Glossary

action cell (also referred to as lazy cell)

A cell that contains a lazy function that provides a result, i.e. runs, only in the following cases:

1. The user clicks the "play" button on the cell.
2. An event binding has a source that is an action cell, and the end-user causes the associated event to happen. For example, the end-user clicks a button and as a result causes the action cell to run.

accumulating cell

Similar to a real-time cell, but accumulates values over time.

Note: a flow launched from an accumulating cell is never automatically terminated, only when the =STOP() function is invoked from a different cell.

application

A program that runs on a web server. It consists of everything drawn on the Surface, written in cells in the spreadsheet, and added to a flow in the flow editor.

auto column binding

A binding, where the source is a vertical group of cells -- the group starts where the user clicked to define the binding and ends at the first blank cell that is detected.

auto row binding

The mirror image of an auto column binding.

A binding, where the source is a horizontal group of cells.

The group starts where the user clicked to define the binding and ends at the first blank cell that is detected.

binding

A two-way link between a property on a component and a spreadsheet cell.

A binding always has a source -- the cell or group of cells in the spreadsheet -- and a target -- the component's property that the source is linked to.

cell

The basic unit of the spreadsheet where two things happen:

1. Formulas are entered.
2. Cloud flows are invoked, and results are returned.

component

A visual element, such as a Button, Label, Box, or TextInput, that appears on the screen.

component event

Something that occurs when an end-user interacts with a component. Examples of a component event include clicking a Button, entering text in a TextInput, or moving the mouse pointer over a Box.

component property

A value that defines the appearance or behavior of a component.

All component properties can be bound (via a binding) to a cell or group of cells in the spreadsheet.

design

A design fully defines how an application will look, feel, and behave. It includes both the behavior that occurs in the browser or on a mobile device, and the behavior that occurs in the cloud.

The cloud behavior is defined in the flow editor, and the browser behavior is defined on the Surface and in the spreadsheet.

Designer

An authoring environment for the creation of applications.

Each application created in the Designer is called a design.

empty frame expression

The expression that is used to create an empty frame :

={}

end-user

A person who consumes the resulting applications created by an organization member.

fixed binding

A binding where the source is always exactly one cell, even if the component is repeated itself or is inside of a parent component that is repeated.

flow

A pipeline-like end-to-end scenario, built from flow blocks. Must have one or more input blocks and one output block.

flow block

A single element of a flow scenario. For example, the Read Database block gets data from a database and returns it as a frame, when called from a spreadsheet cell.

A flow block has one or more input and output connectors. Can be linked with other flow blocks to build a complete flow.

flow editor

A block and arrows diagram editor that allows you to visually define logic that runs in the cloud and possibly in the background. Examples include things like "sending an email", "constantly collecting sensor data", or more everyday things like "write data to a database," "read data from a database", etc.

formula

A combination of mathematical expressions and/or functions.

Example:

=SUM(2,4)*0.5

function

One of the building blocks of an application. Takes one or more inputs and provides a result.

Example:

=SUM(5,6)

frame

A two-dimensional data structure organized in rows and columns.

frame function

A special function that takes a range and creates a frame as a result.

Also, it is possible to use string literals to create a frame object inside a cell.

frame literal

A formula that allows you to create a frame without referencing a range.

The following is an example of a frame row literal.

={1,2,3}

The following is an example of a frame column literal:

={1;2;3}

layout

A layout is the result of positioning and sizing child components inside their parents. A layout can be self-directed or parent-directed.

multiple-property binding

A binding where more than one property on a component acts as the target of the binding.

When such a binding is defined in the spreadsheet, the columns in the spreadsheet must be adjacent to each other.

nested spreadsheet

A separate window similar to a spreadsheet that is displayed as a result of opening a frame.

organization

A group of Workspace members, designs, and published applications.

organization login page

A unique URL like my-company.mintdata.com, where all members of your organization can log in to collaborate on the creation of designs.

organization member

A person who authors (or creates) software with the speed and simplicity of the spreadsheet, Surface, and flow editor.

organization site-name

The site-name part in a URL like site-name.mintdata.com.

A unique place where users log into your organization on the MINTDATA™ platform.

Outline panel

The panel that contains the following sections:

• Pages. Create, rename, or delete pages, control overlays.
• Components. Lets you add new components to the page.
• Outline. A view of the hierarchy of all components on the active page.

overlay

An overlay is what we call a page when it is overlaid on top of another Page.

This can happen in one of two ways:

• By overlaying one page on another in the Outline panel of the Designer.
• By using the SHOW_OVERLAY() function to cause a page to appear as an overlay.

There are two types of overlays: regular overlays and pinned overlays.

page

A distinct set of components that appear on the screen at a given time.

All pages in a design are always of the same size. Resizing one page causes all pages to be of this new size.

With a self-directed layout and this behavior, it's possible to create applications that look right on mobile phones, tablets, and the desktop web.

page overlays list

A list of pages overlaid on the currently selected page. You can view this list of overlays by clicking on located next to a page's name in the Pages section of the Outline panel. Note that the icon is displayed if the active page has overlays associated with it.

parent-directed layout

The layout of a component whose position is defined by its parent.

pinned overlay

A pinned overlay is an overlay that stays present on the page whenever the page is active. Pinned overlays are not affected by the HIDE_ALL_OVERLAYS() and HIDE_TOPMOST_OVERLAY() functions. This is useful for things like headers and footers.

preview mode

A mode in the Designer that allows you to experience all component events as they would behave in a published application.

There is no other difference in the preview mode. As a result, the only reason to enter into the preview mode is to interact with components in the design.

Property panel

The panel that allows you to control properties and events of the selected component: modify them, bind to the spreadsheet, or use Repeater.

published application

When a design is published, it becomes a published application.

A published application is then accessible to end-users on the web and on mobile devices.

This is akin to publishing a document, except in this case it's the publishing of a software application.

published application — access mode

A published application can be accessed in one of three modes:

• Public: anyone can access the application, no login is required.
• Anyone With Link: anyone with a unique link can access the application. Similar to "Anyone With Link" functionality found in Google Docs.
• MINTDATA™ Login: only Organization Members from your organization on mintdata.com can access the application. Note: for Enterprise plans where the entire platform runs on-premise, this option is not available.
• Single Sign-on: an account in ADFS, LDAP, or a public identity provider like Google, Facebook, GitHub, or Twitter. Note: this option is available on Enterprise plans only.

real-time cell

A cell that contains the results of calling a flow.

regular overlay

An overlay that is not pinned. You can show or hide regular overlays using the SHOW_OVERLAY() or the HIDE_ALL_OVERLAYS() / HIDE_TOPMOST_OVERLAY() functions, respectively.

Repeater

Functionality that allows any component to be repeated multiple times on the screen.

The number of times the component is repeated can be:

• A fixed number of times.
• A varied number of times, based on the number of non-blank rows or columns detected in a spreadsheet.

self-directed layout

The layout of a component whose position is always relative to the parent but is not defined by the parent.

sheet

Just like a regular spreadsheet, a tab that contains a collection of cells.

Space

A logical grouping of designs.

spreadsheet

The place where all application logic that happens in the browser or on a mobile device is defined. Consists of a group of sheets which in turn contain cells.

Surface

The place where you create and manage the user interface of your application.

types of overlays

Overlays can be either pinned or regular. Pinned overlays become a permanent part of the page that they are attached to. That is, when the page is active, all of the pinned overlays will always appear with that page. This is useful for things like headers and footers.

Workspace

A place where people log in to collaborate on the creation of designs in the Designer.