Glossary
Glossary of Terms
AI as a service (AIaaS): Delivers AI tools and services via the cloud, such as machine learning and computer vision.
AI vs. machine learning: AI performs tasks like reasoning; machine learning uses large datasets to train AI systems.
AI: Systems that imitate human intelligence to learn, reason, solve problems, and make decisions.
API (Application Programming Interface): A set of protocols, tools, and definitions that allow different software applications to communicate and interact.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange): A character encoding standard for electronic communications.
Algorithm: An unambiguous specification of how to solve a class of problems.
Application Software (App): Computer software designed to perform a group of coordinated functions, tasks, or activities for the benefit of the user.
Array: A data structure consisting of a collection of elements (values or variables), each identified by at least one array index or key.
Backup: Creating copies of data and storing them in a separate location or system to protect against data loss or corruption.
Bandwidth: The maximum rate of data transfer across a given path.
Benchmark: The act of running a computer program, a set of programs, or other operations, in order to assess the relative performance of an object.
Big Data: A term used to refer to data sets that are too large or complex for traditional data-processing application software to adequately deal with.
Binary Number: A number expressed in the base-2 numeral system or binary numeral system, which uses only two symbols: typically 0 (zero) and 1 (one).
Bit: The basic unit of information in computing and digital communications.
Boolean Data Type: A data type that has one of two possible values (usually denoted true and false).
Bug: An error, flaw or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways.
Byte: A unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits.
C#: A general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language encompassing static typing, strong typing, lexically scoped, imperative, declarative, functional, generic, object-oriented (class-based), and component-oriented programming disciplines.
C++: A general-purpose programming language created by Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes".
C: A general-purpose, procedural computer programming language supporting structured programming, lexical variable scope, and recursion, with a static type system.
CDN (Content Delivery Network): A distributed network of servers located in various geographical locations that deliver web content to end users.
COBOL: A compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use.
CPU (Central Processing Unit): The electronic circuitry within a computer that executes instructions that make up a computer program.
CSS: A style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language like HTML.
Cache: A hardware or software component that stores data so that future requests for that data can be served faster.
Clojure: A dynamic and functional dialect of the Lisp programming language on the Java platform.
CoffeeScript: A programming language that transcompiles into JavaScript.
Cognitive AI: AI that simulates human thought to analyze data, learn from it, and make decisions.
Compiler: A special program that processes statements written in a particular programming language and turns them into machine language or "code" that a computer's processor uses.
Computer vision: AI that processes visual data to analyze images, read text, detect faces, and recognize objects.
Crystal: A general-purpose, object-oriented programming language, designed and developed by Ary Borenszweig, Juan Wajnerman, Brian Cardiff, and more than 300 contributors.
DNS (Domain Name System): A hierarchical and decentralized naming system for computers, services, or other resources connected to the Internet or a private network.
Data Structure: A data organization, management, and storage format that enables efficient access and modification.
Data: Any sequence of one or more symbols given meaning by specific act of interpretation.
Database: An organized collection of data, generally stored and accessed electronically from a computer system.
Debugging: The process of finding and resolving defects or problems within a computer program that prevent it from operating correctly.
Deep learning: AI that uses neural networks to learn from large datasets and make predictions.
Deployment Models: The different ways cloud services are provisioned and made available to users (e.g., public, private, hybrid, multi-cloud).
Elasticity: The ability of a system or infrastructure to automatically scale resources up or down based on changing demand.
Face recognition: Uses AI-powered computer vision to identify or verify individuals by analyzing their facial features.
Fault Tolerance: The ability of a system or infrastructure to continue operating and providing services even in the presence of failures or faults.
Firewall: A network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.
Firmware: A specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware.
GPT: Neural network models that analyze data and interpret and produce text, images, and sounds.
GUI (Graphical User Interface): A type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, instead of text-based user interfaces, typed command labels or text navigation.
Go: A statically typed, compiled programming language designed at Google by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson.
Groovy: An object-oriented programming language for the Java platform.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): The standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol): An application protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems.
Hardware: The physical parts of a computer, such as the case, central processing unit (CPU), monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound card, speakers and motherboard.
Haskell: A general-purpose, statically typed, purely functional programming language with type inference and lazy evaluation.
Hybrid Cloud: A cloud computing environment that combines the use of both public and private clouds.
IDE (Integrated Development Environment): A software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development.
IP Address: A numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): A cloud computing model where organizations rent virtualized computing resources from a cloud services provider.
IoT (Internet of Things): A network of interconnected devices, sensors, and objects that collect and exchange data over the Internet.
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation): A lightweight data-interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write and for machines to parse and generate.
Java: A class-based, object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible.
JavaScript: A programming language that conforms to the ECMAScript specification.
Julia: A high-level, high-performance, dynamic programming language.
Kernel: A computer program at the core of a computer's operating system that has complete control over everything in the system.
Keyword: A word that is reserved by a program because the word has a special meaning.
Kotlin: A cross-platform, statically typed, general-purpose programming language with type inference.
Kubernetes: An open-source container orchestration platform for automating containerized applications' deployment, scaling, and management.
Large language models (LLMs): AI systems that use large datasets and machine learning to understand and generate natural language.
Lisp: A family of programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized prefix notation, called S-expressions.
Load Balancing: Distributes network traffic evenly across multiple servers or resources to optimize performance, enhance scalability, and prevent overload.
Lua: A lightweight, high-level, multi-paradigm programming language designed primarily for embedded use in applications.
MATLAB: A proprietary multi-paradigm programming language and numeric computing environment developed by MathWorks.
Machine learning algorithms: Programs that learn from data to find patterns, make predictions, and improve automatically.
Machine learning: Uses algorithms to analyze data, identify patterns, make predictions, and improve over time.
Memory (RAM): A form of computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working data and machine code.
Microservices: An architectural approach in which applications are built as a collection of small, loosely coupled, and independently deployable services.
Model as a service (MaaS): Provides cloud access to pre-trained machine learning models to simplify AI app development.
Motherboard: The main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems.
Network: A collection of computers that are connected to each other so that they can share information.
NoSQL: A non-relational database management system that provides a flexible data model for storing and retrieving large volumes of unstructured and semi-structured data.
Objective-C: A general-purpose, object-oriented programming language that adds Smalltalk-style messaging to the C programming language.
Operating System (OS): System software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Orchestration: The automated management and coordination of multiple tasks, resources, and processes to achieve a desired outcome.
PHP: A general-purpose scripting language especially suited to web development.
PaaS (Platform as a Service): A cloud computing model that provides developers with a complete platform for developing, deploying, and managing applications without the complexity of infrastructure management.
Packet: A small amount of data sent over a network, such as a LAN or the Internet.
Perl: A family of two high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming languages.
Pixel: The smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest addressable element in an all points addressable display device; so it is the smallest controllable element of a picture represented on the screen.
Protocol: A set of rules that governs the communications between computers on a network.
Python: An interpreted, high-level and general-purpose programming language.
Quantum Computing: An emerging field that utilizes principles of quantum mechanics to perform computation beyond the capabilities of classical computers.
R: A programming language and free software environment for statistical computing and graphics supported by the R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
Replication: Creating and maintaining copies of data across multiple locations or storage systems to ensure data availability, reliability, and fault tolerance.
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG): Makes AI responses more reliable by retrieving external data to improve accuracy and relevance.
Router: A networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks.
Ruby: An interpreted, high-level, general-purpose programming language.
Rust: A multi-paradigm, general-purpose programming language designed for performance and safety, especially safe concurrency.
SQL: A domain-specific language used in programming and designed for managing data held in a relational database management system.
SaaS (Software as a Service): A cloud computing model providing software applications to users over the Internet.
Scala: A strong statically typed general-purpose programming language which supports both object-oriented and functional programming.
Scalability: The ability of a system, application, or infrastructure to handle increasing workloads and accommodate growth without significant performance degradation.
Scheme: A minimalist dialect of the Lisp family of programming languages.
Scratch: A high-level block-based visual programming language and website targeted primarily at children 8–16 as an educational tool for programming.
Small language models (SLMs): Smaller language models designed to perform specific tasks using fewer resources than larger models.
Software: A collection of instructions and data that tell a computer how to work.
Spam: Unsolicited messages sent in bulk by email (spamming).
Swift: A general-purpose, multi-paradigm, compiled programming language developed by Apple Inc. and the open-source community.
TypeScript: A programming language developed and maintained by Microsoft. It is a strict syntactical superset of JavaScript and adds optional static typing to the language.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator): A reference to a web resource that specifies its location on a computer network and a mechanism for retrieving it.
Virtual Machine (VM): A software emulation of a physical computer system, allowing multiple operating systems and applications to run simultaneously on a single physical machine.
Virus: A type of computer program that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code.
Visual Basic: A third-generation event-driven programming language from Microsoft for its Component Object Model (COM) programming model first released in 1991 and declared legacy during 2008.
Web Services: Software systems designed to enable interoperable communication and interaction between different applications over the Internet.
XML (eXtensible Markup Language): A markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.