Document Conventions
The following terms are used in this documentation.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| field | A named set of contiguous bits, used to store or transmit a data element. |
| IDL file | File generated by the Interface Definition Language (IDL) compiler when an interface is passed through it. The file contains placeholder functions that translate local procedure calls into remote procedure calls. Placeholder functions, also called stubs, make the calls to the run-time library functions, which manage the remote procedure call. |
| opnum field value | A zero-indexed ordinal 16-bit value that is assigned to a method based on its position in the Interface Definition Language (IDL) file, thereby indicating its ordinal value in the corresponding interface. Values for the opnum field start at different ordinal values within RPC and DCOM interfaces. In RPC interfaces, the first method in an interface has an opnum value of 0; the second has an opnum value of 1; and so on. DCOM interfaces inherit from the IUnknown interface. Therefore in DCOM interfaces opnum values start with 3; opnum values 0 through 2 represent the IUnknownQueryInterface, AddRef, and Release methods, respectively. If other interfaces are inherited, the opnum values start with the value subsequent to the last opnum value in the last inherited method. |
| packet | 1. A unit of information transmitted as a whole from one device to another on a network. 2. In packet-switching networks, a transmission unit of fixed maximum size that consists of binary digits representing both data and a header containing an identification number, source and destination addresses, and sometimes error-control data. Also known as protocol data unit (PDU), message, data block, and so on.
Packet topics might contain a table showing the order of the fields within the packet, and the field length and offset. If the length of a field is a variable-length value, the offset value for each subsequent field is shown as "End of previous". |
| protocol | A set of rules and conventions for sending information over a network. These rules govern the content, format, timing, sequencing, and error control of messages exchanged among network devices. |
Typographic Conventions
This documentation uses the following typographic conventions.
| Convention | Description |
|---|---|
monospace |
Indicates source code, structure syntax, examples, user input, and program output. |
| bold | Indicates a function, structure, interface, method, message, macro, field, data type, or other keyword in the programming interface or programming language. |
| italic | Indicates placeholders, most often function or method parameters; these placeholders represent the information that must be supplied by the implementation or the user. In addition, italics are used to highlight the first use of terms. |
| UPPERCASE | Indicates a packet, flag, return value, or property. In addition, uppercase letters may indicate file names, registers, and terms used at the operating-system command level. |
| [ ] | Indicates optional syntax items. Type only the syntax within the brackets, not the brackets themselves. |