# Glossary

- [A](/glossary/a.md)
- [API (Application Programming Interface)](/glossary/a/api-application-programming-interface.md): A set of rules and definitions that allows software applications to communicate with each other, enabling the exchange of data and functionality.
- [API Endpoint](/glossary/a/api-endpoint.md): The point at which an API connects with the software program, allowing communication between systems.
- [API Gateway](/glossary/a/api-gateway.md): A tool that sits between clients and services, acting as a reverse proxy to accept all application programming interface (API) calls.
- [API Key](/glossary/a/api-key.md): A code passed in by computer programs calling an API to identify the calling program, its developer, or its user to the website.
- [API Rate Limiting](/glossary/a/api-rate-limiting.md): The practice of controlling the number of API requests a user can make within a specified time frame.
- [Asynchronous Operation](/glossary/a/asynchronous-operation.md): Operations that occur without waiting for the previous operation to complete, improving efficiency and performance.
- [Authentication](/glossary/a/authentication.md): The process of verifying the identity of a user or system.
- [Authorization](/glossary/a/authorization.md): The process of verifying what specific applications, files, and data a user has access to.
- [B](/glossary/b.md)
- [Backend as a Service (BaaS)](/glossary/b/backend-as-a-service-baas.md): A cloud service model that allows developers to focus on the frontend of their application, while outsourcing backend services to a third-party provider.
- [Blueprint](/glossary/b/blueprint.md): In API development, a predefined plan or layout for an API's structure and behavior.
- [C](/glossary/c.md)
- [Cache](/glossary/c/cache.md): A hardware or software component that stores data so future requests for that data can be served faster.
- [CDN (Content Delivery Network)](/glossary/c/cdn-content-delivery-network.md): A system of distributed servers that deliver pages and other web content to a user based on the geographic locations of the user, the origin of the webpage, and a content delivery server.
- [CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment)](/glossary/c/ci-cd-continuous-integration-continuous-deployment.md): A method to frequently deliver apps to customers by introducing automation into the stages of app development.
- [Client](/glossary/c/client.md): The software or device that accesses services or resources on a server.
- [Client-Side Rendering (CSR)](/glossary/c/client-side-rendering-csr.md): Rendering web pages directly in the browser using JavaScript, instead of relying on server-side rendering.
- [Cloud Service Provider (CSP)](/glossary/c/cloud-service-provider-csp.md): A company that offers some component of cloud computing -typically Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS)– to other businesses or individuals.
- [Cluster](/glossary/c/cluster.md): A group of servers and other resources that act like a single system and enable high availability and, in some cases, load balancing.
- [Container](/glossary/c/container.md): A lightweight, stand-alone, executable package of software that includes everything needed to run a piece of software, including the code, runtime, libraries, and system settings.
- [Continuous Delivery](/glossary/c/continuous-delivery.md): A software development practice where code changes are automatically built, tested, and prepared for a release to production.
- [Continuous Integration](/glossary/c/continuous-integration.md): A software development practice where developers regularly merge their code changes into a central repository, after which automated builds and tests are run.
- [Cron Job](/glossary/c/cron-job.md): A scheduled task used to automatically execute scripts at specified times and dates.
- [D](/glossary/d.md)
- [Data Lake](/glossary/d/data-lake.md): A storage repository that holds a vast amount of raw data in its native format until it is needed.
- [Data Warehousing](/glossary/d/data-warehousing.md): Electronic storage of a large amount of information by a business, in a manner that is secure, reliable, easy to retrieve, and easy to manage.
- [Database](/glossary/d/database.md): An organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically in a computer system.
- [Deployment](/glossary/d/deployment.md): The process of making a software application available for use.
- [DevOps](/glossary/d/devops.md): A set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten the system development life cycle and provide continuous delivery with high software quality.
- [Distributed System](/glossary/d/distributed-system.md): A system whose components are located on different networked computers, which communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages.
- [DNS (Domain Name System)](/glossary/d/dns-domain-name-system.md): The phonebook of the Internet. Humans access information online through domain names, like nytimes.com or espn.com.
- [Docker](/glossary/d/docker.md): An open platform for developing, shipping, and running applications in containers.
- [Domain](/glossary/d/domain.md)
- [E](/glossary/e.md)
- [Edge Computing](/glossary/e/edge-computing.md): A distributed computing paradigm that brings computation and data storage closer to the location where it is needed, to improve response times and save bandwidth.
- [Elasticity](/glossary/e/elasticity.md): The ability of a system to automatically scale resources up or down as needed.
- [Endpoint Security](/glossary/e/endpoint-security.md): The practice of securing endpoints or entry points of end-user devices such as desktops, laptops, and mobile devices from being exploited by malicious actors and campaigns.
- [Environment Variables](/glossary/e/environment-variables.md): Key-value pairs in the operating system that are used to store information about the environment that the system is running in.
- [Event-Driven Architecture](/glossary/e/event-driven-architecture.md): A software architecture paradigm promoting the production, detection, consumption of, and reaction to events.
- [F](/glossary/f.md)
- [Fault Tolerance](/glossary/f/fault-tolerance.md): The ability of a system to continue operating without interruption when one or more of its components fail.
- [Firewall](/glossary/f/firewall.md): A network security device that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic based on an organization’s previously established security policies.
- [Function as a Service (FaaS)](/glossary/f/function-as-a-service-faas.md)
- [G](/glossary/g.md)
- [Git](/glossary/g/git.md): A distributed version-control system for tracking changes in source code during software development.
- [GraphQL](/glossary/g/graphql.md): A query language for APIs and a runtime for executing those queries by using a type system you define for your data.
- [H](/glossary/h.md)
- [Hashing](/glossary/h/hashing.md): The process of converting a given key into another value. A hash function is used to generate the new value according to a mathematical algorithm.
- [High Availability (HA)](/glossary/h/high-availability-ha.md)
- [HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)](/glossary/h/http-hypertext-transfer-protocol.md): An application-layer protocol for transmitting hypermedia documents, such as HTML. It was designed for communication between web browsers and web servers, but it can also be used for other purposes.
- [HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)](/glossary/h/https-hypertext-transfer-protocol-secure.md): An extension of HTTP. It is used for secure communication over a computer network, and is widely used on the Internet.
- [I](/glossary/i.md)
- [Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)](/glossary/i/infrastructure-as-a-service-iaas.md): A form of cloud computing that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet.
- [J](/glossary/j.md)
- [JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)](/glossary/j/json-javascript-object-notation.md): A lightweight data-interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write, and easy for machines to parse and generate.
- [K](/glossary/k.md)
- [Kubernetes](/glossary/k/kubernetes.md): An open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications
- [L](/glossary/l.md)
- [Latency](/glossary/l/latency.md): The delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction for its transfer.
- [Load Balancer](/glossary/l/load-balancer.md): A device that acts as a reverse proxy and distributes network or application traffic across a number of servers.
- [Logging](/glossary/l/logging.md): The process of recording events in a computer system.
- [M](/glossary/m.md)
- [Microservices](/glossary/m/microservices.md)
- [Middleware](/glossary/m/middleware.md)
- [Migration](/glossary/m/migration.md): The process of moving data, applications, or other business elements from one environment to another.
- [Mocking](/glossary/m/mocking.md): In testing, the practice of simulating the behavior of real modules to achieve a controlled test environment.
- [Monolithic Architecture](/glossary/m/monolithic-architecture.md): A software development model where an application is built as a single and indivisible unit.
- [Multi-Cloud](/glossary/m/multi-cloud.md): The use of multiple cloud computing and storage services in a single heterogeneous architecture.
- [N](/glossary/n.md)
- [Network Protocol](/glossary/n/network-protocol.md): A set of rules that define how data is transmitted over a network.
- [O](/glossary/o.md)
- [OAuth](/glossary/o/oauth.md): An open standard for access delegation, commonly used as a way for Internet users to grant websites or applications access to their information on other websites but without giving them the passwords.
- [Object Storage](/glossary/o/object-storage.md): A strategy that manages and manipulates data storage as distinct units, called objects. These objects are kept in a single storehouse and are not nested as files in a folder inside other folders.
- [Orchestration](/glossary/o/orchestration.md): The automated configuration, coordination, and management of computer systems and software.
- [P](/glossary/p.md)
- [PaaS (Platform as a Service)](/glossary/p/paas-platform-as-a-service.md)
- [Payload](/glossary/p/payload.md): The part of transmitted data that is the actual intended message.
- [Performance Testing](/glossary/p/performance-testing.md): The process of determining the speed, responsiveness, and stability of a computer, network, software program, or device under a workload.
- [Plugin](/glossary/p/plugin.md): A software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program.
- [Private Cloud](/glossary/p/private-cloud.md): A cloud computing model that offers a proprietary environment dedicated to a single business entity.
- [Public Cloud](/glossary/p/public-cloud.md): A cloud computing model that provides services over the public internet and shared across organizations.
- [Pull Request](/glossary/p/pull-request.md): A method of submitting contributions to a development project. It is a request for the project maintainer to pull a branch from a repository, review it, and merge it into the main codebase.
- [Q](/glossary/q.md)
- [Query Language](/glossary/q/query-language.md): A computer language used to make queries into databases and information systems.
- [Query Parameters](/glossary/q/query-parameters.md): Query parameters are key-value pairs that follow the question mark in the URL.
- [Queue](/glossary/q/queue.md): A collection of entities that are maintained in a sequence and can be modified by the addition of entities at one end of the sequence and the removal of entities from the other end.
- [R](/glossary/r.md)
- [Rate Limiting](/glossary/r/rate-limiting.md): The practice of controlling the amount of incoming and outgoing traffic to or from a network.
- [Real-Time Processing](/glossary/r/real-time-processing.md): The processing of data immediately after capture, without significant delay.
- [Redundancy](/glossary/r/redundancy.md): The duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system.
- [Refactoring](/glossary/r/refactoring.md): The process of restructuring existing computer code—changing the factoring—without changing its external behavior.
- [Regression Testing](/glossary/r/regression-testing.md): A type of software testing that ensures that previously developed and tested software still performs the same way after it is changed or interfaced with other software.
- [Repository](/glossary/r/repository.md): A central place where data is stored and managed.
- [REST (Representational State Transfer)](/glossary/r/rest-representational-state-transfer.md): An architectural style for designing networked applications. It relies on a stateless, client-server, cacheable communications protocol — and in virtually all cases, the HTTP protocol is used.
- [Rollback](/glossary/r/rollback.md): The process of reverting a set of changes to a previous state. This is often used in software deployment when a new release causes issues.
- [S](/glossary/s.md)
- [SaaS (Software as a Service)](/glossary/s/saas-software-as-a-service.md): A software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet.
- [Scalability](/glossary/s/scalability.md): The capability of a system, network, or process to handle a growing amount of work, or its potential to be enlarged to accommodate that growth.
- [Schema](/glossary/s/schema.md): In a database, a schema defines the structure and organization of data. In GraphQL, it specifies the capabilities of the API and how to query it.
- [SDK (Software Development Kit)](/glossary/s/sdk-software-development-kit.md): A collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and perhaps a software framework.
- [Service Mesh](/glossary/s/service-mesh.md): A dedicated infrastructure layer built into an app. This invisible layer facilitates service-to-service communications between services or microservices, using a proxy.
- [Session](/glossary/s/session.md): A semi-permanent interactive information interchange, also known as a dialogue, a conversation, or a meeting, between two or more communicating devices, or between a computer and user.
- [SLA (Service Level Agreement)](/glossary/s/sla-service-level-agreement.md): A contract between a service provider and a customer that specifies, usually in measurable terms, what services the provider will furnish.
- [SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)](/glossary/s/soap-simple-object-access-protocol.md): A messaging protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of web services in computer networks.
- [State](/glossary/s/state.md): In computing, the condition or quality of a computing system as stored in its temporary memory locations or registers.
- [Stateless](/glossary/s/stateless.md): A communication protocol in which no information is retained by either sender or receiver; each packet of data is processed independently without knowledge of previously processed packets.
- [Static Site Generator](/glossary/s/static-site-generator.md): A tool that generates a full static HTML website based on raw data and a set of templates.
- [Storage](/glossary/s/storage.md): The retention of retrievable data on a computer or other electronic system.
- [Stress Testing](/glossary/s/stress-testing.md): A form of deliberately intense or thorough testing used to determine the stability of a given system or entity.
- [Swagger (OpenAPI)](/glossary/s/swagger-openapi.md): A set of tools for developing APIs, including specification, documentation, and a user interface for testing APIs.