NAME
      dced_intro - Introduction to the DCE Host daemon routines

  DESCRIPTION

  This introduces the DCE Host Daemon application programming interface:
  the dced API.  This API gives management applications remote access to
  various data, servers, and services on DCE hosts.  Servers manage their
  own configuration in the local dced by using the routines starting with
  dce_server, introduced in the dce_server_intro reference page.

  THE DCED API NAMING CONVENTIONS

  All of the dced API routine names begin with the dced_ prefix.  This
  API contains some specialized routines that operate on services
  represented by the following keywords in the routine names:

  hostdata  The host data management service stores host-specific data
            such as the host name, the host's cell name, and other data,
            and it provides access to these data items.

  server    The server control service configures, starts, and stops
            servers, among other things. Applications must distinguish
            two general states of server control: server configuration
            (srvrconf) and server execution (srvrexec).

  secval    The security validation service maintains a host's principal
            identity and ensures applications that the DCE Security
            daemon is genuine.

  keytab    The key table management service remotely manages key tables.
            The dced also provides the endpoint mapper service which has
            its own API, described with the RPC API.  These routines
            begin with rpc_ep and rpc_mgmt_ep.

  Since some of the dced daemon's services require the same operations
  (but on different data types), the dced API also contains generic
  routines that may operate on more than one of the above services.
  For example, you use the routine dced_object_read() to read a data
  item (object) from the hostdata, srvrconf, srvrexec, or keytab services.

  FILES

        dce/dced_base.h
        dce/dced.h
        dce/dced_data.h
        dce/rpctypes.idl
        dce/passwd.idl
        dce/sec_attr_base.idl

  RELATED INFORMATION

      ROUTINES: dced_* API.

      BOOKS: OSF DCE Application Development Guide