| Term | Definition |
|---|
| back end | the parts of the system that run in the background and are transparent to the user. In contrast to the back end is the system interface, which the user sees and interacts with. |
| back-end files | files accessed within the system, transparent to the end-user. Examples of back-end files used in a query are specific cfg files, func files, and lbl files. |
| CGI | Common Gateway Interface. A standard for applications to interface with Internet servers. A CGI program can be written in any number of languages. The IBIS-Q back end executable is a CGI program written in C. |
| category | a set of numeric codes in a dataset. For instance, the agecategory "1" may consist of individual age codes from 0 through 17 (0-17 years old). |
| configuration file, config file, cfg file | a back end file that contains IBIS parameters and variables used by the CGI application. Each query module has a config file that is referenced in the module.xml file. The config file relates the variables used in the interface to the variables available in the dataset. |
| confirmation page | A page that is shown to end users to confirm their selection after they submit a query. It allows users to review their selections and modify them if necessary. |
| dataset | A SAS dataset that contains information about health events of a certain type. For instance, the Utah birth dataset contains information, such as birthweight and mother's age, on each of Utah's approximately 50,000 annual births. |
| dynamic variable | a variable for which categories have been grouped and recoded dynamically by CGI application based on user input. See variable. A group (.grp) back end file is required for dynamic variables. For example, the user can select a year grouping, 2000-2002, that does not exist in the dataset and the CGI application will use the .grp file to group years 2000-2002 for the results. |
| front end | The parts of the system that provides HTML pages that the the user sees and interacts with, also known as 'system interface.' In contrast to the back end that runs in the background, and is transparent to the user. |
| function file, func | A file containing the measure specific information needed to run a query on a dataset. It consists of three parts: (1) data restrictions, (2) SAS template, (3) format and order of the output and the xmlout file to be used for the results. |
| group file, grp file | A back-end file that contains the definition of categories for a dynamic variable. |
| head file | contains leading prefix text for the IBISQ query results. For the IBIS system this is the starting XML container element named IBISQ_QUERY_RESULT |
| heuristic analysis | a method of evaluation of an Internet site that compares the actual site to a set of rules for optimal site operation. |
| heuristic evaluation | a usability testing technique devised by usability consultant Jakob Nielsen. In heuristic evaluation, the user interface is reviewed by experts and it's compliance to ten usability heuristics (broadly stated characteristics of a good user interface) is assessed and any violating aspects are recorded. [HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM THE ABOVE? DO WE WANT TO STANDARDIZE ON ONE DEFINITION?] (I found this one online and added it as an option. I think we should only keep one, though I don't know which one. |
| HI-IQ | Hospital Inpatient Internet Query. the name of Utah's first web-based query system that IBIS-Q has superseded The current IBIS-Q backend system that processes user requests and communicates with SAS is very similar to the original hi_iq system. |
| IBIS-PH | The application software of the Indicator-Based Information System for the Public Health internet site. Includes IBIS-Q internet query system, IBIS-IRV indicator reporting and visualization system, the IBIS-Admin indicator development application, the IBIS-Maps dynamic mapping system, and all system modules, features, software, databases, and files. |
| IBIS-PH Admin (or Data Admin) System | The system of JSPs, Java servlets, and database tables that allows for the maintenance of Indicator Profile data. |
| IBIS-PH View System | The system of style sheets, Java servlets and xml files that is used to build both static and dynamic Internet pages in IBIS. |
| IBIS-Q System | The interface (front end) and backend CGI application and associated files that build SAS procedure files and provide a mechanism to request and receive that data over the internet. This system was previously known as 'hi-iq'. |
| indicators | a numeric measure that depicts the status of a population or a health system on a core public health construct. The IBIS-PH application includes a system (IBIS Admin) for maintaining and displaying indicator profiles (the numeric data along with public health context). |
| measures | a numeric representation that embraces both content and statistical characteristics. For instance, the measure 'adolescent birth rate' includes information from the birth dataset on the number of births to mothers of a certain age, and also specifies the computation: ((count*1,000)/number in population). |
| module/query module | a single dataset with its associated measures. For example, the Fetal Mortality query module has two measures: fetal mortality rate and fetal mortality rate by major cause. A module consists of all query measures from a single data source. Loosely, the modules are the 2nd level of the left hand navigation on the query pages. |
| module.xml files | Contains module definition information needed by IBIS to build the query builder page for the user and to control how to get the query results from the query system. This file is paired with the query-builder XSLT file to display the query-builder screen to the user. They are designed to present a way to gather user query selections in an intuitive way, while minimizing the maintenance workload on the module developer staff. |
| query builder page (query-builder?) | a part of the IBIS interface that the user interacts with which allows a user to specify query parameters (e.g., year=2004, cause of death=stroke)for a given dataset and query measure. This page is created from a module.xml and xslt file. |
| results page | a part of the IBIS interface that presents the dynamically-generated query results to the user based on his or her specifications. The results page consists of query parameter documentation, a fact table, and metadata that describe the results. It may also contain a graph, map, and 2-dimensional table. |
| RDBMS | Relational Database Management System |
| SAS | Statistical Analysis Software |
| selection page (or query module configuration/measure selection page) | Web page/interface which is part of the IBIS-PH View Application that allows the user to select the query measure for the dataset (module). This page is created from a selection.xml and an XSLT file. |
| source code | files which contain uncompiled, computer programming language instructions. These files are typically simple text files which are interpereted by a program to produce other computer programs. |
| SVG viewer | a program that produces a graphical image to the user from the specified SVG file contents. SVG Viewer must be installed on the client's computer. The most robust version is free through Adobe, and is currently part of the Adobe Acrobat version x.x. The SVG viewer allows the user to see interactive maps and mouseover information on maps and charts. |
| system interface | the visible, accessible HTML pages that IBIS-Q users interact with through their web browsers. IBIS developers create the HTML pages using xml and xslt files. See also, 'Front End.' |
| tail files | contains ending text to complete the XML data results file in the query system. See head files. |
| three-tiered system | a type of computer system architecture. A three-tiered system simply means that there are three computer systems involved to complete a given task. An example would be an internet shopping cart application. The first tier is the user working on their local PC. The PC communicates to a web server (second tier) over the internet. The web server then interacts with a database server over a network connection to retrieve the information the user requested (third tier). Such systems provide distributed processing capabilities as well as enhanced security of the data on the server and in the database. |
| Tomcat | open-source, free, Web/application server software developed in the context of the Apache Jakarta Project. See - http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/ . The IBIS-PH View System runs using Tomcat (It can also use any other Java Servlet capable application server). |
| variable | A named entity that can be given a set of values. In the query system variables are used in the interface to hold the user selections, the variable age would hold the selection 10-14 years, so that they can be communicated to the back end. The dataset is made up of variables, such as age, that have an associated value in each record. |
| XML | a special text file that contains data delineated by user-defined element tags. These tags resemble HTML element tags but are not limited to the defined HTML language. |
| XSLT | a special XML file that is referred to as a stylesheet. Stylesheets are paired with XML files to transform the XML data file into a different type of file. The stylesheet contains formatting instructions as well as limited business logic that controls certain actions within the page. In the query system the xslts are paired with the xml files to create the html files that the end user sees. The xml file holds all the data and the xslt file specifies how to display the data. |
