Application developers can use an optional attribute configuration file to tailor how an RPC interface appears to local application code and how the local application code interacts with the RPC interface. The attribute configuration file is written in the attribute configuration language, which is a companion language to IDL. When the IDL compiler is invoked, it searches for an attribute configuration file in addition to processing the interface definition file.
An attribute configuration file modifies how the IDL compiler interprets an interface definition. For example, an attribute configuration file can specify a subset of operations declarations for a client stub so that the client stub contains declarations for only the operations that the client application code needs for its remote procedure calls. Limiting the client's access to the remote procedures offered by servers reduces the size of the client stub. Another action you can control with an attribute configuration file is defining how a client establishes a binding with a server that implements the called interface.
For complete information on the set of attribute configuration file attributes, see the OSF DCE Application Development Guide - Core Components.