ADsafe glossary

The original documentation uses a small vocabulary for language checks and controlled document access. These definitions follow that context; some words have broader meanings elsewhere in JavaScript.

ADSAFE

The object supplied by the host page. It offers startup, library, property-access and utility methods to restricted guests. The uppercase name identifies the runtime object; ADsafe is the project’s name.

Bunch

A wrapper for zero or more nodes. Queries return bunches, and their methods perform selected operations without returning unrestricted DOM elements. A bunch’s method names do not imply that it is a JavaScript array.

Capability

An object or function reference that gives its holder the ability to perform an operation. In ADsafe’s model, the host controls which capabilities it supplies and must prevent those interfaces from exposing broader authority.

Capability leakage

A path from an allowed interface to authority outside the intended grant. The archived widget documentation warns that a raw DOM node can reveal the document and therefore should not be handed directly to a guest.

dom

The mediated root interface received by a widget’s startup callback. It represents access to the widget’s subtree and offers query and creation operations. It is distinct from the browser’s global document object.

Guest

Code included by a host but not granted the host page’s full authority. ADsafe guests must obey the subset and structural rules; merely calling a function a guest does not restrict it.

Host

The embedding page and its trusted policy. It supplies the runtime, chooses approved libraries and services, ensures ID uniqueness and preserves the surrounding assumptions required by the model.

Hunter

A selector that finds a new selection of nodes, such as a tag name or prefixed ID. The original query language distinguishes these from filters that narrow the current selection.

Interceptor

A host function registered through ADSAFE._intercept. It runs before the widget callback and can change the supplied interfaces. An interceptor therefore changes the policy being evaluated.

Approved library

A script accepted under the historical library rules, registering its result through ADSAFE.lib between id and go. Approval is part of a host workflow, not a property inferred from a filename.

Pecker

The original documentation’s term for a query filter. A class, attribute or supported pseudo-selector can remove nonmatching nodes from the current selection. It does not replace the initial hunter.

Root

The containing DIV of a widget, with its unique prefixed identifier. The widget subtree begins there. Root and protected-node markers also matter to the runtime’s parent and event operations.

Subset

The JavaScript forms permitted by the historical ADsafe rules. Restricting syntax and access paths enables checks that would not work for unrestricted guest JavaScript.

Verifier

The static checking component that examines code and structure before execution. The archived documents describe JSLint’s ADsafe checks. The runtime’s methods do not replace that validation step.

Widget

An HTML fragment with guest script, wrapped and started according to the documented rules. An ordinary interactive element is not automatically an ADsafe widget.

Read the terms in use in the getting-started guide, inspect method behavior in the API reference, or explore the broader sandboxing explanation.