View source for Protocol Glossary

{{HotlineNav}}
== Glossary of Terms ==

=== Architecture & Networking ===
* '''Big-Endian (Network Byte Order):''' The byte-ordering used by the Hotline protocol where the most significant byte is stored at the smallest memory address. 
* '''Base Port:''' The primary TCP port configured for a server (default is often 5500). All other service ports (+1, +2, +3) are derived from this number.
* '''Handshake (TRTP):''' The initial "Hotline Connection" packet (<code>54 52 54 50</code>) required to establish a session before any transactions can occur.
* '''Transaction:''' The fundamental unit of communication in Hotline, consisting of a 20-byte header and a list of sub-parameters.

=== Data Structures ===
* '''Forks (Data vs. Info):''' A concept inherited from the classic Mac OS File System. 
** '''Data Fork:''' Contains the actual bytes of a file.
** '''Info Fork:''' Contains metadata like the File Type, Creator code, and original timestamps.
* '''Magic Number:''' A unique 4-byte string (e.g., <code>FILP</code>, <code>HTRK</code>) used to identify the format of a binary data block.
* '''NEG (Negated Login):''' A basic obfuscation used in User Management (Trans 352) where every character in a login string is bitwise negated (<code>~char</code>).

=== Components ===
* '''Tracker:''' A central registry server that maintains a list of active Hotline servers and their current user counts.
* '''Tunneling:''' The process of wrapping Hotline transactions inside standard HTTP GET/POST requests to bypass restrictive firewalls.

[[Category:Hotline]]