Automatic Link The link between a client document containing a linked object and that object's server application—while the server is editing the object. For most server applications, changes made to an object will be made rapidly to the presentation data in the client document(s). This does not apply to embedded objects.
Blocking What a server application does when it does not want any of its callback functions to be called until it is again ready. The server application uses the OleBlockServer and OleUnblockServer functions to notify the OLE DLLs when to disable and enable callbacks, respectively.
Broken Link A file to which objects have links has been deleted or moved. The linked objects cannot access the file to which they refer. The link must be repaired by entering the file's new path and filename into the Links dialog for each affected object.
Busy A server application is said to be busy when it is unable to respond to any client application's requests. The server identifies itself as being busy by returning OLE_BUSY to the client's CallBack function. The client application can choose to cancel the request, or retry the request by returning TRUE or FALSE from its callback upon receipt of the OLE_QUERY_RETRY notification.
Callback Function A function in a client or server application, called from another application or system component such as the OLE libraries. Often called a method in reference to object oriented programming.
Class A unique type of object produced by a server. Represented by a class name.
Class name The textual name given to a class; for example, MicrosoftExcelChart.
Client Application An application that receives, stores, and usually presents objects created by server applications in container documents. Client applications only store objects; server applications actually create and edit the objects.
Compound document A document that is a container linked or embedded objects.
Container See Document.
DDE Dynamic Data Exchange. A method of exchanging data and conducting conversations between two Windows applications, based on sending messages.
Destination Synonym for Client.
Embed To create and store an object completely within a client document. An embedded object contains a presentation format (picture), an OwnerLink data structure identifying the server application, and the native (binary) data provided by the server. Editing an embedded object starts the server application and sends the native data back to that server.
Embedding Associating native data with the presentation data for an object in a client application. In OLE, the opposite of linking.
File A physical file on a disk, usually containing a document.
Handler See Object Handler.
Key A unit of storage in the registration database. There is one root key and multiple subkeys for any given object. A key is an ASCII character string where each subkey is separated with a backslash (\).
Link To create an object in a client document in which the object's native data is stored in a file maintained by the object's server application. The client document contains only a presentation format and an ObjectLink data structure identifying the linked file.
Linking Associating the path and filename of a data file with the presentation data for an object in a client application. In OLE, the opposite of embedding.
Locking A client application ensuring that a server application's code segments are kept in memory to improve performance. To lock a server, the client application calls the OleLockServer function; to unlock a server, the client calls the OleUnlockServer function.
Method See Callback Function.
Native Data An internal data format used by a server application to completely recreate an object. The server application is the only application that understands this data. Usually the data is stored in a disk file format as part of the container document.
Object A unit of information that consists of the native data and the presentation format required to reconstruct an object created by a server application. The server application is the only application that understands this data. Examples include a range of spreadsheet cells, a piece of digitized sound, or a picture.
Object Handler A Dynamic Link Library (DLL) accompanying a server application. Object handlers are used to perform tasks in a different way than the server application would perform the task.
ObjectLink The clipboard format required for creating a linked object from the clipboard.
OLECLI.DLL A dynamic link library that contains the client set of OLE API functions.
OLESVR.DLL A dynamic link library that contains the server set of OLE API functions.
Object Link A data structure that identifies the class, document filename, and object name for the owner of an embedded object. The structure is identified as 'OLNK.'
OwnerLink The clipboard format required for creating an embedded object from the clipboard.
Presentation Data The data used to display an object within an OLE client application. Also referred to as picture data.
Presentation Format The format a client application has chosen for representing an OLE object.
Primary Verb OLE server applications specify one of their verbs to be the primary verb. Edit is usually specified as the primary verb, and is commonly invoked by client applications when the user double-clicks on an object.
Registration Adding information to the system registration database when a server application is installed. Registration may also refer to notifying the OLE libraries that a client or server application has been started and is ready to receive calls to its callback functions.
Registration API The set of services provided for storing and retrieving information in the system registration database. These functions are provided by SHELL.DLL.
Registration Database See System Registration Database.
Released An object, document, or server application that no longer has any connections to any client documents. Servers, documents, and objects all have release methods that inform the item that no client document is connected to it.
Revoke To close off communication to a client document from a server application, document, or object. When one of these items is revoked, the item will eventually be released. Either a client or server application may revoke the communication.
Server An application that creates, edits, and shares with client applications some class of OLE objects. These objects are stored in a client application's compound document.
SHELL.DLL A dynamic link library that contains the API functions necessary to manipulate the registration database.
Source Synonym for Server.
Static An alternative to document handling instead of linking and embedding, in which there is no server support available for the object. The object does not have any native data associated with it in the container document.
StdFileEditing The standard OLE DDE protocol. Other protocols are supported through the OLE server library's OleExecute client API function and the server application's Execute callback function.
Subkey A refinement of a key in the system registration database. A key can have any number of subkeys and subkeys can have their own subkeys.
System Registration Database The central repository for information about server applications that support the OLE protocol. The database contains the full path names to those applications, the objects they can edit, the verbs those objects support, and whether or not an object handler exists for a particular class.
Verb An operation that a server application can perform on an object. Server applications register verbs in the system registration database. Client applications provide a menu of a selected object's verbs.
VTBL A special OLE data structure that contains a set of pointers to callback functions within a client or server application.