Glossary

The Serverless Handbook uses lots of terms that might be unfamiliar. I introduce them at first use and understand new words are hard.

Refer here any time you encounter an unfamiliar word. If something's missing ping me on twitter @swizec.

Words and phrases in alphabetical order.

• ACID short for atomicity-consistency-isolation-durability, a model of database correctness
• API short for Application Programming Interface, use to mean everything from the URL structure of a server to the public interface of a class or function
• API Gateway the AWS service that routes HTTP requests from public URLs to internal services
• ARN short for Amazon Resource Name, the globally unique identifier for AWS items
• AWS amazon web services
• CDN short for Content Distribution Network, an approach to serving static files that improves latency
• CLI short for Command Line Interface, the terminal you type commands into
• CORS a security protocol that limits which domains can access certain assets
• CPU short for central processing unit, the part of computers that does most of the work
• CRUD short for Create Read Update Delete, a typical set of operations apps need to support
• CloudWatch the AWS service that collects and displays basic logs and metrics from every other service
• DB short for database
• DLQ short for Dead Letter Queue, a special queue used to hold bad messages for further debugging
• DNS short for Domain Name System/Server, it translates domains to IP addresses
• DX short for developer experience, a catch-all for how it feels to work with a technology
• Go a popular lightweight language for server programming
• I/O short for input/output, the process of reading and writing to an external medium like a hard drive or database
• IP address the globally unique identifier for a computer on the internet
• JSON a popular data format based on JavaScript objects
• JVM short for Java Virtual Machine, the runtime environment for Java applications
• QA short for Quality Assurance, used to mean both the process and the teams doing it
• RDS short for Relational Database Service, an AWS service for hosting relational databases like Postgres and MySQL
• S3 the AWS static file hosting service
• SNS short for Simple Notification Service, a messaging pub/sub service on AWS
• SQS short for Simple Queue Service, a messaging queue service on AWS
• SSL the encrypted communication layer used on the web
• UI short for user interface
• VPS short for Virtual Private Server, a type of shared hosting
• apache a common web server popular with the open source community
• azure Microsoft's cloud and serverless computing platform
• blockchain a distributed ledger used for cryptocurrencies, data storage, and smart contracts
• cache a fast data storage service or app for temporary data used to improve performance
• chrome puppeteer a library used to automate browser tasks with Chrome
• cloud function another name for a unit in function-as-a-service serverless computing
• cloudfront AWS's CDN service
• compute a fuzzy term for unit of computation used to talk about pricing and performance
• devops is a set of practices that combines development and IT operations
• docker a popular computer virtualization software and toolkit
• dynamodb a wide-table NoSQL database service on AWS
• edge workers a type of cloud function that works like a CDN and aims to reduce latency
• exponential backoff a common approach to reducing load on a 3rd party service that is struggling
• firebase Google's suite of backend-as-a-service offerings
• git a common version control system
• graphql an API protocol based on queries commonly used to increase client power and flexibility
• hashing function a secure method of uniquely encoding a string in a way that cannot be reversed
• heroku a popular platform-as-a-service provider
• http short for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the underlying protocol of the web
• https the secure encrypted version of http that uses SSL
• jamstack Javascript And Markdown stack, a stack of technologies used for modern static-first websites
• kubernetes a popular toolkit for managing servers and containers
• lambda function a unit in function-as-a-service serverless computing, synonym for cloud function
• netlify a jamstack and serverless provider, popularized the jamstack approach
• nginx a popular web server created in 2004 to address Apache's performance issues
• nosql an umbrella term for databases that trade ACID compliance for specific performance or usability gains
• PaaS/platform as a service a type of hosting that aims to solve infrastructure complexity
• poison pill an unprocessable message or request
• queue a data structure that processes messages in order, also used as shorthand for a service or application that acts as a queue
• rainbow tables a pre-computed cache of hashes used to reverse hashed passwords
• relational database a popular approach to storing business data since the 1970's, often synonymous with the concept of a database
• rest a common approach to designing web APIs
• server depending on context, a machine running software that serves internet requests, or the software itself
• serverless an on-demand hosting environment
• ssh short for secure shell, a protocol for remotely controlling services
• upsert an operation that inserts a new object or updates an existing object with the same identifier
• vercel a jamstack and serverless provider
• yak shaving a useless activity that indirectly helps you solve a larger problem