Subjects and objects

A subject is an entity that requires access to system resources. Examples of subjects are:

Human users
Started procedures
Batch jobs
z/OS® UNIX daemons

The term user usually has the same meaning as the term subject, but sometimes implies a human subject. In this book, unless stated otherwise, the terms user and subject are used interchangeably.

An object is a system resource to which access must be controlled. Examples of objects are:

Data sets
z/OS UNIX files and directories
Commands
Terminals
Printers
DASD volumes
Tapes