synonym is a text string which identifies the server daemon through which communication is to be channelled. The synonyms must be defined in the daemon_file - refer to Appendix A.

token_var identifies a variable to be used to store the integer token returned by the server when the communication channel is successfully opened. The user uses the setting of this variable for all subsequent references to that server daemon.

hostid is a text string which identifies the node on which the server daemon resides (not required for ODBC or if the daemon is running on the same node as Query).

connect_string is any text string needed to allow you to connect/login to the data server (typically contents and database name, username and password).