Here are a list of terms and abbreviations together with their explanations.

 
Glossary

Certification (process)

Certified

Certify

A "state" reached where a firm wishing to use one of the XML file upload facilities, has successful sent a well-formed validated XML file from each of their identified XML data sources.  Once certified, a firm will be allowed to use the main XML upload facility, and will be provided with the full SFTP user details. 

Domain

A group of computers on a network that are administered as a unit with common rules and procedures. Domains on the internet are defined by the IP address. All devices sharing a common part of the IP address are said to be in the same domain.

Domain Name

A system used on the internet that allows you to use ‘friendly’ names rather than IP address.  It is much easier to remember www.fsa.gov.uk than it is to remember a 12 digit IP address.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol, a method of transferring data files from one computer system to another.

IP address

All computers on a network (and the internet is one giant network) must have a unique address called an Internet Protocol address similar in concepts to the way a telephone number works. 

HTTP

The HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application-level protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. It is a generic, stateless, protocol which can be used for many tasks beyond its use for hypertext, such as name servers and distributed object management systems, through extension of its request methods, error codes and headers. A feature of HTTP is the typing and negotiation of data representation, allowing systems to be built independently of the data being transferred.

HTTPS

The Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) is a secure version of the HTTP protocol described above.  It uses encryption communication channels (i.e. 128bit SSL) to provide added security and protection of sensitive data over the internet.

Parser

A piece of software that analyses or separates a file into more easily processed components, such that each component part can be evaluated against a set of formatting rules; in the case of an XML file, whether it passes the validation rules

Registration (process)

Registered

Register

Registration is the process by which a firm's details are verified against that held on TRS.  This process allocates the connection and user identification details for both the Trial and the Main system as appropriate.  For users planning XML file usage, the schedule of Certification activities will be confirmed.

SFTP

Secure File Transfer Protocol, a method of transferring data files from one computer system that uses file encryption to make the process more secure.
Trial (facility)

A facility that will allow users to perform any number of pre-Certification submissions of XML file uploads, before committing a test upload as part of the formal Certification process.
TRS

Transaction Reporting System.
URL

Abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator, the global address of documents and other resources on the world wide web.

The first part of the address indicates what protocol to use, and the second part specifies the IP address or the domain name where the resource is located.

For example:

  • File transfer using a domain name - ftp://ftp.fsatrs.gov.uk
  • Web access using a domain name - http://www.fsatrs.gov.uk
  • Web access using an IP address - http://172.72.104.3
XML

Short for Extensible Mark-up Language, a specification developed by the World Wide Web Consortium.  XML is an industry-recognised method data transfer which enables designers to control the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organisations.