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A
- API Endpoint
- A specific URL or address at which a web service exposes one particular piece of functionality, such as /users or /login, for other programs to call.
- Array
- An ordered collection of values stored under a single variable name, accessed by numeric position (index), typically starting at 0.
B
- Boolean
- A data type that can only hold one of two values: true or false, used constantly in conditional logic.
- Branch (Git)
- An independent line of development within a version-controlled project, allowing changes to be made without affecting the main codebase until they're merged.
- Bug
- An error or flaw in a program that causes it to behave in an unintended way, ranging from a cosmetic glitch to a critical crash.
C
- Class
- A blueprint in object-oriented programming that defines the properties (data) and methods (behavior) that its instances (objects) will have.
- Compiler
- A program that translates source code written in a human-readable language into machine code (or another lower-level form) before the program runs.
D
- Debugging
- The process of finding and fixing bugs in software, often using tools like breakpoints, logging, or step-through execution.
- Dependency
- An external library, package, or piece of code that a project relies on to function, typically managed through a package manager.
F
- Framework
- A pre-built structure of reusable code and conventions that developers build applications on top of, handling common tasks so they don't have to be solved from scratch.
- Front End vs. Back End
- The front end is the part of an application users directly see and interact with (UI); the back end is the server-side logic, database, and infrastructure that powers it behind the scenes.
- Function
- A named, reusable block of code that performs a specific task and can be called repeatedly, optionally accepting inputs and returning a result.
G
- Git
- A distributed version control system that tracks changes to files over time, letting multiple people collaborate on the same codebase without overwriting each other's work.
I
- IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
- A software application that bundles a code editor, debugger, and other developer tools together, such as Visual Studio Code or JetBrains IDEs.
J
- JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
- A lightweight, human-readable text format for structuring data as key-value pairs, widely used for exchanging data between a server and a web application.
L
- Library
- A collection of pre-written code that developers can call into their own programs to perform common tasks, without dictating the overall structure of the application (unlike a framework).
- Loop
- A programming construct that repeats a block of code multiple times, either a fixed number of times or until a condition is met.
M
- Merge Conflict
- A situation in version control where two sets of changes to the same lines of a file can't be automatically combined, requiring a human to manually resolve the difference.
N
- Null
- A special value indicating the deliberate absence of any value or object, distinct from zero, an empty string, or false.
O
- Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
- A programming paradigm that organizes code around 'objects' bundling data and behavior together, built from templates called classes.
- Open-Source License
- A legal document (such as MIT, Apache 2.0, or GPL) that specifies how open-source code can be used, modified, and redistributed.
P
- Pull Request (PR)
- A request to merge a set of code changes from one branch into another, typically reviewed and discussed by other developers before being accepted.
R
- Recursion
- A technique where a function solves a problem by calling itself on a smaller version of the same problem, until it reaches a base case that stops the chain.
- Refactoring
- Restructuring existing code to improve its readability, structure, or performance without changing its external behavior.
- Regex (Regular Expression)
- A sequence of characters that defines a search pattern, used to find, match, or replace specific text within strings.
- Repository (Repo)
- A storage location, typically managed by Git, that holds a project's files along with the full history of changes made to them.
- REST API
- An architectural style for web APIs that uses standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to let applications communicate over the internet in a predictable, stateless way.
- Runtime
- The environment in which a program actually executes, as opposed to compile time (when source code is translated) — errors that only appear while the program is running are called runtime errors.
S
- SQL (Structured Query Language)
- The standard language used to create, query, update, and manage data stored in relational databases.
- Syntax Error
- A mistake in code that violates the grammatical rules of the programming language, preventing it from running at all until fixed.
V
- Variable
- A named container that holds a value which can be read or changed while a program runs.
- Version Control
- A system for tracking and managing changes to code over time, enabling collaboration, rollback to earlier states, and parallel development via branches.