RPC Broker V. 1.1 Systems Manual: Orientation

Orientation

Topics

How to Use this Manual
Commonly Used Terms
Assumptions About the Reader

Throughout this manual, advice and instructions are offered regarding the use of the RPC Broker and the functionality it provides for VISTA and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products.

There are no special legal requirements involved in the use of the RPC Broker's Interface.

This manual uses several methods to highlight different aspects of the material:

Descriptive text is presented in a proportional font (as this is).
"Snapshots" of computer online displays (i.e., roll-and-scroll dialogs) and computer source code are shown in a non-proportional font and enclosed within a box. Also included are Graphical User Interface (GUI) application window images (i.e., Windows' dialog boxes or forms).

NOTE: Author's comments within these snapshots are displayed in italics or as "callout" boxes (callout boxes refer to labels or descriptions, usually enclosed within a box, which point to specific areas of a displayed image). User's responses to online prompts will be boldface.
Object Pascal code uses a combination of upper- and lowercase characters. All Object Pascal reserved words are in boldface type.
All uppercase is reserved for the representation of M code, variable names, or the formal name of options, field and file names, and security keys (e.g., the XUPROGMODE key).
Various symbols are used throughout the documentation to alert the reader to special information. The following table gives a description of each of these symbols:

Symbol	Description
	Used to inform the reader of general information including references to additional reading material
	Used to caution the reader to take special notice of critical information

Commonly Used Terms

The following is a list of terms and their descriptions that you may find helpful while reading the RPC Broker documentation:

Term	Description
Client	A single term used interchangeably to refer to a user, the workstation (i.e., PC), and the portion of the program that runs on the workstation.
Component	A software object that contains data and code. A component may or may not be visible. For a more detailed description, see the Borland Delphi for Windows User Guide.
GUI	The Graphical User Interface application that is developed for the client workstation.
Host	The term Host is used interchangeably with the term Server.
Server	The computer where the data and the RPC Broker remote procedure calls reside.

Please see the Glossary for additional terms and definitions.

Assumptions About the Reader

This manual is written with the assumption that the reader is familiar with the following:

VISTA computing environment (e.g., Kernel Installation and Distribution System [KIDS])
VA FileMan data structures and terminology
Microsoft Windows
M programming language

No attempt is made to explain how the overall VISTA programming system is integrated and maintained. Such methods and procedures are documented elsewhere. We suggest you look at the various VA home pages on the World Wide Web for a general orientation to VISTA. For example, check out the following web addresses:

http://www.va.gov/vama.htm#DHCP

http://www.vista.med.va.gov/

This manual does provide, however, an explanation of the RPC Broker, describing how it can be used in a client/server environment.

Readers who wish to learn more about the RPC Broker should consult the following:

RPC Broker V. 1.1 Installation Guide (PDF)
RPC Broker V. 1.1 Release Notes (HTML)
RPC Broker V. 1.1 Technical Manual (PDF)
RPC Broker V. 1.1 Getting Started with the Broker Development Kit (PDF, written for programmers)
Online RPC Broker Developer's Guide (i.e., BROKER.HLP, designed for programmers)
RPC Broker Home Page

This site contains additional information and documentation (e.g., Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]) available in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

Broker documentation is made available online, on paper, and in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (.PDF). The .PDF documents must be read using the Adobe Acrobat Reader (i.e., ACROREAD.EXE), which is freely distributed by Adobe Systems Incorporated at the following web address:

http://www.adobe.com/

For more information on the use of the Adobe Acrobat Reader, please refer to the "Adobe Acrobat Quick Guide" at the following web address:

http://www.vista.med.va.gov/softserv/infrastr.uct/acrobat/index.html