API terminology

Before using the iSeries™ APIs, you should be familiar with several terms. These terms refer to i5/OS™ objects.

The system-recognized identifiers are shown in parentheses. Note that each term does not apply to every API.

binding directory (*BNDDIR).
An object that contains a list of names of modules and service programs.
data queue (*DTAQ).
An object that is used to communicate and store data used by several programs in a job or between jobs.
module (*MODULE).
An object that is made up of the output of the compiler.
program (*PGM).
A sequence of instructions that a computer can interpret and run. A program can contain one or more modules.
service program (*SRVPGM).
An object that packages externally supported callable routines into a separate object.
user index (*USRIDX).
An object that provides a specific order for byte data according to the value of the data.
user queue (*USRQ).
An object consisting of a list of messages that communicate information to other application programs. Only programming languages that can use machine interface (MI) instructions can access *USRQ objects.
user space (*USRSPC).
An object consisting of a collection of bytes used for storing any user-defined information.