, identify a test definition.

node
A node is an overall term for an item of content or a folder. API methods are available to work with a node's comments, tags, and ratings. A node in the content repository must be of a single type, but can be attached to one or more aspects. The aspects are either inherited from its type (as defined in the content model), or can be attached or detached at runtime, allowing a node to dynamically inherit features and capabilities.
noderef
A noderef is the unique identifier for a node. It consists of a store identifier and a unique ID.
NT LAN Manager
NT LAN Manager (NTLM) is a set of Microsoft security protocols that provide network authentication.
NTLM
See NT LAN Manager.

back to top

OASIS
The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) is an organization that drives the development, convergence, and adoption of information and web service standards. For more information, see https://www.oasis-open.org/.
Open JDK
OpenJDK (Open Java Development Kit) is an open-source implementation of the Java SE (Java Platform, Standard Edition) specifications.
OpenLDAP
OpenLDAP is an open-source software implementation of LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). For more information, see http://www.openldap.org.
OpenSearch
OpenSearch is a collection of simple formats for the sharing of search results. For more information, see http://www.opensearch.org/Home.

back to top

PBCore
A metadata standard for multimedia, developed by the public broadcasting community. See PBCore for more information.
Phishing attack
A phishing attack attempts to acquire information, such as user names, passwords, and other financial details by simulating a trustworthy entity.
Pod

A pod is a group of one or more containers (such as Docker containers), with shared storage/network, and a specification for how to run the containers. A pod’s contents are always co-located and co-scheduled, and run in a shared context. A pod models an application-specific “logical host” - it contains one or more application containers which are relatively tightly coupled.

While Kubernetes supports more container runtimes than just Docker, Docker is the most commonly known runtime, and it helps to describe pods in Docker terms.

POM
A Project Object Model (POM) is the fundamental unit of work in Maven. It is an XML file that contains information about the project and configuration details used by Maven to build the project. It contains default values for most projects.

The POM was renamed from project.xml in Maven 1 to pom.xml in Maven 2. For more information, see http://maven.apache.org/guides/introduction/introduction-to-the-pom.html.

properties
A node contains multiple properties, a set of manageable attribute values, defined according type and aspects. For example standard content properties in Alfresco Content Services are title, description, creator, and modification date.
proxy
Digital Asset Management term. A proxy file is a copy of a file, that is usually of lower resolution or a variant of the original file. Another word for a proxy file is a rendition. You might view a proxy video file in Alfresco Share that is of lower resolution than the original video file.
Public API
See Alfresco REST API.

back to top

Quay.io
A hosted service for building, storing, and automating container builds. Quay.io uses robot accounts to allow you to control automated access and audit each deployment. For more information, see https://docs.quay.io/glossary/.

back to top

RBAC
See Role Based Access Control.
Records Management
Records Management is a solution for managing the life cycle of electronic and other types of records.
regex
A regex (regular expression) is a sequence of characters that form a search pattern. Also written in capitals (REGEX).
Remote API
A remote API allows a client connecting from a separate tier to communicate with the content application server. Remote APIs are based on web services and RESTful and CMIS protocols, and are language agnostic, allowing you to develop against these APIs using a range of languages including Java, PHP, Ruby, and .NET. Alfresco Content Services provides several remote APIs.
Remote Method Invocation
Remote Method Invocation (RMI) allows you to write distributed objects using Java.
rendition
A rendition is an alternative representation of a content node. Renditions are derived from their source nodes and are usually updated automatically when their source node is updated. In the context of Media Management, renditions are different editions or versions of an asset; for example, an alternative file format.
repository
The Alfresco Content Services repository is the combination of the content, the indexes, and the database. It contains a collection of stores. The repository architecture is based on the Spring framework. Every part of the repository is either a component or a service.
REST architecture
Representational state transfer (REST) is a style of software architecture for distributed hypermedia systems such as the World Wide Web. The Alfresco Content Services RESTful API provides access to its services via HTTP. The REST API is built upon the Alfresco Content Services web scripts platform allowing customization and extension of the API.
RM
See Records Management.
RMI
See Remote Method Invocation.
Role Based Access Control
Role Based Access Control (RBAC) is a means of restricting user access to a system or systems.
rsync
Rsync is a Unix-based algorithm that quickly synchronizes local and remote files and directories. Rsync sends only file differences across the network instead of complete files.
rule
A rule is an action or a composite action with a rule type. Every rule has a rule type and it characterizes the types of events in the repository that will cause the rule to be triggered.

When a rule is triggered the composite action it represents is executed. A rule type is made up of a number of rule triggers. A rule trigger relates to a repository policy and transforms the information acquired when that policy is fired into the information needed to trigger a rule.

back to top

Sarbanes-Oxley Act
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is a U.S. law that was passed in 2002 to protect shareholders and the public from accounting errors and fraud in U.S. companies. For more information, see http://www.soxlaw.com/.
SDK
An SDK (Software Development Kit) is a package of software or development tools that can be reused by developers to prevent duplication of effort and assist them in creating their application code.
SharePoint
Microsoft SharePoint is a web application platform and framework for collaborating and managing documents. Installing Alfresco Office Services (AOS) allows Microsoft Office Suite applications (for example, Word, PowerPoint, Visio and Excel) to interact with Alfresco Content Services similar to SharePoint.
Simple and Protected GSSAPI Negotiation Mechanism
Simple and Protected GSSAPI Negotiation Mechanism (SPNEGO) is used by a client application to determine which authentication protocol a remote server supports. SPNEGO is a specification defined by IETF RFC 2478.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
Single Sign-On is an authentication process that allows a user to enter a single logon and password to access multiple software applications.
site
A site is a collaborative area in Alfresco Share for a unit of work or a project.
Smart Folder
A Smart Folder displays the results of a query in a folder format. It is "smart", because there is no physical folder to represent it in the repository and the results are created dynamically. A Smart Folder can also contain a hierarchy of Smart Folders.
Smart Folder template
A Smart Folder template is a JSON file that is stored in Repository/Data Dictionary/Smart Folder Templates. When the template is run in a physical folder, a Smart Folder structure is created.
smart space
A smart space has rules defined for how the content is managed in that space. Typical rules include simple workflow, check-in/check-out, and versioning.
Solr
Apache Solr is an open source enterprise search platform from the Apache Lucene project. See http://lucene.apache.org/solr/ for more information.
SPNEGO
See Simple and Protected GSSAPI Negotiation Mechanism.
Spring
Spring is an open-source application framework for Java/JEE. The repository uses the Spring Framework as the core foundation of its architecture. Includes Spring AOP, Spring MVC, Spring Webflow and Spring Security.
SSO
See Single Sign-On.
store
A store is a logical partition within the repository, grouped for a particular automated use. Each store contains a hierarchy of nodes with one root node.
Surf Platform
The Surf Platform is a framework for web application and site assembly that bundles a full site construction object model and toolkit for building web applications.

The Surf Platform is built to be very lightweight and can be built as a standalone WAR file. It is designed from the ground up to stand alone within the Web Tier. It includes the Web Script Runtime so that application developers can build components, pages, and templates using the rich scripting and FreeMarker templating processing capabilities within in the Web Tier.

The Surf Platform Freemarker Template and JavaScript API provides an extension to the existing Freemarker Template and JavaScript API capabilities, including additional, root-scoped objects.

SurfBug
SurfBug is a debugging tool built into Surf that displays a variety of information about the various components on a Surf page. As well as providing a visual indication of the component location on the page, information about each component is provided, including relevant file names, properties, IDs, and sub-component details.

back to top

tag
A tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information.
template
A template is a document that can be applied to an object or objects (for example, one or more documents) to produce another document (see FreeMarker or XSLT template files).
tenant
A tenant is a customer, company or organization. Alfresco Content Services supports a single-instance, single-tenant (ST) environment where each tenant runs a single instance that is installed on one server or across a cluster of servers. Multi-tenancy (MT) features are also supported.
thumbnail
A thumbnail is a small image that provides a preview of the file.
Tika
See Apache Tika.
Tiller
Tiller is the component of Helm installed in the cluster. It enables the management of Kubernetes resources, such as their installation, upgrade, and removal using the Kubernetes server API.
TinyMCE
TinyMCE is an online rich-text editor released as open-source software under the LGPL (GNU Lesser General Public License). It has the ability to convert HTML textarea fields or other HTML elements to editor instances. TinyMCE is designed to easily integrate with JavaScript libraries. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TinyMCE
transcoding
Transcoding is the process of converting from one format to another, for example, for video or audio files. When you view a video file in Alfresco Share using Alfresco Media Management, the file is transcoded to reduce the size and resolution of the video.
type
A node has one content type to define its class in the repository; such as content, space or custom object (wiki, forum, and so on). These types are defined in one of the content models of the repository.

back to top

User Interface (UI)
User Interface (UI) describes the way that a user interacts with an application or website, which may include the aesthetic appearance, response time, and the content that is presented to the user within the context of the overall experience.

back to top

Virtual Private Cloud
Virtual private cloud. An elastic network populated by infrastructure, platform, and application services that share common security and interconnection.
Virtual Private Network
Virtual Private Network is a technology that allows remote users and branch offices to securely access corporate applications and other resources in a safe and encrypted connection over a less secure network, such as the internet.

back to top

WAR file
Web Application Archive (WAR) file is a format used to distribute a collection of JAR-files, JavaServer Pages, Java Servlets, Java classes, XML files, tag libraries, static web pages and other resources that together constitute a web application. For example, a Web Application Archive (WAR) file is used to deploy Alfresco Content Services in to a web application server.
web script
Web scripts allow you to extend or customize Alfresco Content Services and make it accessible to other tools and applications. Several example web scripts are supplied. Web scripts are bound to an HTTP method and custom URL, and are activated by URL calls. There are two types of web script: data and user interface. Data web scripts return data, and user interface web scripts build user interfaces within Alfresco Share, or within third-party applications.
Web Script Runtime (WSR)
A Web Script Runtime is the environment (that is, the host) within which a web script is executed. There are three Web Script Runtimes available: Servlet Runtime (HTTP Access), JSR-168 Runtime (Portlet Access), and JSF Runtime (JSF Component Access). New runtimes may be plugged-in allowing web scripts to be re-used and re-hosted in a number of different applications.
Web Services API
A WSDL based API providing standard remote access to the repository from any client environment, for example, PHP, .NET, Java.
<web-extension>
The <web-extension> directory is where you store files that extend and override the default files for Alfresco Share. When Alfresco Content Services is installed, there are sample files in this directory. Many of the files have a .sample suffix, which must be removed to activate the file.

For example: for Tomcat, <web-extension> is:<TOMCAT_HOME>/shared/classes/alfresco/web-extension/

WebDAV
Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning. A protocol that allows users to edit and manage files on remote web servers.
Whitelist
Whitelist is a generic name for a list of email addresses or IP addresses that are considered to be spam free.
workflow
A workflow is a work procedure and workflow steps that represent the activities users must follow in order to achieve the required outcome. Alfresco Content Services provides two different types of workflow: simple and advanced. Simple workflow defines content rules for a space. Advanced workflow provides two out-of-the-box workflows (Review and Approve; Adhoc Task).
WSDL
WSDL (Web Service Definition Language) is an XML format for describing network services as a set of endpoints operating on messages containing either document-oriented or procedure-oriented information. Source: http://www.w3.org/TR/wsdl
WSR
See Web Script Runtime.

back to top

Xalan
The Apache Xalan project develops libraries and programs that transform XML documents using XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation) stylesheets. They have two sub-projects running for Xalan Java and Xalan C++ implementations.
XAM
XAM (eXtensible Access Method) is a standard for fixed storage. It simplifies the management of fixed content by removing dependencies. XAM was created by the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).
XCOPY
XCOPY (extended copy) is a command for copying files or directories across a network.
XMP
XMP is the Extensible Metadata Platform provided by Adobe. For more information, see http://www.adobe.com/products/xmp.html.

back to top

YAML/YML
YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) is a human-readable data serialization language, commonly used for configuration files, but also can be used in many applications where data is being stored (for example, debugging output) or transmitted (for example, document headers).
YUI library
The YUI (Yahoo! User Interface) library is an open-source JavaScript library for building interactive web applications.

back to top

Zeppelin
Zeppelin is a web-based notebook that enables data-driven, interactive data analytics, data visualization, and collaborative documents using SQL.
Zone
See Availability Zone.

back to top

Sending feedback to the Alfresco documentation team

You don't appear to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. With JavaScript enabled, you can provide feedback to us using our simple form. Here are some instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your web browser.