Tech Terms

Tech Terms You Need To Know

As you start your tech career, you start hearing some new tech terms which you feel like you are running too late and need to go back to your high school and start learning them. Here are some basic tech terms which everyone must and should know.

User Experience (UX)

User Experience is used to deal with the way a person experiences a product with regards to websites or apps.

UX is concerned with the ease of use and user satisfaction.

Sitemap: This is an outline of all the pages on a website

UI: User interface deals with every part of a machine that users interact with and it also counts things like displays, screens, keyboards, mouse, touchpads etc.

User research: This deals with users needs and behaviours. Techy can observe, understand and analyze users needs, concerns.

Wireframe: This is the sketch of the website/web app which also includes key components on the site.

Workflow Tools & Hardware

Text editor: This is a software used in coding and programming to write plain, unformatted text. Examples: Brackets, TextEdit, TextWrangler, Notepad++ etc.

IDE: Integrated development environment which helps people program more efficiently. This is same as a text editor. But it also has few more features say PyCharm, Webstorm etc.

Router: Router connects a computer and a modem. When some information arrives at a modem via broadband, the router sends the data to the computer.

Virtual machine (VM): a Virtual machine is a software which acts like hardware. It doesn’t have any physical presence but it can run programs like a physical machine. There are two types of VMs. System virtual machines (designed to run entire operating systems) and Process virtual machines (designed to run only one program).

Virtual Private Network (VPN): VPNs add additional security to networks. They can be used to any public or private networks. They protect the data with an additional layer.

Version control:  Version control tracks the changes made to a file or set of files over time. It also allows you to recall all the versions later if certain changes fail to work. It also saves you from the trouble of undoing all the steps.

Task manager: Task manager enables you to streamline the work process and automate repetitive but necessary tasks.

Front-end Development:

This is also known as ‘client side’, as this is what users/clients see on their computers. This includes the display/design coded into a website or app.

HTML: Hypertext Markup Language. This is described as the ‘face’ of the internet. All the websites have HTML. Web browsers read HTML files and to convert them into the websites what we actually see.

CSS: Cascading Style Sheets is always said to be the makeup part of HTML. It allows users to choose styles and add variety.

JavaScript: This is one of the programming languages that are popular in web development. This is used in the back end, too.

Back-end Development

This is often called as ‘server side’. If front-end is the face, the back-end is the brain which includes servers and databases.

API: Application Programming Interface is used in software development to provide a set of rules and building blocks for a specific program.

Database: This is a collection of a web app’s data.

DevOps: Software development method is designed to help teams communicate and work together better. DevOps unifies software development and software operation. When developers and IT workers unite, there will be an increase in production and efficiency.

Framework: Web application framework trims the time which builds a website or app by providing pre-coded templates and libraries. This acts as a base to build on.

Web server: Web server stores the content and delivers it to the clients. This can be a hardware (a web-accessible computer) or software (a program that detects and responds to server requests).