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 SMS database your application is accessing) or sites below the current site in the site hierarchy.
A folder contains scalars, subfolders, or both. 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. For example, the folder for the TIM site could contain the string "Tim World" for site name.
Because some objects themselves 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.
The set of scalars that a folder can contain is determined by the type of the folder. Except for group folders, the set of scalars for all folder types is predetermined by the SMS API. For example, all site folders always contain the same set of scalars; however, the values for those scalars will differ between each instance of a site folder. Group folders contain scalars that represent attributes for an inventoried item. However, the set of attributes within a group folder is determined by the specific instance of the group folder.
For more information about accessing containers, folders, and scalars, see General Steps for Using the SMS API to Manage Queries.