Visionary User's Guide
Glossary

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Glossary

ActiveX control: A small software component that you can deploy in a Web browser or a container application. ActiveX controls have an .ocx filename extension.
alignment panel: An invisible reference object you can use to position child objects relative to a specified point. Objects on an alignment panel are not scaled by layouts or axes.
breakpoint: A value at which a color in a colormap changes from the previous color to the next color.
child depth: The number of child levels in a hierarchical layout. A child depth value of 1 defines a hierarchy with one parent object and its children. A child depth value of 2 defines a hierarchy with a top parent object, and its children, and its children's children.
child scaling factor: Factor used to determine the size of each child element relative to its parent in a hierarchical layout. For example, in an organizational chart, if the supervisor box is one square inch and the child scaling factor is .5, the employee box is displayed as half the size of the supervisor box, or one square half-inch.
color sequence: A type of resource containing a set of predefined colors that can be accessed by an integer index. Color sequences are user-defined functions that can be used when defining the attributes of an object.
colormap: A type of resource that can be used to vary the color of an object depending on a value associated with the object. Colormaps are user-defined functions that can be used when defining the attributes of an object.
connection point: An invisible point whose coordinates are used as a reference for a link extending from one data point to another data point.
connector: A graphic object that provides links between data points in a layout.
data element: The portion of a layout that is based on the data source and displayed according to the layout style. The properties and child objects of a data element determine the format of each data point in a layout.
data node: A node, associated with a data source, that defines the graphic presentation of each data point in a series contained by the data source.
data source: In Visionary, the information returned by an SQL query. A data source is visible to a layout if a single row in the data source can be mapped to the layout.
data symbol: A graphic element used to represent a data point in a layout. Visionary provides default data symbols for each layout, but users can substitute the data symbols they want and modify their properties. Examples of data symbols are markers, candlesticks, event bands, and price interval bars.
data-bound object: An object dynamically linked to a data source through an object property.
destination scene: A scene to which a wormhole connects.; See also source scene, wormhole.
destination scene offset: A set of x- and y-coordinates that specify the center point of the destination scene that appears when it is displayed through a wormhole in the source scene.
event action: Actions that execute functions in response to an event. Events occur through user actions such as a mouse click.
global parameter: A value assigned to a variable that is available to all scenes in a world and to the end user in Visionary Viewer.
layer: One of a set of data elements in a single layout. For example, an XY chart that displays auto sales over a calendar year and advertising spending over a calendar year contains two layers.
layout: A display format that determines how data appears in a scene. A layout that displays data from an SQL query contains data points representing each row returned by the query. Examples of layouts include pie chart, stock chart, and linear map.
level of detail (LOD): A view of data that is associated with a zoom level. There are two types of levels of detail: scene level and data element level. Increasing the level of detail provides more screen space to present detailed information for each data point. Data-bound objects can have multiple levels of detail in a single data element.
locator: One of several data element child objects that define the mathematical location and scaling of data points in a layout. Examples of locators are child locator, cell locator, slice locator, and row locator.
marker: A data symbol displayed as a configurable shape. The marker is typically used to represent a data point in an axis-based chart. The shape of the marker can be changed to a solid diamond, a cross, or any of several other shapes.
maximum child depth: The maximum number of child levels that can be displayed for a hierarchical layout. As you zoom into a hierarchical layout, the maximum child depth property controls the viewable number of levels at each zoom level.
primitive object: A graphic object such as a line, rectangle, or polygon that is used in the graphic design of a scene or data element.
query parameter: A value assigned to a variable that is set at runtime before an SQL query is executed.
resource: A Visionary building block that can be used in more than one scene. Resources include colormaps, color sequences, stock images, and viewer classes.
scene: The graphic representation of information retrieved from a database. A scene can also include other graphic elements, such as static text and images, and navigational tools, such as wormholes and jumps to other scenes.
scene parameter: A value assigned to a variable that is passed from one scene to another. In Visionary, wormholes and event actions pass scene parameters.
slice: See wedge.
source scene: A scene with a wormhole object in it that links it to a destination scene.; See also destination scene, wormhole.
static object: Graphic objects or text in a Visionary layout that provide annotation and visual enhancements, such as titles, frames, and backdrops.
stock image: A type of resource that stores an image file for use in designing a world.
storyboard: A functional specification for a Visionary application. It includes diagrams of the scenes, how they are linked, and the data sources to be used.
viewer class: A type of resource that enables a user to restrict the appearance or behavior of a world based on a viewer's identity. Viewer classes are hierarchical.
viewpoint: A three-dimensional location for viewing a scene. A viewpoint has three properties: x-coordinate location, y-coordinate location, and the current zoom level of a scene. The x- and y-coordinate locations are set from the center of the scene.
visibility: A property that determines whether a data element or other object can be viewed in the scene. Visibility is a Boolean data type, and can be specified using a property expression that returns a value of true or false. In a hierarchical layout, visibility of child data fields is determined by the combination of child scaling factor and zoom factor.; See also child scaling factor.
wedge: A section of the pie in a pie chart layout. Each wedge in pie chart typically displays the value of a single row. Wedges are also referred to as slices.
world: A display of multiple graphic representations of related data driven by dynamic SQL queries. A Visionary world consists of scenes, rather than forms or reports.; See also scene.
wormhole: A special Visionary object that links two scenes and can carry context information (parameters) from the source scene through to the destination scene.

Visionary User's GuideGlossary Home Contents Index Master Index New Book

Glossary

Visionary User's Guide
Glossary

Home Contents Index Master Index New Book