FTL Glossary

An endpoint can carry messages using up to four abilities:

• One-to-many receive (subscriber)
• One-to-one receive (inbox subscriber)
• One-to-many send (send call)
• One-to-one send (send-to-inbox call)

Administrators bind transports to specific endpoint abilities. [Development, Administration]

TIBCO FTL software uses asynchronous advisory messages to convey errors, warnings or other information. [Development]

1. An FTL application is an executable program that communicates using TIBCO FTL software.

2. Within the realm definition, an application (or more explicitly, an application definition) configures the endpoints, formats, transports, and stores for an application program. [Administration]

An application instance definition configures transports and stores for an application process in a specific context: for example, a process that runs on a specific host computer, or supplies an application instance identifier. [Administration]

A store can apportion a message stream among a set of cooperating subscribers. Only one subscriber receives and processes each message. Acting together, the subscribers process every message in the stream.

A backup realm server is a process that can distribute the realm definition to FTL clients in a failover situation. [Administration]

See Transport Bridge.

A cluster of persistence servers can cooperate for fault tolerance. [Administration]

A content matcher is a pattern matching template for message fields and values. A subscriber can use a content matcher to narrow its interest to a subset of a message stream. [Development]

An administrator can modify the realm definition and deploy the updated definition to the realm server’s clients. [Administration]

A store can retain message streams for a disconnected subscriber, assuring delivery after the subscriber returns. The subscriber receives the complete message stream.

A communications path in which messages travel directly between publishing and subscribing endpoints, without an intermediate stop at a store. In contrast, an indirect path goes through a store, which can back a direct path. [Concepts, Administration]

An administrator can use the realm server GUI to disable a client process. Disabled clients cannot use TIBCO FTL communications resources. [Administration]

Programs use API calls to dispatch inbound messages from event queues to callback methods. [Development]

A durable subscriber is a subscriber object in an application process that maintains its identity even if the process exits and restarts. The subscriber relies on its durable to ensure message delivery. [Concepts, Development, Administration]

When a program constructs a self-describing message, its format is dynamic. That is, the format changes each time the program adds a field to the message. The message’s metadata reflects the current state of the dynamic format. [Development]

TIBCO eFTL™ software is an add-on product that extends TIBCO FTL messaging to platforms that cannot support the full TIBCO FTL bus. Platforms such as web browsers and mobile phones can use TIBCO eFTL software to communicate with back-end infrastructure based on TIBCO FTL software.

An endpoint is an abstraction that represents a set of publishers and subscribers in communicating application programs. Endpoints insulate programs from transport details, enabling separation of responsibilities between developers and administrators. [Development, Administration]

Event queues buffer inbound messages during message delivery. Programs dispatch messages from event queues to callback methods. [Development]

Each field of a message has a name, and can contain a value of a specific data type. [Development]

A message format is a fixed set of field names and data types. Messages that use defined formats can omit explicit metadata, reducing message size. [Development, Administration]

Programs can use the group facility to coordinate fault-tolerant operation. More generally, the group facility can coordinate several distinct operating roles with different behaviors. [Development, Administration]

A program cannot modify the fields of an immutable message. [Development]

Inbound indicates the direction proceeding into an endpoint from a transport, or into a program through an endpoint. For example, subscriber objects receive inbound messages. [Development, Administration]

An inbox is a data structure that identifies a unique inbox subscriber object, enabling one-to-one communication to that subscriber. [Development]

An inbox subscriber can receive one-to-one communication. An inbox subscriber is one kind endpoint instance within a program. An inbox subscriber instantiates the one-to-one receiving capabilities of an endpoint. (Contrast Subscriber.) [Concepts, Development]

Programs that receive time-sensitive messages can use inline mode to favor low latency

over high throughput. Restrictions apply. [Development, Administration]

TIBCO FTL software efficiently conveys messages to endpoints where subscribers express interest in those messages. A subscriber expresses interest in the message stream arriving at an endpoint. If the subscriber has a content matcher, it expresses interest in a subset of that message stream: namely, the subset with matching content. A durable expresses interest on behalf of its durable subscriber, even when the subscriber is absent. [Development, Administration]

A managed format is a message format defined in the realm. [Administration]

A message is data, structured as a set of named fields. Programs can exchange messages. [Concepts]

A sequence of messages. [Concepts]

A program may modify the fields of a mutable message. [Development]

A notification is an out-of-band communication from TIBCO FTL software to an application program. TIBCO FTL software delivers notifications when conditions preclude delivering advisories using event queues. [Development]

One-to-many is the basic communication paradigm in TIBCO FTL software . A subscriber can receive every message in the message stream. [Concepts]

An inbox subscriber can receive only those messages that publishers send specifically to its inbox. [Concepts]

Outbound indicates the direction proceeding out from an endpoint to a transport, or out from a program through an endpoint. For example, publisher objects send outbound messages. [Development, Administration]

Persistence is a potential to store a message between publishing and receiving it. Persistence servers use Stores and Durables to implement this potential. See also Apportioning Message Streams and Delivery Assurance. [Concepts, Administration, Development]

Preload formats are the managed formats available to an application program. [Administration]

Within a family of affiliated ream server processes, the primary is the central hub. [Administration]

A publisher can send messages. A publisher is one kind endpoint instance within a program. A publisher instantiates the send capabilities of an endpoint. Each publisher is the source of a message stream. [Concepts, Development]

A realm represents a distinct and unified communication fabric, consisting of applications, endpoints, transports, stores, and message formats. [Development, Administration]

A realm server is a process that maintains a realm definition, and distributes that definition to client applications. [Development, Administration]

A satellite realm server is a process that provides local service to clients that are geographically distant from the primary, or clients that are insulated from the primary. [Administration]

1. Programs make send calls to send messages.

2. More narrowly, the term send also refers specifically to one-to-many publishing. (Contrast Send-to-Inbox.)

Programs make send-to-inbox calls to send one-to-one messages. (Contrast Send.)

A self-describing message does not conform to a predefined format. Instead it contains metadata describing the names and data types of each field. [Concepts]

A store is a data structure that maintains a message stream. Administrators can configure stores within a persistence server. [Concepts, Administration]

1. A subscriber can receive messages. A subscriber is one kind endpoint instance within a program. A subscriber instantiates the receiving capabilities of an endpoint. Each subscriber expresses interest in a message stream. [Concepts, Development]

2. More narrowly, the term subscriber also refers specifically to one-to-many subscribers (contrast Inbox Subscriber). [Development]

Messages travel from publishers to subscribers over transports. TIBCO FTL software supports a variety of transport types. [Concepts, Administration]

A transport bridge is a specialized process that can forward messages among sets of transports. [Administration]

See Application Instance. [Concepts]