CHAIMS: An acronym for Compiling High-level Access Interfaces for Multi-site Software.

CHAIMS Compliant: A megamodule or megaprogram that correctly implements the CHAIMS protocol.

CHAIMS Complier: Builds a megaprogram client stub.

CHAIMS Language: The megaprogramming language used to write CHAIMS clients. Consists of several key primitives: setup, set attribute, get attribute, estimate, invoke, examine, extract, and terminate.

CHAIMS Protocol: The interfaces between the compiled megaprogram (client) and the megamodules (services) including the primitive statements. There exists a slightly different CHAIMS protocol for each distribution system like CORBA, RMI or DCE.

ClientID: See megamodule handle.

CSRT: An acronym for Client Side Run Time. The executable client consisting of the compiled megaprogram plus all necessary stubs.

Get Attributes: One of the CHAIMS language primitives used to discover the default attributes of a megamodule.

Estimate: One of the CHAIMS language primitives used to establish performance characteristics of a megamodule.

Examine: One of the CHAIMS language primitives used to query the status of availability of potential results from a megamodule.

Extract: One of the CHAIMS language primitives used to obtain results from a megamodule.

Invocation Handle: A system maintained data structure used to uniquely identify a thread of execution with a megamodule.

Invoke: One of the CHAIMS language primitives used to initiate remote execution of a megamodule.

Megaprogram: A client program written in the CHAIMS language.

Megaprogrammer: A programmer that writes megaprograms.

Megaprogramming: What a megaprogrammer does.

Megamodule: A service on a server that understands the CHAIMS protocol.

Megamodule Handle: A system maintained data structure used to uniquly identify a megamodule.

Method: One available service for a megamodule.

Module: See megamodule.

Opaque Data: Data generated and consumed by megamodule services but not visible to the megaprogram client. Encoded using ASN.1.

Primitive Statement: One of the following statements: setup, set attribute, get attribute, estimate, invoke, examine, extract, and terminate.

Repository: Logical database where meta information about megamodules is located.

Scheduler: An optimizer that uses the estimate primitive to establish execution order.

Set Attributes: One of the CHAIMS language primitives used to define attributes local to one execution thread.

Setup: One of the CHAIMS language primitives used to establish thread context.

Terminate: One of the CHAIMS language primitives used to end the execution of a particular thread of a mdegamodule.

Wrappers: A technique to bring a non-CHAIMS service into the CHAIMS paradigm.