Developer Glossary

A comprehensive dictionary of web development, programming, security, and DevOps terms. Learn the core terminology used by developers worldwide.

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API (Application Programming Interface)

Web Development

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 Use Case:

A weather app uses a weather API to fetch current temperature data from a remote server.

🔗 Related Definitions:

Base64 Encoding

Encoding

A binary-to-text encoding scheme that represents binary data in an ASCII string format. Commonly used for encoding images, files, and data in URLs or JSON.

💡 Example Use Case:

Embedding an image in HTML using a data URL: data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo...

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Bcrypt

Security

A password hashing function designed to be slow and computationally expensive, making it resistant to brute-force attacks. It automatically handles salt generation.

💡 Example Use Case:

Storing user passwords: $2b$10$N9qo8uLOickgx2ZMRZoMyeIjZAgcfl7p92ldGxad68LJZdL17lhWy

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CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing)

Web Development

A security feature implemented by web browsers that controls how web pages from one domain can request resources from another domain.

💡 Example Use Case:

A frontend app at example.com making API calls to api.example.com requires CORS headers.

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CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

Web Development

A stylesheet language used to describe the presentation and styling of HTML documents, including colors, layouts, fonts, and responsive design.

💡 Example Use Case:

body { background-color: #f0f0f0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; }

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Docker

DevOps

A platform for developing, shipping, and running applications in containers. Containers package an application with all its dependencies for consistent deployment.

💡 Example Use Case:

Running a Node.js app in a container: docker run -p 3000:3000 my-node-app

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Dockerfile

DevOps

A text file containing instructions for building a Docker image. It specifies the base image, dependencies, files to copy, and commands to run.

💡 Example Use Case:

FROM node:18
WORKDIR /app
COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install

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Git

Version Control

A distributed version control system for tracking changes in source code during software development. It enables collaboration and maintains project history.

💡 Example Use Case:

git commit -m "Add user authentication feature"

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Hash Function

Security

A mathematical function that converts input data of any size into a fixed-size string of characters. Used for data integrity, passwords, and digital signatures.

💡 Example Use Case:

SHA-256 hash of "hello": 2cf24dba5fb0a30e26e83b2ac5b9e29e1b161e5c1fa7425e73043362938b9824

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HTML (HyperText Markup Language)

Web Development

The standard markup language for creating web pages. It describes the structure and content of web documents using elements and tags.

💡 Example Use Case:

<div class="container"><h1>Welcome</h1><p>Hello World</p></div>

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HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)

Web Development

The foundation protocol of the World Wide Web, used for transmitting data between web browsers and servers. Defines request methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE.

💡 Example Use Case:

GET /api/users HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com

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HTTPS (HTTP Secure)

Security

An extension of HTTP that uses encryption (TLS/SSL) to secure communication between browsers and servers, protecting data from eavesdropping and tampering.

💡 Example Use Case:

https://example.com uses HTTPS to encrypt all data transmission

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JavaScript

Programming

A high-level programming language primarily used for creating interactive web pages. It runs in web browsers and on servers (Node.js).

💡 Example Use Case:

const greeting = (name) => `Hello, ${name}!`;

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JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

Data Format

A lightweight data interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write, and easy for machines to parse and generate. Widely used in APIs.

💡 Example Use Case:

{"name": "John", "age": 30, "city": "New York"}

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JWT (JSON Web Token)

Security

A compact, URL-safe token format for securely transmitting information between parties. Commonly used for authentication and authorization.

💡 Example Use Case:

eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIn0.dozjgNryP4J3jVmNHl0w5N_XgL0n3I9PlFUP0THsR8U

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Markdown

Documentation

A lightweight markup language with plain text formatting syntax. Designed to be converted to HTML and widely used for documentation.

💡 Example Use Case:

# Heading
**bold text**
- list item

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MD5 (Message Digest Algorithm 5)

Security

A widely used cryptographic hash function that produces a 128-bit hash value. Now considered cryptographically broken and unsuitable for security purposes.

💡 Example Use Case:

MD5("hello") = 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592

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Node.js

Programming

A JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 engine that allows JavaScript to run on servers. Enables full-stack JavaScript development.

💡 Example Use Case:

const http = require("http");
http.createServer((req, res) => res.end("Hello")).listen(3000);

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OAuth

Security

An open standard for access delegation, commonly used for token-based authentication. Allows users to grant third-party access without sharing passwords.

💡 Example Use Case:

Logging into a website using "Sign in with Google" uses OAuth

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OCR (Optical Character Recognition)

AI/ML

Technology that converts images of text into machine-readable text. Used for digitizing printed documents and extracting text from images.

💡 Example Use Case:

Scanning a business card and automatically extracting contact information

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PNG (Portable Network Graphics)

Image Format

A raster graphics file format that supports lossless compression and transparency. Ideal for images with text, sharp edges, or transparent backgrounds.

💡 Example Use Case:

Logo files are often saved as PNG to preserve transparency and quality

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QR Code (Quick Response Code)

Technology

A two-dimensional barcode that can store various types of data including URLs, text, and contact information. Readable by smartphone cameras.

💡 Example Use Case:

Restaurant menus often use QR codes for contactless ordering

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Regex (Regular Expression)

Programming

A sequence of characters that defines a search pattern. Used for pattern matching, validation, and text manipulation.

💡 Example Use Case:

/^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/ validates email addresses

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REST (Representational State Transfer)

Web Development

An architectural style for designing networked applications. RESTful APIs use HTTP methods and are stateless, scalable, and cacheable.

💡 Example Use Case:

GET /api/users/123 retrieves user with ID 123

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Salt

Security

Random data added to passwords before hashing to protect against rainbow table attacks. Each password gets a unique salt.

💡 Example Use Case:

password + random_salt → hash_function → stored_hash

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SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit)

Security

A cryptographic hash function that produces a 256-bit hash value. Part of the SHA-2 family and widely used for security applications.

💡 Example Use Case:

SHA-256 is used in Bitcoin mining and SSL certificates

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SLA (Service Level Agreement)

DevOps

A commitment between a service provider and client defining the level of service expected, including uptime guarantees and response times.

💡 Example Use Case:

99.9% uptime SLA allows 43.8 minutes of downtime per month

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SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer / Transport Layer Security)

Security

Cryptographic protocols that provide secure communication over networks. TLS is the successor to SSL and is used in HTTPS.

💡 Example Use Case:

Websites with HTTPS use TLS to encrypt data between browser and server

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TypeScript

Programming

A strongly typed programming language that builds on JavaScript by adding static type definitions. Compiles to plain JavaScript.

💡 Example Use Case:

function greet(name: string): string { return `Hello, ${name}`; }

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Unix Timestamp

Programming

The number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 (Unix epoch). Used for representing dates and times in programming.

💡 Example Use Case:

1609459200 represents January 1, 2021 00:00:00 UTC

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URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

Web Development

The address of a resource on the internet. Consists of protocol, domain, path, and optional query parameters.

💡 Example Use Case:

https://example.com/api/users?page=1&limit=10

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URL Encoding (Percent Encoding)

Encoding

A mechanism for encoding special characters in URLs by replacing them with percent signs followed by hexadecimal values.

💡 Example Use Case:

Space character " " becomes "%20" in URLs

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UUID (Universally Unique Identifier)

Programming

A 128-bit identifier that is unique across space and time. Used for generating unique IDs without central coordination.

💡 Example Use Case:

550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

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WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)

Accessibility

International standards for making web content accessible to people with disabilities. Defines levels A, AA, and AAA compliance.

💡 Example Use Case:

WCAG AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text

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WebP

Image Format

A modern image format developed by Google that provides superior compression for images on the web. Supports both lossy and lossless compression.

💡 Example Use Case:

WebP images are typically 25-35% smaller than equivalent JPG images

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XML (eXtensible Markup Language)

Data Format

A markup language that defines rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.

💡 Example Use Case:

<user><name>John</name><age>30</age></user>

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