Skills & Tech Glossary

A project management approach used in software development where work is broken into small, iterative steps (Sprints) to allow for frequent feedback and changes.

A set of rules that allow two software programs to communicate with each other. It's the "bridge" that lets apps share data.

An integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use.

The world's most broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally.

Microsoft's cloud platform. Widely used in the enterprise world because it integrates perfectly with Windows and Office ecosystems.

The part of the website that the user CANNOT see (the "server-side"). It deals with databases, logic, and server configuration.

Extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior.

A system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system.

A low-level language that is the foundation of modern computing. It is used to write operating systems (like Windows and Linux) and for embedded systems in hardware.

A powerful, high-performance language used in Game Development (Unreal Engine), Financial Systems, and Systems Programming where speed is critical.

A leading provider of EDA software, hardware, and IP. Their tools are industry-standard for designing complex chips and electronic systems.

A method to frequently deliver apps to customers by introducing automation into the stages of app development.

The on-demand delivery of IT resources over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. Instead of buying and maintaining physical data centers, you can access computing power and storage from providers like AWS.

A field of AI that enables computers and systems to derive meaningful information from digital images, videos and other visual inputs.

A parallel computing platform and API model created by NVIDIA. It allows software to use certain types of GPUs for general purpose processing, essential for modern AI.

The practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks.

The science of analyzing raw data in order to make conclusions about that information.

A subfield of Machine Learning based on artificial neural networks (inspired by the human brain). It powers things like ChatGPT and Self-Driving Cars.

A set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). It aims to shorten the development life cycle and provide continuous delivery with high software quality.

Directly referred to as the "phonebook of the internet." It translates human-friendly domain names (like ugoverseas.com) into IP addresses that computers use to identify each other.

A tool that packages software into standardized units called "Containers". This ensures that the code runs exactly the same on every computer.

A category of software tools used for designing electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards.

A network security device that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic based on an organization's previously established security policies.

An integrated circuit designed to be configured by a customer or a designer after manufacturing—hence "field-programmable".

Everything on a website that a user sees and clicks on (the "client-side"). Built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

A developer who can work on both the "Front-end" (what you see) and the "Back-end" (the server/database logic) of a website or application.

A version control system used to track changes in code. It allows multiple developers to work on the same project without overwriting each other's work.

Google's suite of cloud services. Popular for its advanced Big Data and Machine Learning capabilities.

Cloud-based services, pay-as-you-go for services such as storage, networking, and virtualization.

The network of physical objects—"things"—that are embedded with sensors and software for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices over the internet.

The language of the web. Every interactive website you visit uses JavaScript. It can also be used on the server via Node.js.

A system for automating the deployment and scaling of containerized applications (Docker). Essential for managing large-scale global apps.

An open-source operating system modeled on UNIX. It is the backbone of most web servers and supercomputers in the world.

A type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data to understand and generate human-like language. Examples include GPT-4, Claude, and Llama.

A branch of AI that focuses on building systems that learn from data and improve their accuracy over time without being explicitly programmed.

A programming and numeric computing platform used by millions of engineers and scientists to analyze data, develop algorithms, and create models.

A powerful tool for security auditing and penetration testing. It helps security teams verify vulnerabilities and manage security assessments.

A field of AI that gives computers the ability to understand text and spoken words in much the same way human beings can.

A widely used vulnerability scanner. It helps organizations find and fix vulnerabilities in their systems before hackers can exploit them.

The most popular React framework for production. It handles things like performance, SEO, and routing out of the box (this website is built with it!).

A free and open-source utility for network discovery and security auditing. It is used to discover hosts and services on a computer network.

A runtime that allows developers to use JavaScript to build the Backend (server) part of an application.

A cloud computing model where a third-party provider delivers hardware and software tools to users over the internet. Usually for application development.

The world's most popular language for Data Science, AI, and Automation. It is known for being easy to read and having a massive collection of libraries (like Pandas and NumPy).

A machine learning framework based on the Torch library, developed primarily by Meta's AI Research lab. Known for its flexibility and ease of use in research.

A way of preventing mistakes and defects in manufactured products and avoiding problems when delivering products or services to customers.

A language specifically designed for Statistical Computing and Graphics. Highly used by researchers, data analysts, and PhD students in quantitative fields.

A JavaScript library created by Meta (Facebook) for building user interfaces. Most modern web apps (like Netflix and Airbnb) are built with React.

Learning new skills for a completely different job. This often happens when an old job becomes obsolete or when someone wants a total career change.

A modern language focused on safety and performance. It is extremely popular for writing system tools because it prevents common memory crashes seen in C/C++.

A way of delivering applications over the Internet—as a service. Instead of installing software, you simply access it via the web (e.g., Gmail, Slack).

A way to build and run applications without managing the underlying servers. The cloud provider (AWS/Azure) handles the scaling and maintenance automatically.

The difference between the skills a job requires and the skills a candidate actually possesses. Universities and bootcamps aim to bridge this "gap".

A software platform to search, analyze, and visualize the machine-generated data gathered from the websites, applications, and sensors that make up your business.

The standard language for managing and querying data stored in databases. Essential for anyone working with data (Analysts, Developers, Marketers).

The fundamental suite of communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet.

An open-source library developed by Google for machine learning and artificial intelligence. Highly used for building and training neural networks.

A "strict" version of JavaScript that helps catch errors before they happen. It is industry-standard for large, complex professional projects.

The series of screens, pages, and visual elements (like buttons and icons) that you use to interact with a device or app.

The process of learning new skills or of teaching workers new skills, often to keep up with technological changes or to move into more advanced roles.

The internal experience that a person has as they interact with every aspect of a company's products and services.

A popular network protocol analyzer. It allows you to see what's happening on your network at a microscopic level and is the industry standard for network troubleshooting.