This section provides a number of terms that you will encounter when implementing eXo Platform.

h1. Portal{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Portal}

Portal is a key web-based environment for aggregating and personalizing information via specific portlets with an interactive and consistent look and feel. Users and administrators are able to integrate information, people and processes via a web-based user interface. This framework enables aggregation of enterprise content and business applications with flexible management and personalization options. 

h1. Portlet{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Portlet}
Portlet is a pluggable component in a portal through which users can access some specific information, including supports, updates, or mini-applications. The portlet produces fragments of a markup code that are aggregated into a portal page. Typically, a portal page is displayed as a non-overlapping portlet windows collection, where each portlet window displays a portlet. Content generated by a portlet can be customized, depending on the configuration set by each user. 
Portlets can be divided into two following types:

* *Functional portlets* which support all functions of a portal. They are built into the portal and accessed via toolbar links when the portal-related tasks are performed.
* *Interface portlets* which constitute the eXo Platform interface as front-end components of the portal.

h1. Navigation{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Navigation}
Navigation is a node (so-called menus) containing hyperlinks to other parts of a portal. The default navigation menus in eXo Platform are located in the Administration bar with 3 navigation types:

* *My Sites:* This navigation links to separate sites of the parent portal. Each site has only one navigation and it is automatically generated when the site is created. This functionality allows different sites to individually control some portal-related aspects, such as portlets, while maintaining other content standardized with the parent portal. 
* *My Groups:* The content of this navigation varies for each user, depending on the type of logged-in account. 
** If you are logged in as a user account, this navigation holds personal links set up by yourself.
** If you are logged in as a manager account, this navigation contains links to pages for registered users and administrative tasks and personal links.
** If you are logged in as an administrator account, the navigation adds further management capabilities, such as Internationalization and community management. 
* *Dashboard:* This navigation contains links and portlets (or gadgets) selected by yourself. This user navigation is created automatically when your account registration is successful. This navigation only can be deleted when you are removed. 
* *Desktop:* This typical application of eXo Platform not only takes advantages of normal portals but also is developed with many outstanding features. This navigation allows users to organize pages in the "icons" form. 
* *Edit:* This navigation type only appears in the Administration bar when you logged in as an administrator. This navigation contains links to add new pages to a portal, to edit a page or to change the portal's layout and navigation. 

h1. Gadget{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Gadget}
Gadget is a mini web application running on a platform that a user can integrate and customize in the website.

h1. Modes{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Modes}
eXo Platform offers two access modes by default:
* *Public mode* is for guest users (visitors) who are not registered. In this mode, you are not required to sign in, but limited to public pages in the portal. After being registered successfully, you can use the private mode, but must contact the Portal administrators to get more rights or the group manager to become the member and gain the access to the group.
* *Private mode* is for registered users who will apply their usernames and passwords to sign in. This mode supports users in taking many actions, such as creating private pages, editing or deleting them, "borrowing" pages from others by creating hyperlinks, changing languages to their individual needs, managing private information.

h1. Permission{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Permission}

Permission settings control actions of a user within the portal and are set by the portal administrators. 
* *Permission types* define what a user can do within the portal.
** *Access permission* enables users to utilize portal contents, such as signing in, viewing 	contents,  rearranging portlets. This permission can be set for multiple member groups.
** *Edit permission* enables users to change portal contents (changing portal or page 	information, deleting a portal/page). The edit permission is set for only one group at one 	time.
* *Permission levels* specify where the users' permission types can be applied in the portal. 
** Portal: The permission at the portal level includes actions permitted in all pages within the portal. Users with the access permission can view (but not edit) all the pages within the portal. Meanwhile, users with the edit permission at the portal level can change any page in the portal. 
** Page: The permission at the page level restricts users to several particular pages. Users are only able 	to see and/or edit pages they have been given access to, depending on each permission type assigned to them. 
** Portlet: The permission at the portlet level enables users to create a page through dragging and dropping portlets into a page. Some portlets are only used for administrators, while some are for regular users. Thus, administrators need to set proper access permissions for each specific group. Permission types and levels can be effectively implemented to control who can do and what can be performed within the portal.

h1. Repository{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Repository}

Repository is a locus where contents or digital data are maintained. Users can access without traveling across a network.
 
h1. Workspace{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Workspace}

Workspace is a term used by several software vendors for applications that allow users to exchange and organize files over Internet. A content repository is composed of a number of workspaces.  In eXo Platform, the content repository consists of more than one workspace. The "repository" contains multiple workspaces, including system, backup and collaboration workspaces.

* *System workspace:* It is used to reserve "system folders". 
* *Backup workspace:* The backup process depends on the published content timestamps, each published document has a duration during which it can be published. Also, when it exceeds the timestamps, it will be automatically archived to the backup database. This workspace is almost used with the Workflow-based content publication lifecycle. 
* *Collaboration workspace:* It allows users to validate and manage documents. This is the central place to store and edit contents and media. 

h1. Drive{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Drive}

Drive may be defined as a shortcut in the content repository. It enables administrators to limit visibility of each workspace for groups of users. It is also a simple way to hide the complexity of the content storage by showing only the structure that is helpful for business users.

In details, a drive consists of:
* A configured path where the user will start when browsing the drive.
* A set of allowed views that will allow the user to limit the available actions, such as editing or creating content while being in the drive.
* A set of permissions which limits the access and view of the drive to a specified number of people.
* A set of options to describe the behavior of the drive when the users browse it. 

h1. Node{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Node}

Node is an abstract unit used to build linked data structures, such as linked lists and trees, and computer-based representation of graphs. Nodes contain data and/or links to another nodes. Links between nodes are often implemented by pointers or references.

Also, a node can be defined as a logical placeholder for data. It is a memory block which contains some data units, and optionally a reference to some other data. By linking one node with other interlinked nodes, very large and complex data structure can be formed. 

h1. Version{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Version}

Versioning means that at any given time the node's state can be saved for possible future recovery and the action of saving called 'check-in'. A workspace may contain both versionable and non-versionable nodes. A node is versionable if it has been assigned a mixin type mixin: versionable; otherwise, it is a non-versionable node. A version exists as a part of a version history graph that describes the predecessor/successor relations among versions of a particular versionable node. 

!images/node.png|align="center"!

The software versioning is the process of assigning either unique version names or unique version numbers to unique states of computer software. Within a given version number category (major, minor), these numbers are generally specified by increasing the order that corresponds to new developments in the software. At a fine-grained level, the revision control is often used for keeping track of incrementally different versions of electronic information, whether or not this information is actually computer software. 

h1. WebDAV{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.WebDAV}

WebDAV stands for Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning. It is a set of extensions to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) which allows users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote World Wide Web servers.

The protocol was to make the Web a readable and writable medium. It provides users with the functionality to create, change and move documents on a remote server (typically a web server or "web share"). This is useful for, among other things, authoring the documents which a web server serves, but can also be used for general web-based file storage that can be accessed from anywhere.

h1. Podcast{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Podcast}
The "Podcast" term is a combination of *iPod* and *Broadcast*. In eXo Platform, podcast is an audio file which you can download and listen to on your device, such as a computer, or a MP3 player. 

h1. File Plan{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.File_Plan}

File plan is a type of document for planning the primary records management. Although file plans can differ across organizations, their typical functions are to:
* Describe types of items which are acknowledged to be records.
* Describe what broader category of records to which the items belong.
* Indicate where records are stored.
* Describe the retention periods for records.
* Delineate who is responsible for managing the various types of records.

h1. Symlink{anchor:id=Platform_User_Guide.eXo_Platform.Tutorials.Glossary.Symlink}

Symlink is a special file containing a reference to document or folder. By using symlinks, you can easily access specific nodes (target) that symlinks point to. In *Sites Explorer*, a symlink has a small chain symbol next to its icon: 

!images/symlink.png|align="center"!

