All terms, A to Z
581 terms
Level:
#
A
- A/B testingShowing two versions to two random groups and measuring which one works better.Basic
- Account recoveryThe way back into an account when you forget the password or lose your phone.Basic
- AdobeThe company behind Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Acrobat and the PDF format.Basic
- AGIA hypothetical AI able to do most mental tasks as well as a person. Not here yet.Basic
- Agile and ScrumBuilding software in short cycles, showing results often and adjusting as you learn.Basic
- AI agentAn LLM that can take actions, check the results and keep going until the job is done.Intermediate
- AI alignmentThe work of making AI systems do what people actually intend, safely.Intermediate
- AI benchmarkA standard test that AI models take so their skills can be compared with a score.Intermediate
- AI biasWhen an AI system treats some groups of people unfairly, usually learned from its data.Basic
- AI detectorA tool that estimates whether a text was written by AI, and is often wrong.Basic
- AI evalsTests you write for your own AI app to check it does its job, before and after changes.Intermediate
- AI guardrailsChecks placed around an AI model to stop unwanted questions and answers.Intermediate
- AI regulationThe laws that set what AI systems may do, and who answers when they go wrong.Basic
- AI watermarkingHidden marks placed in AI-generated content so software can recognize it later.Intermediate
- Air gapKeeping a computer or network physically cut off from everything, internet included.Intermediate
- AirbnbA website and app where people rent out their homes, or a room, to travelers.Basic
- AlgorithmA precise, step-by-step method for solving a problem or doing a task.Basic
- AlibabaChina's giant of online marketplaces, which also runs a major cloud.Basic
- AmazonAn online store with its own delivery network, and the company that runs AWS.Basic
- Amazon API GatewayThe front door of your API: it receives requests and passes them to your code.Intermediate
- Amazon AthenaRun SQL directly on files sitting in S3, with no database to set up.Intermediate
- Amazon BedrockA single AWS service to call AI models from Anthropic, Meta, Amazon and others.Basic
- Amazon CloudFrontAWS's CDN: copies of your content kept close to users all over the world.Basic
- Amazon CloudWatchThe dashboard and alarm system that watches everything running in your AWS account.Basic
- Amazon CognitoSign-up, login and passwords for your app, handled by AWS instead of you.Intermediate
- Amazon ConnectA cloud contact center from AWS: phone lines, chat, bots and agents, paid as you use it.Intermediate
- Amazon DynamoDBA key-value database that answers in milliseconds no matter how big the table gets.Basic
- Amazon EBSThe virtual hard drive of an EC2 instance, kept alive even when the instance stops.Intermediate
- Amazon EC2Virtual computers you rent by the hour, in any size, and switch off when done.Basic
- Amazon ECRA private warehouse on AWS for your container images, ready to be deployed.Intermediate
- Amazon ECS and FargateAWS runs your containers; with Fargate you never see the servers at all.Intermediate
- Amazon EFSA shared network folder in AWS that many servers can use at the same time.Intermediate
- Amazon EKSKubernetes with the hard part, the control plane, run by AWS.Advanced
- Amazon ElastiCacheA managed in-memory cache that keeps hot data close so apps answer instantly.Intermediate
- Amazon EventBridgeA switchboard that routes "something happened" messages to whoever cares.Intermediate
- Amazon GuardDutyAn AWS service that watches your account's activity and flags signs of an attack.Intermediate
- Amazon InspectorAn AWS service that keeps scanning your servers and code for known vulnerabilities.Intermediate
- Amazon LightsailThe simple corner of AWS: a ready-made server for a flat monthly price.Basic
- Amazon MacieAn AWS service that finds sensitive data in your S3 buckets and flags risky buckets.Intermediate
- Amazon MQActiveMQ or RabbitMQ message brokers, run for you by AWS.Intermediate
- Amazon OpenSearch ServiceManaged search engine on AWS, for site search boxes and digging through logs.Intermediate
- Amazon PollyAn AWS service that turns written text into spoken audio.Intermediate
- Amazon QAWS's AI assistant for writing code and for answering questions about company data.Basic
- Amazon QuickSightAWS's tool for turning company data into charts and dashboards people can explore.Intermediate
- Amazon RDSA ready-made relational database that AWS keeps patched, backed up and running.Basic
- Amazon RedshiftAWS's data warehouse: SQL over huge tables, built for analysis rather than apps.Intermediate
- Amazon RekognitionAn AWS service that looks at images and videos and says what is in them.Intermediate
- Amazon Route 53AWS's DNS service: it turns your domain name into the address of your servers.Basic
- Amazon S3A giant online drawer for files, rented by the gigabyte.Basic
- Amazon SageMakerThe AWS workshop for building, training and serving machine learning models.Intermediate
- Amazon SESThe AWS service apps use to send email in bulk: receipts, alerts, newsletters.Intermediate
- Amazon SNSOne message in, many copies out: a megaphone for systems.Intermediate
- Amazon SQSA waiting line for messages between programs, so none of them gets lost.Intermediate
- Amazon TextractAn AWS service that reads scanned documents and pulls out text, forms and tables.Intermediate
- Amazon TranscribeAn AWS service that listens to audio and writes down what was said.Intermediate
- Amazon VPCYour own private slice of the AWS network, with walls you draw yourself.Intermediate
- Amazon WorkSpacesA full Windows or Linux desktop that lives in AWS and that you open from any device.Basic
- AMDThe chip designer that competes with Intel in CPUs and with NVIDIA in GPUs.Basic
- AnthropicThe AI company behind Claude, built around making models safe and useful.Basic
- AntivirusA program that watches your files and apps and blocks the ones known to be harmful.Basic
- AnycastOne IP address announced from many places, so each user reaches the nearest one.Advanced
- Apache SparkAn open source engine that splits work on huge datasets across many machines.Advanced
- APIThe menu of things one program lets another program ask for.Basic
- API keyA secret string that identifies your app when it calls someone else's API.Intermediate
- AppleThe company that sells the iPhone and the Mac, plus the services that run on them.Basic
- ArmThe British company that designs the processor blueprints inside almost every phone.Intermediate
- Artificial intelligenceGetting computers to do things that, until recently, only people could do.Basic
- ASMLThe Dutch company that builds the machines every advanced chip factory depends on.Intermediate
- AtlassianThe Australian company behind Jira and Confluence, tools teams use to plan and document work.Basic
- Augmented realityDigital images laid on top of the real world you are looking at.Basic
- Autonomous vehiclesCars and trucks that drive themselves using sensors, maps and AI.Basic
- AutoscalingAdding and removing servers automatically as demand goes up and down.Intermediate
- AWS account and billingWhat an AWS account is, how you get charged, and how to avoid a surprise bill.Basic
- AWS AmplifyA shortcut for building and publishing web and mobile apps on AWS.Basic
- AWS BackupOne place to schedule, keep and restore backups of your AWS data.Intermediate
- AWS BatchAn AWS service that runs big piles of jobs and rents the machines only while they work.Intermediate
- AWS CDKDescribe your AWS infrastructure in a real programming language instead of YAML.Advanced
- AWS CloudFormationDescribe your AWS infrastructure in a text file; AWS builds it exactly like that.Intermediate
- AWS CloudTrailThe logbook of an AWS account: who did what, when, and from where.Intermediate
- AWS ConfigAn AWS service that records how your resources are set up and checks them against rules.Intermediate
- AWS Cost ExplorerThe AWS screen that shows what you spent, on what, and what you will likely spend.Basic
- AWS DataSyncAn AWS service that copies large amounts of files over the network, and checks they arrived intact.Intermediate
- AWS Direct ConnectA private, dedicated network link from your own building straight into AWS.Advanced
- AWS Elastic BeanstalkUpload your web app's code and AWS sets up the servers to run it.Intermediate
- AWS Global AcceleratorFixed IP addresses that pull users onto AWS's own network near them and route to a healthy region.Advanced
- AWS GlueAWS's service for finding, describing and cleaning up data, with no servers to run.Intermediate
- AWS IAM Identity CenterOne sign-in for a company's people to reach all its AWS accounts and apps.Intermediate
- AWS KMSAWS's vault for encryption keys: you use them, but they never leave.Intermediate
- AWS LambdaRun a piece of code only when something happens, with no server to manage.Basic
- AWS MarketplaceAn online store where you buy other companies' software and pay through your AWS bill.Basic
- AWS OrganizationsOne place to group, govern and pay for many AWS accounts at once.Intermediate
- AWS OutpostsAWS hardware installed in your own building, run by AWS as part of a Region.Advanced
- AWS Secrets ManagerA locked vault for passwords and API keys, so they never live in your code.Intermediate
- AWS Security HubOne place where AWS gathers security alerts from many services and ranks them.Intermediate
- AWS ShieldAWS's protection against DDoS attacks, on by default for everyone.Intermediate
- AWS SnowballA rugged box AWS shipped to you to move huge amounts of data by truck instead of internet.Basic
- AWS Step FunctionsA flowchart that runs: it chains steps, retries failures and remembers where it was.Advanced
- AWS Systems ManagerA toolbox for running, patching and logging into a whole fleet of servers at once.Intermediate
- AWS Trusted AdvisorAn automatic checkup of your AWS account with tips to save money and stay safe.Basic
- AWS WAFA filter in front of your website that reads each request and blocks the bad ones.Intermediate
- AWS Well-Architected FrameworkAWS's checklist of good practices for building systems in the cloud that hold up.Intermediate
B
- BackpropagationThe algorithm that works out how much each weight contributed to a network's error.Advanced
- BackupA separate copy of your data, kept so you can get it back when the original is lost.Basic
- Bandwidth and latencyHow much data fits per second, and how long each trip takes. Two different things.Basic
- Batch processingCollecting data for a while and then processing it all in one big run.Intermediate
- Beta versionAn almost-finished version of software, released early so real users can find problems.Basic
- BGPThe protocol networks use to tell each other which addresses they can reach.Advanced
- Big dataData so large, fast or messy that one ordinary computer cannot handle it.Basic
- Binary codeWriting everything, numbers, text, images, with only two symbols: 0 and 1.Basic
- BiometricsProving who you are with your body: a fingerprint, your face, your voice.Basic
- BIOS and UEFIThe first program a PC runs: it checks the hardware and starts the operating system.Intermediate
- Bit and byteThe smallest unit of digital information, and the group of eight that computers count in.Basic
- BlockchainA shared record book, copied on many computers, where old pages can't be quietly changed.Basic
- Blue-green deploymentReleasing a new version next to the old one and switching traffic over at once.Intermediate
- BluetoothShort-range wireless for connecting nearby gadgets: headphones, watches, keyboards.Basic
- BroadcomAn American chip designer behind data center networking, Wi-Fi and custom AI chips.Intermediate
- Brute-force attackBreaking into an account by trying passwords, one after another, until one works.Basic
- BugA mistake in software that makes it behave differently from what was intended.Basic
- Bug bountyA company pays outside researchers who find and privately report its security holes.Intermediate
- Business intelligenceTurning a company's data into reports and dashboards people use to decide.Basic
- ByteDanceThe Chinese tech company behind TikTok and its recommendation engine.Basic
C
- C and C++Two old, fast languages that sit underneath operating systems, browsers and games.Intermediate
- CachingKeeping a copy of an answer close by so you do not have to work it out again.Intermediate
- Canary releaseReleasing a new version to a small slice of users first, and widening only if it behaves.Intermediate
- CanvaAn online design tool that lets anyone make posters, posts and slides from templates.Basic
- CAPTCHAA small test a website uses to tell a person from an automated program.Basic
- Captive portalThe page that pops up on public Wi-Fi asking you to log in or accept terms first.Basic
- CDNCopies of a website kept on servers around the world, close to whoever asks.Intermediate
- CGNATNAT done by your provider, so many customers share one public IP address.Advanced
- Chain of thoughtLetting an AI model write out its reasoning step by step before it answers.Intermediate
- Change data captureCopying every insert, update and delete from a database to other systems as it happens.Advanced
- Chaos engineeringBreaking your own system on purpose, carefully, to find weak spots before outages do.Advanced
- ChatbotA program you talk to by typing or speaking, as if it were a person.Basic
- ChatGPTOpenAI's chat assistant, the app that brought AI chatbots to the general public.Basic
- ChipA sliver of silicon carrying billions of tiny switches that compute and remember.Basic
- ChipletA small chip designed to be combined with others in one package, like a building block.Advanced
- ChurnThe customers who leave, and how fast they do it.Basic
- CI/CDAutomation that builds, tests and ships every code change, so releases become routine.Intermediate
- CiscoThe company that makes much of the network gear connecting offices to the internet.Basic
- ClaudeAnthropic's family of AI models, and the assistant app built on them.Basic
- Clock speedHow many times per second a processor ticks, measured in gigahertz (GHz).Basic
- Cloud computingRenting computers over the internet instead of buying your own.Basic
- Cloud consoleThe website where you log in to see and manage everything you rent in the cloud.Basic
- Cloud migrationMoving a company's apps and data from its own servers to a cloud provider.Basic
- Cloud outageWhen a cloud provider fails and many apps and websites go down with it.Basic
- Cloud-nativeSoftware designed from the start to take advantage of the cloud, not just moved into it.Intermediate
- CloudflareA global network that sits in front of websites to make them faster and safer.Basic
- CMSSoftware that lets people publish and edit a website's content without writing code.Basic
- Code reviewHaving another person read a code change before it becomes part of the product.Intermediate
- Cohort analysisComparing groups of users who started at the same time, to see how each one behaves.Intermediate
- Cold startThe extra wait when a serverless function has to boot before answering.Intermediate
- Command lineControlling a computer by typing text commands instead of clicking icons.Basic
- CompilerA program that translates source code into instructions a computer can run directly.Intermediate
- Computer visionThe part of AI that lets computers find and understand what is in images and video.Intermediate
- Configuration managementDescribing how servers should be set up, and letting a tool keep them that way.Intermediate
- ContainerA sealed box with a program and everything it needs to run anywhere.Basic
- Context engineeringChoosing what goes into a model's context so it has what it needs and nothing more.Intermediate
- Context windowHow much text an AI model can take into account at once, measured in tokens.Intermediate
- CookiesSmall notes a website asks your browser to keep, so it can recognize you later.Basic
- Cooling and heat sinksHow computers get rid of the heat their chips produce so they do not slow down or fail.Basic
- Cores and threadsWhy a CPU is really several processors, and why it can juggle even more tasks.Intermediate
- Correlation vs causationTwo things moving together does not mean one of them causes the other.Basic
- CPUThe chip that runs your programs, one instruction after another, very fast.Basic
- CPU cacheA tiny, very fast memory inside the processor that keeps the data it is about to need.Intermediate
- Credential stuffingTrying passwords leaked from one site on many other sites, at machine speed.Intermediate
- Cron jobA command a computer runs on its own on a schedule, like every night at 3 a.m.Intermediate
- Cross-site scriptingSneaking code into a website so it runs in other visitors' browsers.Intermediate
- CSRFAn attack that makes your browser send a request you never meant to send, as you.Advanced
- CSSThe language that decides how a web page looks: colors, fonts, spacing, layout.Basic
- CSVA plain text file that holds a table: one row per line, commas between values.Basic
- CybersecurityProtecting computers, networks and data from theft, damage and disruption.Basic
D
- Dark webWebsites that are reachable only with special software that hides who is talking to whom.Basic
- DashboardOne screen of charts and numbers that shows how something is doing at a glance.Basic
- Data analystThe person who turns a business question into numbers, and the numbers into an answer.Basic
- Data anonymizationChanging a dataset so nobody in it can be identified, while keeping it useful.Intermediate
- Data breachWhen private data an organization holds ends up with people who should not have it.Basic
- Data catalogA searchable inventory of an organization's datasets, with what each one means.Intermediate
- Data centerA building full of servers where the internet, the cloud and AI actually run.Basic
- Data cleaningFixing errors, gaps and duplicates in data before anyone trusts it.Basic
- Data contractA written, checkable promise about the shape and quality of data one team gives another.Advanced
- Data engineeringThe work of building the pipes that move data to where people can use it.Intermediate
- Data governanceThe rules and roles that decide who owns data, who can use it and how it is kept right.Intermediate
- Data lakeCheap storage where all your data is kept as raw files, to be sorted out later.Intermediate
- Data lineageThe map of where each piece of data came from and everything that depends on it.Advanced
- Data martA small, focused slice of the company's data, shaped for one team.Intermediate
- Data meshAn organizational approach where each business team owns and publishes its own data.Advanced
- Data miningDigging through large amounts of data to find patterns nobody wrote down.Intermediate
- Data orchestrationRunning data jobs in the right order, at the right time, and handling it when they fail.Advanced
- Data partitioningSplitting a huge table into pieces by a key, so queries only touch what they need.Advanced
- Data qualityHow far data can be trusted for the job it is used for.Intermediate
- Data scienceUsing statistics, code and business sense to answer questions with data.Basic
- Data siloData locked inside one team or system, where the rest of the company can't use it.Basic
- Data streamingProcessing data as a continuous flow of events, seconds after they happen.Advanced
- Data visualizationTurning numbers into pictures so patterns jump out.Basic
- Data warehouseA database built for analysis: years of history, from many sources, in one place.Intermediate
- DatabaseAn organized store of data that programs can search and update safely.Basic
- Database indexA sorted shortcut that lets a database find rows without reading the whole table.Intermediate
- Database normalizationOrganizing tables so each fact is stored in exactly one place.Intermediate
- Database schemaThe blueprint of a database: which tables exist, their columns and how they connect.Intermediate
- DatabricksA cloud platform for processing, analyzing and training AI on a company's data.Intermediate
- dbtA tool for writing data transformations as SQL files, with tests and docs, like software.Advanced
- DDoSKnocking a site offline by flooding it with more traffic than it can handle.Intermediate
- DebuggingThe detective work of finding why a program misbehaves, and fixing it.Basic
- DeduplicationFinding the copies of the same thing and keeping just one.Intermediate
- Deep learningMachine learning with many-layered neural networks, behind most recent AI leaps.Intermediate
- DeepfakeA fake video, photo or voice made with AI to look and sound like a real person.Basic
- DeepSeekA Chinese AI lab whose open-weight models showed that top AI could be built for less.Basic
- DellThe American maker of PCs for offices and servers for data centers.Basic
- DeploymentGetting a new version of software from the team's computers to real users.Basic
- Design patternA named, reusable solution to a problem that keeps showing up in software design.Advanced
- DevOpsBreaking the wall between people who write software and people who run it.Intermediate
- DHCPThe service that gives each device an IP address automatically when it joins a network.Intermediate
- Diffusion modelAn image generator that starts from random noise and cleans it up, step by step.Advanced
- Digital footprintThe trail of data you leave behind every time you use the internet.Basic
- Disaster recoveryThe plan for getting systems and data back after a major failure.Intermediate
- DiscordAn app for online communities to chat by text, voice and video in shared spaces.Basic
- Display resolutionHow many dots, or pixels, make up a screen's image: more dots, finer detail.Basic
- DNSThe internet's phone book: it turns names like wikipedia.org into IP addresses.Basic
- DNS over HTTPSDNS lookups sent inside encrypted HTTPS, so others on the network cannot read them.Advanced
- DockerThe tool that made containers easy: package an app once, run it anywhere.Intermediate
- Domain nameThe readable name of a website, like wikipedia.org, that stands in for a numeric address.Basic
- DoxxingDigging up and publishing someone's private details, like home address, to target them.Basic
- DroneAn aircraft with no pilot on board, flown by remote control or by its own computer.Basic
- DropboxA company that keeps a folder of your files in sync across all your devices.Basic
- DuolingoA language-learning app that turns daily practice into a game.Basic
E
- E-inkA screen that looks like printed paper and only uses power when the image changes.Basic
- Edge computingProcessing data close to where it is created, instead of in a distant data center.Intermediate
- EDRSecurity software that watches what each computer does and reacts to signs of attack.Intermediate
- Egress feesWhat a cloud provider charges you for data leaving its network.Intermediate
- Email protocolsThe shared rules, SMTP, IMAP and POP3, that carry an email from one inbox to another.Intermediate
- EmbeddingsTurning words, images or documents into lists of numbers that capture meaning.Intermediate
- EmojiLittle pictures that are really text characters, drawn differently by each phone maker.Basic
- EncryptionScrambling data so that only someone with the key can read it.Basic
- End-to-end encryptionOnly the sender and the recipient can read a message; the service in between cannot.Intermediate
- Environment variablesNamed settings a program reads from outside its code, like where its database lives.Intermediate
- eSIMA SIM card built into the phone, which you load by download instead of by hand.Basic
- EthernetThe standard way to connect computers to a network with a cable.Basic
- ETLCopy data out of its sources, clean it up, load it where it can be analyzed.Intermediate
F
- Facial recognitionAI that identifies or verifies a person by comparing their face with stored ones.Basic
- Feature flagA switch in the code that turns a feature on or off without shipping a new version.Intermediate
- Fiber opticThin strands of glass that carry data as pulses of light, fast and over long distances.Basic
- FigmaA design tool in the browser where whole teams design apps and websites together.Basic
- Fine-tuningExtra training that adapts an existing AI model to a specific task or style.Intermediate
- FinOpsUnderstanding and controlling cloud spending, as a job shared by engineers and finance.Intermediate
- FirewallA gatekeeper that decides which network traffic gets in or out.Basic
- FirmwareSoftware built into a device to run its hardware, from routers to washing machines.Basic
- ForecastingUsing past data to estimate future numbers, with an honest range around the guess.Intermediate
- FrameworkA ready-made skeleton for an app: it sets the structure and calls your code.Intermediate
- Frontend and backendThe part of an app you see and touch, and the part that works behind it.Basic
- FTP and SFTPTwo ways to move files to and from a server; only one of them keeps them private.Intermediate
- Function callingHow an AI model asks your code to run a tool and then uses the result.Intermediate
G
- Game consoleA computer built only to play video games on your TV, with a controller.Basic
- GeminiGoogle's family of AI models, and the assistant app that carries the same name.Basic
- Generative AIAI that creates new text, images, audio or code instead of just sorting things.Basic
- GitA time machine for code: every change saved, by whom and why.Basic
- GitHubA website where teams store their code with Git and work on it together.Basic
- GitHub CopilotAn AI assistant inside the code editor that suggests and writes code.Basic
- GitOpsRunning infrastructure by editing files in Git and letting an agent make reality match.Advanced
- GlobantAn Argentine-born company that builds software for other companies around the world.Basic
- GoA simple, fast programming language from Google, built for servers and cloud tools.Intermediate
- Golden imageA pre-built, approved server template that every new machine is copied from.Advanced
- GoogleThe search company that gives most products away and makes its money on ads.Basic
- Google CloudGoogle's cloud business: computing, storage, data and AI services rented by the hour.Basic
- GPUThe chip that does thousands of simple calculations at once.Basic
- Gradient descentThe method that tunes a model's weights by taking small steps downhill on its error.Advanced
- GraphQLAn API language where the app asks for exactly the fields it needs, in one request.Advanced
H
- HackerSomeone who takes systems apart to see how they work, for better or for worse.Basic
- HallucinationWhen an AI model states something false with total confidence.Basic
- HapticsTechnology that talks to your sense of touch with taps, buzzes and resistance.Intermediate
- Hard disk driveStorage that keeps data on spinning magnetic platters: slower than an SSD, but cheap.Basic
- HashingA one-way fingerprint of data: easy to compute, not meant to be reversed.Intermediate
- HDMIThe standard cable and plug that carries picture and sound to a TV or monitor.Basic
- HelmThe package manager for Kubernetes: install a whole app with one command.Advanced
- High availabilityDesigning a system so it keeps working when one of its parts fails.Intermediate
- HoneypotA fake target set up on purpose to attract attackers, so you can spot them and watch them.Intermediate
- HostnameThe human-readable name a device uses on a network.Intermediate
- HTMLThe text format that describes what is on a web page: headings, paragraphs, links.Basic
- HTTPThe request-and-response language browsers and websites speak.Basic
- HTTP status codesThe three-digit number a web server sends back to say how your request went.Basic
- HTTP/3 and QUICThe newest version of the web's protocol, running on QUIC instead of TCP.Advanced
- HTTPSThe padlock in your browser: web traffic nobody in between can read.Basic
- HuaweiA Chinese company that makes mobile network equipment, phones and its own chips.Basic
- Hugging FaceThe website where people share AI models and datasets, and the tools to use them.Basic
- Hybrid and multi-cloudRunning systems across your own servers and the cloud, or across several cloud providers.Intermediate
- HypervisorThe software layer that splits one physical computer into many virtual machines.Advanced
I
- IAMThe rulebook that says who can do what in your AWS account.Basic
- IBMA century-old computer company that sells software, consulting and mainframes.Basic
- IDEThe app where programmers write, run and fix code, with all the tools in one window.Basic
- Identity theftSomeone uses your personal details to pass as you, usually to borrow or buy in your name.Basic
- Incident postmortemA written review of what went wrong in an outage and how to avoid a repeat.Intermediate
- Incognito modeA browser window that forgets your visit on this device. It does not make you invisible.Basic
- Infrastructure as codeDescribing servers, networks and databases in files instead of clicking.Intermediate
- Insider threatA security risk that comes from someone who already has legitimate access.Intermediate
- Instruction set architectureThe vocabulary of basic commands a processor understands, like x86, ARM or RISC-V.Advanced
- IntelThe American company behind most PC and server processors for decades.Basic
- InternetA worldwide network of networks that lets any connected device reach any other.Basic
- Internet backboneThe highest-capacity long-distance links that carry traffic between big networks.Intermediate
- Internet exchange pointA place where many internet networks plug into each other to swap traffic directly.Advanced
- Internet of thingsEveryday objects with sensors and a network connection: thermostats, meters, doorbells.Basic
- IP addressThe number that identifies a device on a network, like a postal address.Basic
- IPv6The newer internet addressing system, with practically unlimited addresses.Intermediate
- ISPThe company you pay to connect your home or phone to the internet.Basic
J
- JavaA long-lived programming language behind many bank systems, big business apps and Android.Basic
- JavaScriptThe programming language that runs inside web pages and makes them interactive.Basic
- JitterHow much the delay of a connection jumps around from one packet to the next.Intermediate
- JSONThe plain-text format programs use to hand each other structured data.Basic
K
- KeyloggerSoftware or a gadget that secretly records everything you type.Basic
- Knowledge cutoffThe date after which an AI model has seen no data, so it knows nothing newer.Basic
- KPIOne of the few numbers a team agrees to watch to know if it is on track.Basic
- KubernetesThe system that runs and babysits containers across many machines.Intermediate
L
- LAN and WANA LAN connects devices in one place; a WAN connects places far apart.Basic
- LaptopA whole computer folded into one portable case that runs on a battery.Basic
- Learning rateThe size of the step a model takes each time training adjusts its weights.Advanced
- Legacy systemOld software a business still depends on and cannot easily replace.Basic
- LenovoThe Chinese company that sells more PCs than anyone, from ThinkPads to Motorola phones.Basic
- LidarA sensor that measures distances by timing laser pulses that bounce back.Intermediate
- LinuxA free, open source operating system that runs most of the internet's servers.Basic
- Lithium-ion batteryThe rechargeable battery inside phones, laptops and electric cars.Basic
- LLMA neural network trained on huge amounts of text to predict the next word.Basic
- Load balancerThe traffic cop that spreads incoming requests across many servers.Intermediate
- Load testingSimulating lots of users at once to see how a system holds up before real ones arrive.Intermediate
- LocalhostThe name a computer uses to talk to itself.Basic
- LoRAA cheap way to fine-tune a big model by training a small add-on instead of every weight.Advanced
- Loss functionThe single number that says how wrong a model is, so training can shrink it.Advanced
- Low-code and no-codeBuilding apps and automations by dragging blocks instead of writing code.Basic
M
- MAC addressThe built-in name of a network card, used to deliver data inside a local network.Intermediate
- Machine learningTeaching computers by showing them examples instead of writing every rule.Basic
- MainframeA big, ultra-reliable central computer that banks and airlines use for their core work.Intermediate
- Malware and ransomwareSoftware built to harm you; ransomware locks your files and charges to unlock them.Basic
- Man-in-the-middle attackSomeone secretly sits between you and a site, reading or changing what you send.Intermediate
- MarkdownA way to format text with plain symbols like # and *, readable even before it is rendered.Basic
- Master data managementKeeping one agreed, trusted version of a company's core records across all its systems.Advanced
- Median and percentilesThe middle value of a list, and the values that mark off the slowest or biggest slice.Basic
- Mercado LibreLatin America's largest online marketplace, with its own payments and delivery network.Basic
- Mesh Wi-FiSeveral Wi-Fi units spread around a home that work together as one network.Intermediate
- MetaThe company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, paid for by advertising.Basic
- MetadataData that describes other data: who made it, when, where and what it contains.Basic
- MetaverseThe idea of shared 3D virtual worlds where people meet, play and work as avatars.Basic
- MicrocontrollerA tiny, cheap computer on one chip, built to control one specific thing.Intermediate
- MicroservicesBuilding one application as many small services that each do one job.Advanced
- MicrosoftThe company of Windows and Office, now just as much a cloud company with Azure.Basic
- MidjourneyA small AI lab whose service turns a written description into an image.Basic
- Mistral AIA French company that builds AI language models, many of them with open weights.Basic
- Mixture of expertsA model built from many sub-networks, where only a few work on each token.Advanced
- Mobile appA program made to run on a phone or tablet, usually installed from an app store.Basic
- Mobile hotspotYour phone turned into a small Wi-Fi router that shares its mobile data.Basic
- Model cardThe fact sheet published with an AI model: what it's for, how it was tested, its limits.Intermediate
- Model Context ProtocolAn open standard for plugging tools and data into AI assistants the same way every time.Intermediate
- Model distillationTraining a small, cheap model to imitate a big, expensive one.Advanced
- Model parametersThe billions of numbers a model learns in training; '70B' means 70 billion of them.Intermediate
- ModemThe box that connects your home to your internet provider's network.Basic
- MongoDBA database that stores each record as a flexible JSON-like document, not a table row.Intermediate
- Moore's lawThe observation that chips fit about twice as many transistors every two years.Basic
- MotherboardThe main circuit board that every other part of a computer plugs into.Basic
- MozillaThe nonprofit-owned organization behind the Firefox browser and an open web.Basic
- Multi-agent systemSeveral AI agents splitting one job, each with its own role, instructions and tools.Intermediate
- Multi-region architectureRunning an application in several cloud regions so it survives losing a whole one.Advanced
- Multi-tenancyOne running system serving many customers, each seeing only its own data.Intermediate
- Multimodal AIAI that works with more than one kind of data at once: text, images, sound, video.Intermediate
- MySQLThe open-source relational database that powered the early web and still runs much of it.Intermediate
N
- NASA small box of hard drives on your network that every device can share.Basic
- NATHow a whole home or office shares one public IP address on the internet.Advanced
- Natural language processingThe field of AI that works with human language: reading, writing, translating.Intermediate
- Net neutralityThe principle that internet providers should treat all traffic the same way.Basic
- NetflixA streaming service, and the engineering it built to deliver video to the whole world.Basic
- Network gatewayThe device where one network ends and traffic is handed to another.Intermediate
- Network switchA box with many ports that connects devices on the same local network.Basic
- Neural networkA pile of tiny math units that learns patterns from examples.Basic
- NFCVery short-range wireless that works with a tap: contactless cards, phones, transit.Basic
- Node.jsA way to run JavaScript on servers and computers, outside the browser.Intermediate
- NoSQLDatabases that store data in shapes other than tables with fixed columns.Intermediate
- NotionAn all-in-one workspace for notes, documents, wikis and simple databases.Basic
- NPUA small AI engine inside phones and laptops that runs models fast on little battery.Intermediate
- NubankA Brazilian bank that lives entirely in a phone app, with no branches.Basic
- NVIDIAThe company that sells the shovels of the AI gold rush.Basic
- NVMeThe fast way for a computer to talk to an SSD, designed for flash from the start.Intermediate
O
- OAuth and SSOLog in once with an account you trust, and let it vouch for you in other apps.Intermediate
- Object storageFiles stored as whole named objects, reached over the web, almost without limit.Intermediate
- Object-oriented programmingOrganizing code as objects that bundle data with the actions that use it.Intermediate
- ObservabilityBeing able to tell what a running system is doing, and why, from what it emits.Intermediate
- OCRSoftware that reads the text in an image so a computer can search and edit it.Basic
- OLAP and OLTPTwo kinds of database work: many small transactions, or a few huge analytical questions.Advanced
- OLEDA screen where every pixel makes its own light, so black is truly off.Basic
- Online scamsTricks that use messages, sites and apps to get you to hand over money or data.Basic
- Open dataData anyone can freely download, use and share, for any purpose.Basic
- Open sourceSoftware whose code anyone can read, use, change and share.Basic
- Open standardA public rulebook anyone can follow, so products from different makers work together.Intermediate
- Open-weights modelsAI models whose trained numbers anyone can download and run on their own machines.Intermediate
- OpenAIThe company that made ChatGPT and turned AI into a household topic.Basic
- OpenStackOpen source software for building your own cloud on your own servers.Advanced
- Operating systemThe base software that runs a device and lets every app share its hardware.Basic
- OracleThe company behind one of the most used business databases, now also a cloud provider.Basic
- OutlierA value that sits far away from the rest of the data.Basic
- OverfittingWhen a model memorizes its training examples instead of learning the pattern.Intermediate
P
- PacketThe small chunk every piece of internet data is cut into before it travels.Intermediate
- Packet lossWhen pieces of your data leave but never arrive.Intermediate
- PalantirSoftware that joins an organization's scattered data so people can act on it.Basic
- ParquetA file format that stores tables by column, compressed, so analytics reads far less.Advanced
- PasskeysA way to sign in without a password, using your phone's or computer's lock instead.Basic
- Password managerAn encrypted vault that remembers a different strong password for every site.Basic
- PayPalAn online wallet that lets you pay or send money with an email address instead of a card number.Basic
- PCIeThe fast internal highway that connects graphics cards and SSDs to the CPU.Intermediate
- Peer-to-peerA network where computers talk directly to each other, with no central server in charge.Intermediate
- Penetration testingHiring someone to break into your systems, with permission, before a criminal does.Intermediate
- PerplexityAn AI answer engine that searches the web and replies with a summary and its sources.Basic
- Personal data and GDPRInformation about you, and the laws that say who can use it and how.Basic
- PhishingA fake message that tricks you into handing over a password or a payment.Basic
- PHPA language that runs on the server and builds web pages before they reach you.Basic
- PingA tiny "are you there?" message that tests a connection and times the reply.Basic
- Pivot tableA spreadsheet tool that summarizes a long list into totals by category, in a few clicks.Basic
- Platform engineeringBuilding an internal product that lets developers ship without becoming cloud experts.Advanced
- PortThe numbered door on a computer that says which program a connection is for.Intermediate
- PostgreSQLA free, open-source relational database behind a great many apps.Intermediate
- Power BIMicrosoft's tool for turning company data into interactive charts and reports.Basic
- Power supplyThe box that turns wall electricity into the steady, low voltage a computer runs on.Basic
- Primary and foreign keysA primary key names each row uniquely; a foreign key points to a row in another table.Intermediate
- Private cloudCloud-style computing reserved for a single organization.Basic
- Privilege escalationGoing from limited access to more power than you were given, usually by exploiting a flaw.Advanced
- Process nodeThe name of a generation of chip manufacturing, like "3 nm". A label, not a size.Intermediate
- Programming languageA precise, written language people use to give instructions to a computer.Basic
- Progressive web appA website that can be installed and used like an app, even offline.Intermediate
- PromptEverything you send to an AI model: the question, the instructions, the context.Basic
- Prompt engineeringWriting instructions for an AI model so it gives you what you actually need.Basic
- Prompt injectionSneaking instructions into the text an AI reads so it obeys the attacker instead of you.Intermediate
- ProxyA middleman computer that makes requests on someone else's behalf.Intermediate
- Public-key cryptographyTwo linked keys: one you share with everyone to lock, one you keep to unlock.Intermediate
- PythonA popular programming language known for being easy to read and quick to write.Basic
Q
- QR codeA square pattern of dots that a phone camera reads, usually to open a link.Basic
- QualcommDesigns the chips, and owns key patents, that let phones talk to cell towers.Basic
- QuantizationStoring a model's numbers with fewer bits so it needs less memory and runs faster.Advanced
- Quantum computerA machine that uses quantum physics for a few specific problems. Not a faster PC.Intermediate
R
- RAGLet the model look things up in your documents before it answers.Intermediate
- RAMThe computer's short-term memory: fast, small and wiped when you turn it off.Basic
- RappiA Latin American app for ordering food, groceries and almost anything to your door.Basic
- Raspberry PiA cheap, credit-card-sized computer made for learning and tinkering.Basic
- ReactA JavaScript library for building screens out of reusable pieces called components.Intermediate
- Reasoning modelAn AI model that works through a problem step by step before it answers.Intermediate
- Recommendation systemSoftware that guesses what you will want next: a song, a show, a product.Basic
- Red team and blue teamHired attackers who play the real enemy, and the defenders who try to catch them.Intermediate
- RefactoringReorganizing code to make it clearer, without changing what it does.Intermediate
- Refresh rateHow many times per second a screen redraws its picture, measured in hertz (Hz).Basic
- RegexA compact pattern language for finding and checking pieces of text.Intermediate
- Regions and Availability ZonesWhere AWS physically lives: cities worldwide, each split into separate data centers.Basic
- Reinforcement learningLearning by trial and error, guided by rewards for good outcomes.Intermediate
- Reserved instances and Savings PlansCheaper cloud prices in exchange for promising to keep using it for one or three years.Intermediate
- Responsive designBuilding one web page that rearranges itself to fit any screen size.Basic
- REST APIThe most common style of web API: things have URLs and you act on them with HTTP verbs.Intermediate
- RoamingUsing another carrier's mobile network, usually abroad, with your own number.Basic
- RoboticsBuilding machines that sense the world, decide what to do, and move to do it.Basic
- RollbackGoing back to the last version that worked when a new one causes problems.Basic
- RouterThe box that connects your devices to each other and to the internet.Basic
- RustA fast programming language whose compiler refuses to build code with memory bugs.Intermediate
S
- SaaS, PaaS and IaaSThree ways to rent computing, depending on how much of the work you hand over.Basic
- SalesforceThe company that sells, as an online subscription, the software to manage customers.Basic
- SamsungKorean giant that sells phones and TVs, and makes much of the world's memory chips.Basic
- SandboxingRunning a program in a closed box so it cannot harm anything outside it.Intermediate
- SAPThe German company whose software runs the back office of many large businesses.Basic
- Satellite internetInternet access beamed from space to a dish, where cables and cell towers don't reach.Basic
- ScalabilityHow well a system keeps working when it has to handle much more.Basic
- SDKA kit of code, tools and docs a company provides so you can build for its platform.Intermediate
- Security complianceProving to customers and regulators, with an outside audit, that you follow security rules.Intermediate
- Security keyA small physical device you plug in or tap to prove it is really you logging in.Basic
- Security operations centerThe team that watches an organization's systems around the clock for attacks.Intermediate
- Semantic layerOne place that defines a company's metrics, so every tool computes them the same way.Advanced
- Semantic searchSearch that finds results by meaning, not by matching the exact words you typed.Intermediate
- Semantic versioningA rule for version numbers like 2.4.1, so each part tells you how risky an update is.Intermediate
- SensorA component that measures something in the physical world and turns it into a signal.Basic
- Sentiment analysisSoftware that reads text and tells whether the writer sounds happy, angry or neutral.Basic
- ServerA computer whose job is to answer requests from other computers, all day, every day.Basic
- ServerlessCode that runs only when called; you never see or manage the server.Intermediate
- Service meshA network layer that handles how microservices talk, so the code does not have to.Advanced
- Session hijackingStealing the ticket a site gives you after login, so the thief is let in as you.Intermediate
- Shared responsibility modelWho secures what in the cloud: the provider, the customer, or both.Intermediate
- ShopifyA platform that lets any business set up and run its own online store.Basic
- SIEMThe system that gathers security logs from everywhere and raises the alarm.Advanced
- SignalA private messaging app run by a nonprofit, built to know as little about you as it can.Basic
- SIM cardThe small chip card that tells the mobile network which line is yours.Basic
- SIM swappingA scam where someone takes over your phone number to receive your security codes.Basic
- Site reliability engineeringRunning production systems with software engineering, and a budget for failure.Intermediate
- SLAA written promise about how reliable a service will be, and what happens if it is not.Basic
- SlackA chat app for work, organized in channels instead of endless email threads.Basic
- Slowly changing dimensionThe rules a data warehouse uses when descriptive data, like a customer's city, changes.Advanced
- Small language modelA compact language model that is cheap to run, even on a laptop or a phone.Intermediate
- Smart homeA home whose lights, locks and appliances run from a phone or on their own.Basic
- SmartphoneA pocket computer that also makes phone calls.Basic
- SnowflakeA data warehouse sold as a cloud service, billed by how much computing you use.Intermediate
- Social engineeringManipulating people, instead of machines, into giving away access or information.Basic
- Software dependencyCode written by someone else that your program needs in order to work.Intermediate
- Software libraryReady-made code for a common task that programmers plug into their own programs.Intermediate
- Software licenseThe legal terms that say what you may and may not do with a piece of software.Basic
- Software testingChecking that software does what it should, mostly with code that tests other code.Intermediate
- Software updateA new version of a program sent to your device to fix problems or add features.Basic
- Source codeThe human-readable text that programmers write and that a program is built from.Basic
- Sovereign cloudA cloud built so data and its control stay under one country's or region's laws.Intermediate
- SpaceXThe rocket company that also runs Starlink, internet from thousands of satellites.Basic
- SpamUnwanted messages sent in bulk: ads, scams and junk you never asked for.Basic
- Speech recognitionTechnology that turns spoken words into written text.Basic
- Speed testA quick check of how fast your internet connection really is right now.Basic
- Spot instancesSpare cloud servers rented at a deep discount, but taken back on short notice.Intermediate
- SpotifyA Swedish streaming service for music and podcasts, free with ads or paid monthly.Basic
- Spreadsheet vs databaseWhy a company that runs on Excel eventually needs a real database.Basic
- SQLThe language you use to ask a database questions.Basic
- SQL injectionTyping text into a form that the database mistakes for its own instructions.Intermediate
- SQL JOINThe SQL command that combines rows from two tables that share a value.Intermediate
- SQLiteA complete SQL database that lives in a single file, with no server to run.Intermediate
- SSDStorage with no moving parts: where your files live when the power is off.Basic
- SSHAn encrypted way to log in to another computer and type commands on it.Intermediate
- Star schemaA data warehouse layout: one table of events in the middle, descriptive tables around it.Advanced
- Stateless and statefulWhether a program remembers things between requests, or keeps that memory somewhere else.Intermediate
- Statistical significanceA test of whether a difference is probably real or could just be luck.Intermediate
- StripeA company that lets websites and apps accept online payments with a few lines of code.Basic
- Submarine cablesCables on the ocean floor that carry almost all the internet traffic between continents.Basic
- SubnetA slice of a network's IP addresses, grouped so its devices can talk directly.Advanced
- SupercomputerThousands of computers wired together to work on one huge calculation at once.Intermediate
- Supervised and unsupervised learningTwo ways a machine learns: from examples with answers, or by finding patterns on its own.Intermediate
- Supply chain attackHacking a trusted supplier so its normal updates carry the attack to everyone else.Intermediate
- SwiftApple's programming language for building apps for iPhone, Mac and its other devices.Intermediate
- Synthetic dataData made up by a program to look like the real thing, used to train or test.Intermediate
- System on a chipOne chip that holds a computer's main parts: CPU, GPU, memory control and more.Intermediate
T
- TabletA computer that is just a big touchscreen, between a phone and a laptop.Basic
- TCP and UDPTwo ways to send packets: TCP checks everything arrives, UDP just sends and moves on.Intermediate
- Technical debtThe future cost of shortcuts taken in software today.Intermediate
- TelegramA messaging app built around the cloud, huge groups and public channels.Basic
- TemperatureThe setting that makes an AI model's answers more predictable or more varied.Intermediate
- TerraformA popular tool for describing cloud infrastructure in files and creating it for you.Intermediate
- TeslaAn electric car maker that treats the car as a computer on wheels.Basic
- Text-to-imageAI that draws a brand-new picture from a written description.Basic
- Text-to-speechTechnology that reads written text aloud in a synthetic voice.Basic
- Text-to-videoAI that turns a written description into a short video clip.Basic
- Thermal throttlingA chip slowing itself down on purpose so it does not overheat.Intermediate
- Threat modelingSitting down before building to ask who could attack this, how, and what to do about it.Advanced
- ThunderboltA very fast port that carries data, video and power over one USB-C cable.Intermediate
- Time seriesA list of measurements of the same thing, taken one after another in time.Intermediate
- TLS certificateThe ID card a website shows your browser to prove it is who it claims to be.Intermediate
- TokenThe small chunk of text a language model actually reads.Basic
- TorA volunteer network that hides who you are by bouncing traffic through three relays.Intermediate
- TPUGoogle's chip designed specifically for the math of neural networks.Intermediate
- TracerouteA tool that shows every stop your data makes on the way to a destination.Intermediate
- Training and inferenceTraining builds the model once; inference is using it, millions of times a day.Intermediate
- TransformerThe neural network design behind modern language models, built around 'attention'.Advanced
- TransistorAn electrically controlled switch, the basic building block of every chip.Intermediate
- TSMCThe factory that makes the world's most advanced chips for everyone else.Intermediate
- Two-factor authenticationA second proof that you are you, so a stolen password alone is not enough.Basic
- TypeScriptJavaScript with types added, so many mistakes are caught before the code runs.Intermediate
U
- UberAn app that matches people who need a ride, or a meal, with nearby drivers.Basic
- UnicodeThe universal numbering of every letter and symbol, and why accents sometimes break.Intermediate
- URLThe full address of something on the web: protocol, site and path.Basic
- USBThe standard plug for connecting and charging almost everything.Basic
- UX and UIUI is what you see and touch on a screen; UX is how the whole experience feels.Basic
V
- Vector databaseA database that finds things by similar meaning instead of exact matching words.Intermediate
- Vendor lock-inWhen leaving a provider would cost so much that you are stuck with it.Basic
- Vibe codingBuilding software by describing what you want to an AI and accepting its code.Basic
- Video streamingWatching a video while it arrives in small pieces, instead of downloading it all first.Basic
- Virtual machineA complete computer made of software, running inside a real one.Basic
- Virtual realityA headset that replaces what you see with a 3D world that follows your head.Basic
- VLANA way to split one physical network into several separate ones, using software rules.Advanced
- Voice assistantSoftware you talk to out loud that answers back and does small tasks for you.Basic
- Voice cloningAI that learns to speak in a real person's voice from a short recording.Basic
- VPNAn encrypted tunnel that sends all your traffic through another network first.Intermediate
- VRAMThe memory built into a graphics card, where the GPU keeps what it is working on.Intermediate
- Vulnerability and CVEA flaw that lets an attacker misuse software, and the public id that names it.Intermediate
W
- WearablesSmall computers you wear on your body, like smartwatches, fitness bands and smart rings.Basic
- Web accessibilityMaking websites and apps usable by everyone, including people with disabilities.Basic
- Web browserThe app that fetches web pages from the internet and draws them on your screen.Basic
- Web hostingRenting space on an always-on computer so your website is reachable by anyone.Basic
- WebhookA way for one service to call your app the moment something happens.Intermediate
- WebsiteA set of web pages under one address, stored on a server and opened in a browser.Basic
- WebSocketA connection between browser and server that stays open, so both can talk anytime.Advanced
- WHOISThe public lookup that tells you who registered a domain name and when.Intermediate
- Wi-FiNetworking over radio waves: the internet without the cable, within a few rooms.Basic
- Wi-Fi securityHow a Wi-Fi password keeps neighbors out and scrambles what travels through the air.Intermediate
- WorkloadAny job you run on computers: an app, a database, a nightly report, an AI model.Basic
X
Z
- Zero trustSecurity that checks every request, instead of trusting whatever is inside the network.Advanced
- Zigbee and MatterTwo standards that let smart home devices from different brands talk to each other.Intermediate
- ZoomA video meeting app, and the company behind it, that became a verb during the pandemic.Basic
Nothing matches those filters.