1.1 Glossary

This document uses the following terms:

Address Book object: An entity in an address book that contains a set of attributes, each attribute with a set of associated values.

Appointment object: A Calendar object that has an organizer but no attendees.

Attachment object: A set of properties that represents a file, Message object, or structured storage that is attached to a Message object and is visible through the attachments table for a Message object.

attachments table: A Table object whose rows represent the Attachment objects that are attached to a Message object.

base64 encoding: A binary-to-text encoding scheme whereby an arbitrary sequence of bytes is converted to a sequence of printable ASCII characters, as described in [RFC4648].

best body: The text format that provides the richest representation of a message body. The algorithm for determining the best-body format is described in [MS-OXBBODY].

big-endian: Multiple-byte values that are byte-ordered with the most significant byte stored in the memory location with the lowest address.

binary large object (BLOB): A discrete packet of data that is stored in a database and is treated as a sequence of uninterpreted bytes.

blind carbon copy (Bcc) recipient: An addressee on a Message object that is not visible to recipients of the Message object.

calendar: A date range that shows availability, meetings, and appointments for one or more users or resources. See also Calendar object.

Calendar folder: A Folder object that contains Calendar objects.

Calendar object: A Message object that represents an event, which can be a one-time event or a recurring event. The Calendar object includes properties that specify event details such as description, organizer, date and time, and status.

calendar options dictionary: A dictionary that contains calendar configuration data. It is stored in a folder associated information (FAI) message that is in a Calendar special folder.

Calendar special folder: A Calendar folder that is in a user's mailbox and in which meetings are created by default.

condition: A logical expression comparing one or more properties in all incoming Message objects against a set of clauses. This logical expression can evaluate to TRUE or FALSE.

contact: A person, company, or other entity that is stored in a directory and is associated with one or more unique identifiers and attributes, such as an Internet message address or login name.

contents table: A Table object whose rows represent the Message objects that are contained in a Folder object.

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC): A high-precision atomic time standard that approximately tracks Universal Time (UT). It is the basis for legal, civil time all over the Earth. Time zones around the world are expressed as positive and negative offsets from UTC. In this role, it is also referred to as Zulu time (Z) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). In these specifications, all references to UTC refer to the time at UTC-0 (or GMT).

counter proposal: A request that an attendee sends to an organizer when requesting a change to the date or time of a meeting.

delegate: A user or resource that has permissions to act on behalf of another user or resource.

Delegate Information object: A Message object that contains properties specifying delegate access settings for resources in a delegator's mailbox.

delegator: A user or resource for which another user or resource has permission to act on its behalf.

Deleted Items folder: A special folder that is the default location for objects that have been deleted.

Embedded Message object: A Message object that is stored as an Attachment object within another Message object.

EntryID: A sequence of bytes that is used to identify and access an object.

Exception Attachment object: An Attachment object on a Recurring Calendar object that contains the data for an exception, including an Exception Embedded Message object.

Exception Embedded Message object: An Embedded Message object that contains the changes for an Exception object.

Exception object: An instance of a recurring series that differs from the rest of the recurring series, for example by start time.

flags: A set of values used to configure or report options or settings.

floating appointment: An appointment that starts and ends at the same local time regardless of any time zone considerations.

free/busy status: A property of an appointment that indicates how an appointment on the calendar of an attendee or resource affects their availability.

globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).

handle: Any token that can be used to identify and access an object such as a device, file, or a window.

Inbox folder: A special folder that is the default location for Message objects received by a user or resource.

informational update: A Meeting Update object that includes a change that does not require attendees to respond again, such as additional agenda details.

little-endian: Multiple-byte values that are byte-ordered with the least significant byte stored in the memory location with the lowest address.

mailbox: A message store that contains email, calendar items, and other Message objects for a single recipient.

meeting: An event with attendees.

Meeting Cancellation object: A Message object that represents a meeting organizer's cancellation of a previously scheduled meeting.

Meeting Forward Notification object: A Message object that represents a notification that is sent to the meeting organizer when an attendee forwards a meeting request.

Meeting object: A Calendar object that has both an organizer and attendees.

meeting request: An instance of a Meeting Request object.

Meeting Request object: A Message object that represents an invitation from the meeting organizer to an attendee.

Meeting Response object: A Message object that represents an attendee's response to a meeting organizer's invitation. The response indicates whether the attendee accepted, tentatively accepted, or declined the meeting request. The response can include a proposed new date or time for the meeting.

meeting update: An instance of a Meeting Update object.

Meeting Update object: A Message object that represents a meeting organizer's changes to a previously scheduled meeting. The update is categorized as either a full update or an informational update.

Meeting Workspace: A website that is created by using the Meetings Web Services protocol, as described in [MS-MEETS]. It can host documents, discussions, and other information about a meeting.

meeting-related object: A Message object that represents a relay of information between a meeting organizer and an attendee. It can be any of the following: Meeting Request object, Meeting Update object, Meeting Cancellation object, or Meeting Response object.

Message object: A set of properties that represents an email message, appointment, contact, or other type of personal-information-management object. In addition to its own properties, a Message object contains recipient properties that represent the addressees to which it is addressed, and an attachments table that represents any files and other Message objects that are attached to it.

message store: A unit of containment for a single hierarchy of Folder objects, such as a mailbox or public folders.

optional attendee: An attendee of an event whom the organizer lists as an optional participant.

organizer: The owner or creator of a meeting or appointment.

orphan instance: An instance of an event that is in a recurring series and is in a Calendar folder without the recurring series. For all practical purposes, this is a single instance.

Out of Office (OOF): One of the possible values for the free/busy status on an appointment. It indicates that the user will not be in the office during the appointment.

Outbox folder: A special folder that contains Message objects that are submitted to be sent.

property ID: A 16-bit numeric identifier of a specific attribute. A property ID does not include any property type information.

property name: A string that, in combination with a property set, identifies a named property.

public folder: A Folder object that is stored in a location that is publicly available.

recipient: (1) An entity that can receive email messages. 

(2) An entity that is in an address list, can receive email messages, and contains a set of attributes. Each attribute has a set of associated values.

recurrence BLOB: The binary large object (BLOB) encoding of a recurrence pattern, a recurrence range, and recurrence exceptions.

recurrence pattern: Information for a repeating event, such as the start and end time, the number of occurrences, and how occurrences are spaced, such as daily, weekly, or monthly.

recurrence range: The range of time for which a recurrence pattern continues.

Recurring Calendar object: A Calendar object that describes an event that repeats according to a recurrence pattern.

recurring series: An event that repeats at specific intervals of time according to a recurrence pattern.

recurring task: A series of Task objects that are described by a recurrence pattern.

reminder: A generally user-visible notification that a specified time has been reached. A reminder is most commonly related to the beginning of a meeting or the due time of a task but it can be applied to any object type.

reminder properties: A set of properties that specify the attributes of a reminder. These attributes include the time at which and the method by which a reminder is signaled or displayed.

remote operation (ROP): An operation that is invoked against a server. Each ROP represents an action, such as delete, send, or query. A ROP is contained in a ROP buffer for transmission over the wire.

remote procedure call (RPC): A communication protocol used primarily between client and server. The term has three definitions that are often used interchangeably: a runtime environment providing for communication facilities between computers (the RPC runtime); a set of request-and-response message exchanges between computers (the RPC exchange); and the single message from an RPC exchange (the RPC message).  For more information, see [C706].

required attendee: An attendee of an event whom the organizer lists as a mandatory participant.

Resource object: An Address Book object that represents an asset that can be reserved, such as a room or equipment.

Rich Text Format (RTF): Text with formatting as described in [MSFT-RTF].

rule: (1) A condition or action, or a set of conditions or actions, that performs tasks automatically based on events and values.

(2) An item that defines a condition and an action. The condition is evaluated for each Message object as it is delivered, and the action is executed if the new Message object matches the condition.

search key: A binary-comparable key that identifies related objects for a search.

sendable attendee: An attendee to whom a meeting request or meeting update will be sent. A sendable attendee can be a required attendee or an optional attendee, or a resource.

Sent Items folder: A special folder that is the default location for storing copies of Message objects after they are submitted or sent.

sequence number: The revision number of a Meeting object. The sequence number is used to determine the most recent meeting update that was sent by the organizer.

signal time: The time at which a reminder has been specified to notify the user or an agent acting on behalf of the user. For example, the signal time for a meeting that starts at 11:00 A.M. can be 10:45 A.M., thus allowing the user 15 minutes to prepare for or travel to the meeting upon receiving the notification.

significant change: A change that is made by an organizer to a Meeting object and requires a Meeting Update object to be sent.

single-instance object: An Appointment object, Meeting object, or Task object that occurs only once.

skip block: The block in a binary large object (BLOB) that acts as padding, reserving space that can be used by future versions to insert data. The block consists of a ULONG that describes how many additional ULONGs to skip ahead.

stream: An element of a compound file, as described in [MS-CFB]. A stream contains a sequence of bytes that can be read from or written to by an application, and they can exist only in storages.

Task object: A Message object that represents an assignment to be completed.

tentative: One of the possible values for the free/busy status on an appointment. A tentative status indicates that the user is tentatively booked during the appointment.

time zone update: Any change to a time zone that occurs when a time zone changes the dates in which it observes Daylight Saving Time (DST) or changes its offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

tombstone: An individual record of scheduling data that represents a Meeting object where an attendee declined a meeting.

Unicode: A character encoding standard developed by the Unicode Consortium that represents almost all of the written languages of the world. The Unicode standard [UNICODE5.0.0/2007] provides three forms (UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32) and seven schemes (UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-16 BE, UTF-16 LE, UTF-32, UTF-32 LE, and UTF-32 BE).

Uniform Resource Locator (URL): A string of characters in a standardized format that identifies a document or resource on the World Wide Web. The format is as specified in [RFC1738].

unsendable attendee: An attendee to whom a meeting request or meeting update is not sent.

MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.