Glossary
This glossary covers the main technical concepts discussed in these Developers' Guides. If you are looking for capsule development terms, see the Glossary in the Build Conversational Experiences documentation.
A
action flow
A graph starts with a user's utterance and leads to the appropriate commands to send to a smart device. An action flow relates to a specific voice intent and contains different types of nodes connected by execution paths and data paths. An action flow lets you model the behavior of a device in response to a voice command, in a visual manner.
activity bar
The left margin of Bixby Home Studio, which contains icons that switch between various tasks used in action flow development. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
attribute
The value of a specified capability for a device. For more information, see the Nodes reference page.
B
Bixby Home Platform (BHP)
A connectivity platform that enables intelligent voice control on Internet of Things (IoT) devices, using Samsung's virtual personal assistant, Bixby, and the IoT platform SmartThings. For more information, see Overview.
Bixby Home Studio (BHS)
A web-based graphical interface tool for Bixby Home Platform, which helps developers design the voice interfaces between the Bixby virtual assistant and smart devices registered with SmartThings. It enables more intelligent execution of voice commands, taking into account the states and contexts of various devices. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
C
capability
A SmartThings capability summarizes an underlying function of a specific device, allowing you to retrieve the state of a device component or control a function of the device. A capability can consist of an attribute and a command. For more information, see the SmartThings Capabilities reference page.
command
An action dictated to Bixby via the Command node. When you configure a Command node, the result of the selected command determines which ports appear on the node. For more information, see Sending a Device Command.
component
An operating section or compartment of a device, such as the mainDoor or freezerDoor on a refrigerator.
configuration
How a node is set up. For more information, see the Nodes references page.
confirmation prompt
A prompt that asks the user to confirm something, such as performing an action. For more information, see Prompting Users With Ask Nodes.
console
The bottom portion of the window in Bixby Home Studio. This shows the activity log, problems, notifications, and node search tabs after you click the console icon. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
D
data flow
A path that shows data in an action flow passing from one node to another. For more information, see Sending a Device Command With an Argument.
data input port
A port that transfers information into a node. For more information, see the Datatypes reference page.
data output port
A port that transfers information out of a node. For more information, see the Datatypes reference page.
data type
A type of data within nodes that you can use in Bixby Home Studio. For more information, see the Datatypes reference page.
developer
A person or organization that can make modifications to metadata or capsules.
device ID
The unique identifying number of a device. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
dialog
A response that Bixby can provide to a user while fulfilling a request. For more information, see Creating a Bixby Response Using Device Status.
dynamic input port
A port that can change based on a node's capability with a label. These data input ports can be added to a node. For more information, see Sending a Device Command With an Argument.
E
editor
The main area of the Bixby Home Studio window, where you can create action flows. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
execution
The process of running an action flow to produce a result, and the associated presentation to the user.
execution command
The action that the Command node performs, based on the node's configuration.
execution flow
The path that shows the control or execution of the action flow passing from one node to another. It outlines the plan Bixby uses during execution. For more information, see Sending a Device Command.
execution ratio
The ratio that shows how many voice intents successfully execute during testing of a metadata file for submission. For more information, see Publishing the Bixby Device Graph (BHS Metadata Submission).
H
hands-free mode
User-mode of Bixby that is activated when users say the wake phrase "Hi, Bixby". Normally, this implies that users cannot see and/or touch the device to interact with it.
hands-on mode
User-mode of Bixby that is activated when users press and hold the Bixby button on the device or tap the Bixby button on the device's screen when Bixby is already opened. This implies that the user can see and/or touch the screen, as well as use the Bixby button to answer.
L
label
A name that is mapped to an input attribute, such as Media Input. For more information, see Creating Custom Device Labels.
locale
A specific location defined by an ISO 3166 code, made up of a two-letter language code and an optional two-letter country code. For example, en-US is the US English locale, en-GB is the Great Britain English locale, en is the English locale that covers all english-speaking countries, and ko-KR is the South Korean Korean locale.
location ID
The unique identifying number for a device's location, such as your home. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
M
manufacturer ID (MNID)
The manufacturer ID assigned to developers by SmartThings. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
metadata
A file that contains selected voice intents, assets, and subgraphs for a device, along with related action flows. For more information, see Publishing the Bixby Device Graph (BHS Metadata Submission).
Metadata profile
The part of the metadata sidebar that lists the voice intents, assets, and subgraphs of a device. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
metadata sidebar
The part of the Bixby Home Studio interface that displays the list of voice intents you selected when creating your metadata project. Buttons at the top of the sidebar allow you to create, add, export, and manage metadata. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
N
Natural Language (NL)
Anything a human might type or say when interacting with Bixby. It need not be grammatical, and can be of any language.
node
A function that developers can use in Bixby Home Studio. A node consists of three components: Configuration, data input/output ports, and triggering ports. For more information, see the Nodes references page.
P
parameter
The name of a type of node input, such as coolingTemperature, which can have a fetched or assigned value. Available parameters for a node depend on the device being used.
port
An interaction point on a node that allows data flows and execution flows to flow in and out of it.
prompt
An interruption in execution to confirm with the user, or to elicit a value or selection. For more information, see Prompting Users With Ask Nodes.
property
A descriptive piece of information about a specific voice intent, such as the related voice command and capability. You can view properties of a voice intent in the Metadata profile.
R
response
Bixby provides a status update or specified dialog, via a Response node, to inform users about the success or failure of the device commands. For more information, see the Nodes reference page.
room ID
This is the unique identifying number for the specific location of the device, such as your living room at home. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
S
sample graphs
These graphs are various example action flows you can use as starter points for your own device or explore to learn more about the various voice intents, nodes, and SmartThings capabilities available in Bixby Home Platform. For more information, see Sample Graphs.
selection prompt
A prompt that asks the user to make a selection. For more information, see Prompting Users With Ask Nodes.
SmartThings
SmartThings provides a cohesive platform for Internet of Things (IoT) devices to interoperate and communicate. For more information, see the SmartThings Developers website.
status bar
The bottom portion of the window in the Bixby Home Studio interface, which shows your device information and your account email address. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
success ratio
The ratio that shows how many of the successfully executed voice intents reached their goals during testing of a metadata file for submission. For more information, see Publishing the Bixby Device Graph (BHS Metadata Submission).
subgraph
A graph used to modularize the main graph and separate functionality into distinctive and reusable sections. For more information, see Creating Subgraphs.
submission
A new or updated metadata file that has been submitted for publishing through Bixby Home Studio. For more information, see Publishing the Bixby Device Graph (BHS Metadata Submission).
submission state
One of five possible processing stages that a metadata file submitted for publishing can be in. For more information, see Publishing the Bixby Device Graph (BHS Metadata Submission).
T
time average
Shows how quickly each action flow completed, and if it completed in a reasonable amount of time during testing of a metadata file for submission. For more information, see Publishing the Bixby Device Graph (BHS Metadata Submission).
triggering port
A port where a node receives or sends the execution flow. For more information, see the Nodes references page.
U
user
An end-user of the entire system.
utterance
A natural language request made actually or potentially made by a user.
V
vendor identifier number (VID)
The vendor identifier number assigned to your device. For more information, see Bixby Home Studio Basics.
voice command
A user utterance through which Bixby identifies a corresponding voice intent.
voice intent
A user's intention that Bixby can understand from natural voice commands. Voice intents determine what voice commands can be used to control a device. Different capabilities support various voice intents. For more information, see the Voice Intents reference page.