Tech Dictionary
This is our take on a dictionary/glossary of tech terms. It's a little different because we try to provide perspectives on each term.
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Definition
Refers to operating systems that are UNIX-like, meaning they behaves in a manner similar to that of a UNIX operating system.
Definition
Internet jargon for "I like that" or "I agree".
Definition
A 1-on-1 typically means a discussion, meeting, or an interaction between two people. It usually indicates that the subject matter does not require involving a third party. Medium of communication could be a phone call, video call, or face-to-face.
Definition
A 10x developer is a trope of a developer who is thought to be 10 times as productive as the average developer.
Perspectives
As a developer, "10x developer" means a developer who produces large amounts of code, though often without direction or collaboration.
Definition
3-click Rule suggests that a user of a website should be able to find any information within three mouse clicks. Else, they will likely become frustrated and leave the site.
Definition
A 32-bit operating system is an operating system that is equipped with a 32-bit processor, and can access 2^32 different memory addresses.
Perspectives
As a Deep Thought Supercomputer, "42" means the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe and Everything.
Definition
A 64-bit operating system is an operating system that is equipped with a 64-bit processor, and can access 2^64 different memory addresses.
Definition
80% of the outcome is the result of 20% of all causes. Also known as the Pareto Principle.
Perspectives
As a programmer, "80/20 Rule" means only 20% of the time is actual coding the rest is thinking.
As a manager, "80/20 Rule" means 80% of the employees are slacking, and the other 20 are doing all the work.
Definition
A/B testing is a UX methodology where two variables are randomly tested on participants.
Perspectives
As a Designer, "A/B Testing" means a technique I use when I'm not sure about one specific part of a design and want to gain insight.
Definition
Accessibility, often shortened to a11y due to the 11 letters between the "a" and the "y", is the measure of how usable your website is for all people, inclusive of disability and circumstance.
Perspectives
As a developer, "accessibility (a11y)" means coding websites, apps, and software to be usable by as many people as possible.
As a designer, "accessibility (a11y)" means making sure that your designs are usable by all of your user groups.
Definition
Aesthic is a particular conception of beauty or art, a particular taste for or approach to what is pleasing to the senses and especially sight.
Perspectives
As a artist, "Aesthetic" means study of beauty and taste related to the philosophy of art concerned with the nature of art in terms of which individual works are interpreted and evaluated.
Definition
An affordance is an action that a specific user can take with any physical or digital object.
Perspectives
As a designer, "Affordance" means anything that a user can do with my design - whether that was my intention or not.
Definition
Agile is an iterative approach to project management and software development that helps teams deliver value to their customers faster and with fewer headaches. Instead of betting everything on a "big bang" launch, an agile team delivers work in small, but consumable, increments. Requirements, plans, and results are evaluated continuously so teams have a natural mechanism for responding to change quickly.
Definition
Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data patterns towards effective decision making.
Definition
Android is an mobile operating system developed by google, used by smartphones and tablets.
Definition
Angular is an application design framework and development platform for creating efficient and sophisticated single-page apps.
Perspectives
As a Web Developer, "Angular" means a front end framework used to develop web applications. It competes with React and Vue. It is commonly used in stacks like the MEAN stack.
Definition
App is short for application that is meant for end users. App is either used for mobile app or web app. It's software for clients, not integrated systems, internal machinery, etc.
Definition
The word Application refers to any software with a distinct function, and interface can be thought as a contract of service between two applications. This contract defines how the two communicate with each other using requests and responses. Then a API sets contracts with defined rules that explain how computers or applications communicate with one another. This allows services and products to communicate with each other and leverage each other's data and functionality through a documented interface.
Definition
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a machine to perform cognitive tasks, i.e., the ability to solve problems based on their knowledge and acquire new knowledge through experience, where that knowledge is the stored data. The term AI can also be used to refer to systems that are able to execute the aforementioned tasks.
Definition
ascii is a common character encoding format for text data in computers and the internet.
Definition
Ascii art refers to images that are created using the ASCII text characters.
Definition
Automated testing is the application of software tools to automate a human-driven manual process of reviewing and validating a software product.
Definition
An icon, graphic, or other image by which a person represents himself or herself on a communications network or in a virtual community, such as a chatroom or multiplayer game.
Perspectives
As a anyone can use an Avatar, "Avatar" means an iconic mirage used for oneself for social media on the internet.
Definition
A brandbook is a document that’s used to describe the brand identity of your company. It is a comprehensive guide in which you describe the look of your brand’s identity, including your logo, colors, fonts, typefaces, images, sounds, smells, and materials.
Definition
a deck of cards, also called ideation cards, used as a tool for companies to find their brand identity
Perspectives
As a marketer, "brand deck" means a tool to help clients realize what they want out of their brand by brainstorming through iterative questioning.
Definition
Breadcrumbs are a navigational UI element that helps users find their way around a digital product. It uses hierarchical structure and is visualized as a list of links that represent the current page and parent pages. Here's an example of breadcrumbs on a fictional clothing website: Home > Men's > Bottoms > Denim
Perspectives
As a designer, "Breadcrumb" means is a no-brainer addition to an interface. They make it really easy for a user to navigate through a site or app.
Definition
A bug is a problem causing a program to crash or produce invalid output.
Perspectives
As a programmer, "bug" means an error, mistake, defect or fault, which may cause failure or deviation from expected results.
Perspectives
As a New UX wanna be designer, "burnout" means I've been on the computer for the past 365 days!.
Definition
C# (pronounced as See-Sharp) is a powerful and adaptable object-oriented programming (OOP) language. It offers capability to meet the demands of modern software development, including Web, mobile, and app development.
Definition
Cache is a temporary storage space or memory that allows fast access to data, such as: Web browser cache; CPU cache.
Definition
A call to action is a feature on a webpage that invites the user to complete a desired action, like signing up for a service
Definition
A term used in programming to describe a situation where multiple nested callback functions in asynchronous code become hard to read, understand, and maintain. This occurs when asynchronous operations are dependent on the results of previous asynchronous operations, leading to deeply nested callback functions, which can make the code difficult to follow and prone to errors.
Definition
A chatbot is a computer program that simulates and processes human conversation (either written or spoken), allowing humans to interact with digital devices as if they were communicating with a real person.
Perspectives
As a front-end developer, "Chatbot" means a computer program that can be programed to chat with end-users on websites.
Definition
The chief executive officer (CEO) is the top position in an organization and is responsible for implementing existing plans and policies, ensuring the successful management of the business and setting future strategy.
Definition
the highest ranked and C-level marketing leader within a company
Definition
CI/CD is an approach to app delivery that integrates automation into app-development stages. CI/CD stands for continuous integration/continuous delivery or deployment, and grew out of agile-development practices aimed at reducing app development times and increasing the number of releases.
Perspectives
As a car manufacturer, "CI/CD" means imagine a car, it's like we are first delivering the engine with wheels, then the chassis, then the windows, lights and so on. that is, we deliver as we build parts of our car (application).
Definition
Computer programs with a text interface, which you usually run directly from your terminal.
Definition
Commits are the core building block units of a Git project timeline. Commits can be thought of as snapshots or milestones along the timeline of a Git project. Commits are created with the git commit command to capture the state of a project at that point in time.
Perspectives
As a developer, "commit" means I want to submit my code to main codebase.
As a manager, "commit" means I want to add my view with the help of code and showcase my work to other developer/manager so they can help me out.
Definition
The percentage of users who take a desired action
Perspectives
As a UX specialist, "Conversion rate" means the rate at which users respond to a Call to Action.
Definition
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technology or tool for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is to improve business relationships to grow your business.
Perspectives
As a business owner, "CRM" means all principles, tools, practices or even guidelines that I use in my business to manage customer interactions and data in order to improve customer service and ultimately increase customer retention.
Definition
A database is an organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically in a computer system. A database is different than a spreadsheet in that a database allows for a greater manipulation of data, allowing for more complex operations to be performed. The most popular model is the Relational Database Model.
Definition
DevOps is the combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increases an organization’s ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity: evolving and improving products at a faster pace than organizations using traditional software development and infrastructure management processes.
Perspectives
As a software developer, "DevOps" means a set of operations and practices aimed towards helping software development teams to effectively develop, deliver and operate software.
Perspectives
As a Web Developer, "div" means a div is a container that holds content.
Definition
An affliction characterized by the excessive use of the <div> tag when creating html. This can make the html mark-up confusing to work with, especially as you begin to nest divs inside other divs. Divitis can be treated effectively by looking up the concept of "Semantic html"
Definition
Acronym for Don't repeat yourself.
Perspectives
As a Web Developer, "DRY" means avoiding duplication in one's code and not hardcoding the same values, functions or patterns over and over. For instance, if a dev hardcoded a color value repeatedly in their stylesheet, they could instead create a variable once(--favpink: #FF69B4;) and use the variable name repeatedly instead of the hex code to make the stylesheet more DRY.
Definition
An edge case is a type of software bug that are uncommon for users to encounter.
Perspectives
As a Software Engineer, "edge case" means a case that, while unusual, should still not be overlooked or underestimated.
Definition
a unit of length, relative to the font size of the element
Perspectives
As a front-end developer, "em" means a unit I can use to specify sizes based on the font size of my current element.
Definition
An empathy map is a collaborative visualization used to articulate what we know about a particular type of user. It externalizes knowledge about users in order to 1) create a shared understanding of user needs, and 2) aid in decision making.
Definition
An end user is the person a product development team has in mind when they design their product.
Perspectives
As a software developer, "End User" means a person who uses a software product.
Definition
Testing the complete flow/application of a system
Definition
This is an example definition.
Perspectives
As a example giver, "Example Phrase" means a thing that clarifies or gives meaning to another concept.
Definition
a diagram that shows step-by-step progression through a procedure or system especially using connecting lines and a set of conventional symbols
Perspectives
As a product manager, "Flowchart" means which step/functionality comes after which step. A roadmap is a flowchart.
Definition
FontFace is a CSS rule that displays text with different custom fonts. Fontfaces allow fonts to be stored either locally or remotely. When it happens to be loaded can be controlled to.
Definition
Foo and foobar are intentional placeholders for generic examples, files, or programs. They are commonly used words to name variables, usually in examples that do not necessarily matter.
Definition
the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (such as a task) so as to encourage participation
Perspectives
As a front-end developer, "Gamification" means The word refers to the incorporation of game elements, like point and reward systems, to tasks as incentives for people to participate. In other words, gamification is about making something potentially tedious into a game.
Definition
General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) is a regulation on the protection of natural persons in relation to the processing and free movement of personal data. It is a regulation based on EU law governing data protection and privacy in the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA). Its goal is to give EU citizens control over their personal data by holding companies accountable for the way they treat their data. The regulation applies regardless of where the website is hosted. In order that EU citizens are protected, all websites are to comply with the regulation.
Perspectives
As a software developer, "General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR)" means developing software that is in compliance with the regulation and using technical and organizational measures in handling data appropriately.
Definition
Git is a distributed version control system used for tracking changes in source code during software development. Git allows a coding team to coordinate their work by allowing individuals to branch the source code and merge changes back in using commits. Code changes are documented and tracked which allows the users to colectively review the work of their team to ensure consistency, as well as the option to revert the code base back to a previous state if any issues arrise
Perspectives
As a A British Citizen, "git" means an unpleasant or contemptible person e.g. "He's a right git".
Definition
Go live means to begin operating or to become available for use.
Perspectives
As a software developer, "go live" means when a product/platform is now accessible to the general public or the targeted users.
Definition
A query language for your API, and a server-side runtime for executing queries using a type system you define for your data.
Perspectives
As a Software Developer or Software Engineer (Front End, Back End, or Full Stack), "GraphQL" means A fast and flexible way to get data from an API.
Definition
HTML defines the meaning and structure of web content. It allows the creation and structure of sections, paragraphs, and links using HTML elements. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) maintains and develops HTML specifications.
Definition
Ideation is the capacity for or the act of forming or entertaining ideas.
Perspectives
As a product designer, "ideation" means a stage in product design thinking process when team members brainstorm and explore solutions to the problem identified. It is a stage when ideas are generated and evaluated.
Definition
A level of software testing where components/interfaces are combined and tested as a group.
Definition
A funny (yet embarrassing) phrase commonly used by programmers or anyone who has written some code to explain an error or bug that might have occurred in production or during deployments and which worked perfectly fine during development.
Definition
Java is an object-oriented programming language that produces software for multiple platforms. When a programmer writes a Java application, the compiled code (known as bytecode) runs on most operating systems (OS), including Windows, Linux and Mac OS. Java derives much of its syntax from the C and C++ programming languages.
Perspectives
As a Developer, "Java" means a language to be used for backend for developing mobile applications and also used for problem solving for data structures and algorithms.
Definition
JavaScript is a programming or scripting language that allows one to create a dynamic or complex webpage. Features such as interactive maps, animated graphics, multimedia functionalities and many more are all created with Javascript. It is referred to as the third layer in the three layers of standard web technologies.
Perspectives
As a frontend developer, "JavaScript" means a programming language I can use to bring concepts to life. I can use it to implement designs and site interactions.
Definition
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is a critical (key) indicator of progress toward an intended result. A KPI provides a focus for strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical basis for decision making and help focus attention on what matters most.
Perspectives
As a software developer, "KPI" means a way to measure the work I have done in order to remain accountable to set objectives.
Definition
an early draft of a website or web application. Mockups are primarily used for conception to convert ideas and concepts into a concrete design.
Perspectives
As a front-end & back-end developer, "Mockup" means a tool that can be used to draft or brainstorm ideas for the future programing code.
Definition
An MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is a version of a new product that has just enough features to be shipped to customers. This version is then further developed based on the feedback from these initial users.
Perspectives
As a software developer, "MVP" means a way to ensure that attainable goals and features are set at the beginning of the development phase of a new product. This allows one to ship and get feedback of a new product quickly and efficiently.
Definition
Open source software is software that is available for anyone to view, copy, change, or distribute for any purpose. Some notable examples of open source software include the Linux operating system, the Mozilla Firefox browser, Apache HTTP Server software, and LibreOffice productivity software. Every year, open source software contributions are celebrated during October as part of a month-long event called Hacktoberfest.
Perspectives
As a Software Engineer, "Open Source Software (OSS)" means software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance, and is an important part of the software development community - allowing collaboration of large numbers of programmers with diverse perspectives, increasing the speed of innovation.
Definition
A pull request is an event in Git where a contributor asks a maintainer of a Git repository to review code they want to merge into a project.
Perspectives
As a software engineer, "pull request (PR)" means others can review and approve my code changes before I merge them.
Definition
React is an open-source JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It is not exclusive to the web rather it is used with other libraries to render to certain environments. Its component-based library lets you build high quality user interfaces for webpages.
Definition
Refactoring is a methodical process for reorganizing a body of existing code and modifying its internal organization without changing its external behaviour. It is a more specific technique of restructuring. It is based on the use of small behaviour-preserving transformations (called refactorings). Refactoring should not break your code.
Perspectives
As a software developer, "Refactoring" means splitting my code into modules to reduce the size of the code, or adopting other appealing and simple alternatives in writing my code. This means it is easier to add new features to my codebase.
Perspectives
As a software engineer, "semantic versioning" means a standardized format for me to follow when publishing new versions of software libraries, frameworks, or products.
Definition
SPA stands for Single Page Application. It is a very common way of programming websites these days. The idea is that the website loads all the HTML/JS the first time you visit. When you then navigate, the browser will only rerender the content without refreshing the website.
Perspectives
As a developer, "SPA" means a way for me to make the user experience feel a lot smoother. You can tell when it’s a SPA or multi-page application when navigating between menus often because a multi-page application will reload, making the whole UI blink fast depending on the content.
Definition
This is a bit of a fun joke - Cherry on Tech loves stickers, so we consider ourselves sticker-driven!
Definition
Sass is a stylesheet language that’s compiled to CSS. It allows you to use variables, nested rules, mixins, functions, and more, all with a fully CSS-compatible syntax. Sass helps keep large stylesheets well-organized and makes it easy to share design within and across projects.
Perspectives
As a member, "Tech squad" means a group that closely supports each other in their careers.
Definition
Technical debt, also known as code debt, refers to the cost or consequences of prioritizing speed or ease of implementation over quality. In software development, this can mean making coding or design decisions that will need to be addressed in the future in order to get a viable solution into production sooner. While often necessary in the short term, this debt can add up and become more problematic or expensive over time.
Definition
A technical writer is a professional writer that communicates complex information. They break down complex technical products into easy-to-comprehend guides that help the end-user understand how to use the products and services. They create software documentation, user/instructions manuals, product descriptions, tutorials, quick reference guides, memos and journal articles Being a technical writer requires either having certifications, taking technical writing courses, having a background in software development or a related technical field.
Perspectives
As a software developer, "Technical writer" means a person who explains in a clear way the software tools, technologies and concepts I apply in software development.
Definition
Document that describes the step by step process of how to test an application.
Definition
Too long; didn't read (abbreviated TL;DR and tl;dr) is a shorthand notation added by an editor indicating that a passage appears too long to invest the time to digest it.
Definition
A unit test is a test designed to validate the smallest possible unit of code (e.g. a function or a method) and test it in isolation from the rest of the system. The purpose of unit testing is to validate that each unit of the software works as intended and meets the requirements. Unit tests are usually automated and are run each time the code is changed to ensure that new code does not break existing functionality.
Definition
A user journey map is a UX tool used to envision the process that a person takes in order to accomplish a goal. It usually includes the actual steps a person takes, the thoughts and emotions that the person has, and opportunities for product improvement
Perspectives
As a Designer, "User Journey Maps" means is something I like to use when I want to further empathize with my user and tell a story about their experience.
Definition
A data container that saves the data values during program execution.
Definition
Webpack is a static module bundler for modern JavaScript applications. When webpack processes your application, it internally builds a dependency graph from one or more entry points and then combines every module your project needs into one or more bundles, which are static assets to serve your content from.
Perspectives
As a module bundler, "webpack" means it takes disparate dependencies, creates modules for them and bundles the entire network up into manageable output files.
Definition
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft.
Definition
A wireframe is a simple visual representation of the skeletal framework of a website or application. It helps to plan out the basic structure, layout, navigation and more. They can be either hand drawn or digital, and generally do not include colors or graphics.
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