# Glossary

- [A](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/a.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter A, covering APIs, authentication, and authorization.
- [API (Application Programming Interface)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/a/api-endpoint.md): The point at which an API connects with the software program, allowing communication between systems.
- [API Gateway](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/a/api-gateway.md): An API gateway is a server that acts as a single entry point for API requests, handling routing, authentication, and policy enforcement.
- [API Key](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/a/api-key.md): An API key is a unique identifier passed with API requests to authenticate the calling application and control access to services.
- [API Rate Limiting](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/a/api-rate-limiting.md): API rate limiting restricts the number of API requests a client can make within a time frame to protect services and ensure fair access.
- [Asynchronous Operation](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/a/asynchronous-operation.md): Operations that occur without waiting for the previous operation to complete, improving efficiency and performance.
- [Authentication](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/a/authentication.md): The process of verifying the identity of a user or system.
- [Authorization](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/a/authorization.md): The process of verifying what specific applications, files, and data a user has access to.
- [B](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/b.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter B, covering backend services and development blueprints.
- [Backend as a Service (BaaS)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/b/backend-as-a-service-baas.md): Backend as a Service (BaaS) provides ready-made backend features like databases, auth, and storage so developers can focus on frontend code.
- [Blueprint](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/b/blueprint.md): In API development, a predefined plan or layout for an API's structure and behavior.
- [C](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/c.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter C, covering caching, cloud, containers, and CI/CD.
- [Cache](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/c/client.md): The software or device that accesses services or resources on a server.
- [Client-Side Rendering (CSR)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/c/cron-job.md): A scheduled task used to automatically execute scripts at specified times and dates.
- [D](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/d.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter D, covering databases, deployment, DevOps, and DNS.
- [Data Lake](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/d/database.md): An organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically in a computer system.
- [Deployment](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/d/deployment.md): The process of making a software application available for use.
- [DevOps](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/d/docker.md): An open platform for developing, shipping, and running applications in containers.
- [Domain](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/d/domain.md): A human-readable address used to identify a website or service on the internet.
- [E](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/e.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter E, covering edge computing, elasticity, and event-driven design.
- [Edge Computing](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/e/elasticity.md): The ability of a system to automatically scale resources up or down as needed.
- [Endpoint Security](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/e/event-driven-architecture.md): A software architecture paradigm promoting the production, detection, consumption of, and reaction to events.
- [F](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/f.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter F, covering FaaS, fault tolerance, and firewalls.
- [Fault Tolerance](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/f/fault-tolerance.md): The ability of a system to continue operating without interruption when one or more of its components fail.
- [Firewall](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/f/function-as-a-service-faas.md): Function as a Service (FaaS) is a serverless cloud model that runs individual functions on demand without managing servers.
- [G](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/g.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter G, covering Git version control and GraphQL.
- [Git](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/g/git.md): A distributed version-control system for tracking changes in source code during software development.
- [GraphQL](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/h.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter H, covering hashing, high availability, HTTP, and HTTPS.
- [Hashing](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/h/high-availability-ha.md): A system design approach that ensures a high level of operational uptime and minimal downtime.
- [HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/h/http-hypertext-transfer-protocol.md): HTTP is the application-layer protocol used for transmitting data on the web, forming the foundation of API communication.
- [HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/i.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter I, covering IaaS, IDEs, idempotence, and IoT.
- [Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/i/infrastructure-as-a-service-iaas.md): A form of cloud computing that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet.
- [J](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/j.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter J, covering the JSON data interchange format.
- [JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/k.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter K, covering the Kubernetes container orchestration platform.
- [Kubernetes](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/k/kubernetes.md): An open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.
- [L](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/l.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter L, covering latency, load balancing, and logging.
- [Latency](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/l/latency.md): The delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction for its transfer.
- [Load Balancer](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/l/logging.md): The process of recording events in a computer system.
- [M](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/m.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter M, covering microservices, middleware, and cloud strategies.
- [Microservices](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/m/microservices.md): An architectural style that structures an application as a collection of loosely coupled, independently deployable services.
- [Middleware](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/m/middleware.md): Software that acts as a bridge between an operating system or database and applications, especially on a network.
- [Migration](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/m/migration.md): The process of moving data, applications, or other business elements from one environment to another.
- [Mocking](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/m/mocking.md): In testing, the practice of simulating the behavior of real modules to achieve a controlled test environment.
- [Monolithic Architecture](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/m/monolithic-architecture.md): A software development model where an application is built as a single and indivisible unit.
- [Multi-Cloud](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/m/multi-cloud.md): Multi-cloud is a strategy that uses services from multiple cloud providers to reduce vendor lock-in and improve resilience.
- [N](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/n.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter N, covering network protocols.
- [Network Protocol](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/n/network-protocol.md): A set of rules that define how data is transmitted over a network.
- [O](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/o.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter O, covering OAuth, object storage, and orchestration.
- [OAuth](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/o/orchestration.md): Orchestration is the automated coordination of multiple services, tasks, or systems to execute a defined workflow or process.
- [P](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/p.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter P, covering PaaS, payloads, cloud models, and development practices.
- [PaaS (Platform as a Service)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/p/paas-platform-as-a-service.md): A cloud computing model that provides a complete platform for developing, running, and managing applications without infrastructure complexity.
- [Payload](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/p/payload.md): The part of transmitted data that is the actual intended message.
- [Performance Testing](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/p/plugin.md): A software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program.
- [Private Cloud](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/p/private-cloud.md): A cloud computing model that offers a proprietary environment dedicated to a single business entity.
- [Public Cloud](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/p/public-cloud.md): A cloud computing model that provides services over the public internet and shared across organizations.
- [Pull Request](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/q.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter Q, covering query languages, query parameters, and queues.
- [Query Language](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/q/query-language.md): A computer language used to make queries into databases and information systems.
- [Query Parameters](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/q/query-parameters.md): Query parameters are key-value pairs appended to a URL after a question mark. Used for filtering, pagination, tracking, and configuring HTTP API requests.
- [Queue](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/r.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter R, covering rate limiting, REST, and software practices.
- [Rate Limiting](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/r/rate-limiting.md): Rate limiting controls the number of requests a client can make to a server within a given time period to protect against abuse and overload.
- [Real-Time Processing](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/r/real-time-processing.md): The processing of data immediately after capture, without significant delay.
- [Redundancy](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/r/redundancy.md): The duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system.
- [Refactoring](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/r/refactoring.md): The process of restructuring existing computer code--changing the factoring--without changing its external behavior.
- [Regression Testing](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/r/repository.md): A central place where data is stored and managed.
- [REST (Representational State Transfer)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/r/rest-representational-state-transfer.md): REST is an architectural style for building web APIs using HTTP methods, stateless communication, and resource-based URLs.
- [Rollback](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/s.md): Glossary terms starting with the letter S, covering scalability, security, serverless, and more.
- [SaaS (Software as a Service)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/s/saas-software-as-a-service.md): SaaS (Software as a Service) is a cloud delivery model where applications are hosted by a provider and accessed by users over the internet.
- [Scalability](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/s/sla-service-level-agreement.md): An SLA (Service Level Agreement) is a formal contract defining measurable performance and availability commitments between a service provider and customer.
- [SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/s/soap-simple-object-access-protocol.md): SOAP is an XML-based messaging protocol for exchanging structured data between services over HTTP, SMTP, or other transport layers.
- [State](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/s/state.md): In computing, the condition or quality of a computing system as stored in its temporary memory locations or registers.
- [Stateless](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/s/stateless.md): Stateless architecture means each request is independent and self-contained, with no server-side session data stored between requests.
- [Static Site Generator](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/s/storage.md): The retention of retrievable data on a computer or other electronic system.
- [Stress Testing](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/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)](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/glossary/s/swagger-openapi.md): Swagger/OpenAPI is a specification standard for describing, documenting, and generating client code for RESTful APIs.


---

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