Within a container, the instance of an object is represented as a folder. For example, a C_SITE container can contain a set of F_SITE folders that represent the current site (the site whose Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) database your application is accessing) or sites below the current site in the site hierarchy.
Because some objects can contain multiple components, a folder can also contain subfolders. For example, a site folder can contain subfolders for the domains in the site and any subsites below that site in the site hierarchy.
Additionally, a folder can contain scalars, or a combination of subfolders and scalars. A scalar is the value stored for an attribute of a folder. For example, the folder for a site contains scalars for site name, parent site, depth, status, site type, and detailed status. The folder for a specific site would have a specific value for each scalar. In addition to a value, each scalar also contains a name, a data type, and an access mode.
The set of scalars that a folder can contain is determined by the folder type. Except for group folders, the set of scalars for all folder types is predetermined by the SMS API. Group folders contain scalars that represent attributes for an inventoried item. However, there is no defined set of scalars for group folders in general.
The set of scalars within a group folder depends on its group class and on the instance of the group. All attributes defined for the group may not have been included by the MIF file that reported the inventory.