Your comprehensive guide to software development terminology
A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. APIs define the methods and data formats that applications can use to request and exchange information.
Example:
When you use a weather app on your phone, it uses a weather service's API to fetch current weather data. The app sends a request to the API, and receives structured weather information in return.
A comprehensive cloud computing platform offered by Amazon. AWS provides over 200 services including computing power, storage, databases, machine learning, and more.
Example:
Netflix runs entirely on AWS infrastructure, using services like EC2 for computing, S3 for storage, and CloudFront for content delivery to stream video to millions of users worldwide.
A project management and software development methodology that emphasizes iterative development, collaboration, and flexibility. Agile teams work in short cycles (sprints) and adapt to changing requirements.
Example:
Instead of spending 6 months building a complete product, an Agile team releases a basic version in 2 weeks, gathers user feedback, and continuously improves it in 2-week sprints.
The process of verifying the identity of a user, device, or system. Authentication confirms that someone is who they claim to be before granting access to resources.
Example:
When you log in with your email and password, or use Google Sign-In, you're going through authentication. The system verifies your credentials before allowing access to your account.
The process of determining what an authenticated user is allowed to do. Authorization controls access to resources and defines user permissions.
Example:
After logging in (authentication), authorization determines whether you can view admin pages, edit documents, or delete records. An admin might have full access while a regular user has limited permissions.
The server-side part of a web application that handles business logic, database operations, authentication, and data processing. It's what happens behind the scenes that users don't directly see.
Example:
When you log into a website, the backend verifies your credentials against the database, creates a secure session, and determines what content you're allowed to see.
A geographically distributed network of servers that deliver web content to users based on their location. CDNs reduce latency by serving content from the nearest server.
Example:
YouTube uses CDNs to serve videos. When you watch a video in London, it's delivered from a nearby European server rather than from YouTube's US data center, making it load faster.
A software development practice where code changes are automatically built, tested, and deployed to production. CI focuses on integrating code frequently, while CD automates the release process.
Example:
When a developer pushes code to GitHub, CI/CD automatically runs tests, builds the application, and if everything passes, deploys it to production - all without manual intervention.
A technique of storing frequently accessed data in a faster storage layer (cache) to reduce load times and server load. Cached data can be retrieved much quicker than fetching from the original source.
Example:
When you visit a news website, images and stylesheets are cached in your browser. On your next visit, these files load instantly from cache instead of downloading again.
The delivery of computing services (servers, storage, databases, networking, software) over the internet ('the cloud'). It allows organizations to access technology resources on-demand without owning physical infrastructure.
Example:
Instead of buying and maintaining your own servers, you can use AWS or Azure to host your website. You only pay for what you use, and can easily scale up during high traffic periods.
An organized collection of structured data stored electronically. Databases allow you to efficiently store, retrieve, update, and manage large amounts of information.
Example:
When you create an account on a website, your username, email, and password are stored in a database. Every time you log in, the system queries the database to verify your credentials.
A platform that packages applications and their dependencies into containers - lightweight, portable units that can run consistently across different computing environments.
Example:
Instead of saying 'works on my machine', you package your app with Docker. The same container that works on your laptop will work identically on production servers.
The process of converting readable data into an encoded format that can only be read by someone with the decryption key. Encryption protects sensitive information from unauthorized access.
Example:
When you enter your credit card on a website with HTTPS, your card number is encrypted before being sent. Even if someone intercepts the data, they can't read it without the decryption key.
The client-side part of a web application that users directly interact with. It includes everything users see and interact with in their browser - layout, design, buttons, forms, and animations.
Example:
When you visit a website and see the navigation menu, product images, and checkout button, you're experiencing the frontend. It's built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
A distributed version control system that tracks changes in source code during software development. Git allows multiple developers to work on the same project simultaneously.
Example:
When you save changes to your code with Git, it creates a snapshot you can return to later. If you break something, you can easily revert to a previous working version.
A query language for APIs and a runtime for executing those queries. GraphQL allows clients to request exactly the data they need, making APIs more efficient and flexible than REST.
Example:
Instead of calling multiple REST endpoints, a mobile app can use a single GraphQL query to fetch a user's profile, posts, and comments in one request, reducing network overhead.
A lightweight data interchange format that's easy for humans to read and write, and easy for machines to parse and generate. JSON is the most common format for API data exchange.
Example:
{"name": "John", "age": 30, "city": "London"} - This JSON represents a person object with three properties. It's used to transfer data between server and client.
An open-source container orchestration platform that automates deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications. Often abbreviated as K8s.
Example:
If you have 100 Docker containers running your application, Kubernetes automatically distributes them across servers, replaces failed containers, and scales up when traffic increases.
A device or software that distributes network traffic across multiple servers. Load balancers ensure no single server becomes overwhelmed, improving reliability and performance.
Example:
When millions of users access Netflix, a load balancer distributes requests across thousands of servers. If one server fails, traffic is automatically routed to healthy servers.
A subset of artificial intelligence where systems learn from data to improve their performance without being explicitly programmed. ML algorithms identify patterns and make predictions based on examples.
Example:
Netflix uses machine learning to recommend shows you might like based on your viewing history. The system learns your preferences over time and gets better at making suggestions.
An architectural approach where an application is built as a collection of small, independent services that communicate through APIs. Each service handles a specific business function.
Example:
Amazon's website uses microservices: separate services handle user authentication, product catalog, shopping cart, payment processing, and shipping. Each can be updated independently.
A category of database management systems that don't use traditional SQL relational database structures. NoSQL databases are designed to handle large volumes of unstructured or semi-structured data.
Example:
MongoDB is a NoSQL database that stores data in flexible, JSON-like documents. It's perfect for applications where data structure might change frequently, like social media platforms.
A JavaScript runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript code on the server-side. It uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it efficient for building scalable network applications.
Example:
Companies like Netflix, LinkedIn, and PayPal use Node.js for their backend services. It allows developers to use JavaScript for both frontend and backend development.
Web applications that use modern web technologies to provide an app-like experience. PWAs can work offline, send push notifications, and be installed on devices like native apps.
Example:
Twitter Lite is a PWA that loads quickly, works offline, uses less data, and can be added to your phone's home screen. It feels like a native app but runs in the browser.
Representational State Transfer API - an architectural style for building web services that uses HTTP requests to perform CRUD operations. RESTful APIs are stateless and use standard HTTP methods.
Example:
GET /api/users/123 retrieves user data, POST /api/users creates a new user, PUT /api/users/123 updates user 123, DELETE /api/users/123 removes the user.
A popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces, particularly single-page applications. Developed by Facebook, it uses a component-based architecture and virtual DOM for efficient rendering.
Example:
Netflix, Instagram, and Airbnb use React to build their web interfaces. React allows developers to create reusable UI components like buttons, cards, and forms that can be used throughout the application.
An in-memory data structure store used as a database, cache, and message broker. Redis is extremely fast because it stores data in RAM rather than on disk.
Example:
E-commerce sites use Redis to cache product information. Instead of querying the database every time, frequently accessed data is stored in Redis for instant retrieval.
A web design approach that ensures websites adapt and display properly across different screen sizes and devices - from desktop monitors to smartphones.
Example:
A responsive website automatically adjusts its layout: a three-column desktop layout might stack into a single column on mobile, with larger buttons for easier tapping.
A programming language designed for managing and querying relational databases. SQL allows you to create, read, update, and delete data using standardized commands.
Example:
SELECT * FROM users WHERE age > 18; - This SQL query retrieves all users from the 'users' table who are older than 18 years.
A cloud computing model where the cloud provider manages server infrastructure, automatically scaling resources based on demand. Developers focus on code without managing servers.
Example:
AWS Lambda is serverless - you upload your code, and it runs only when triggered (like when a user uploads a photo). You pay only for the compute time used, with no idle server costs.
A programming language built on JavaScript that adds static typing. TypeScript helps catch errors during development and makes code more maintainable and self-documenting.
Example:
In JavaScript, you might accidentally assign a string to a variable expecting a number. TypeScript catches this error before your code runs, preventing bugs in production.
A communication protocol that provides full-duplex, bidirectional communication between client and server over a single TCP connection. Unlike HTTP, WebSocket connections stay open for real-time data exchange.
Example:
Chat applications use WebSockets to instantly deliver messages. When someone sends you a message, it appears immediately without refreshing the page, creating a real-time experience.
32 terms and counting
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