Understanding tech acronyms is essential in the field of IT. Bluebird's blog post explains the most commonly used acronyms.
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If you work as an IT recruiter, sourcer, or consultant, or if you are simply interested in the IT field, you will come across tech acronyms on a regular basis. I hope that this blog post will assist you in quickly and easily decoding the most frequently used acronyms.
A contact form is located at the bottom of the blog post. Please let me know if there are any acronyms that are missing from the list. Fill in the blanks with the acronym you're looking for, and I'll add it to the list as soon as I can.
Tech Acronyms in Alphabetical Order
AI
Artificial Intelligence
The AI means Artificial Intelligence which can help us to make intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. AI is only present in machines. It is such an intelligence which does not resemble natural intelligence portraited by animals and humans. Any non-biological intelligence which can detect its environment and surroundings and react to changes in them to ensure its best performance can be called an AI.
AJAX
Asynchronous JavaScript And XML
AJAX makes possible with JavaScript and XML (or nowadays, mainly JSON) to modify a webpage's content without completely reloading the page. It is a concept used by most websites, and it is the base of Single Page Applications.
AMP
Accelerated Mobile Pages
AMP is Google's initiative to make mobile web sites faster. It restricts the usage of web based languages like HTML, CSS and JavaScript - the given toolkit is restricted. When there is an AMP version available of a website, and you click on that site in Google's search results, it will load up the fast AMP site.
API
Application Programming Interface
An API is a layer between two system that helps to use the functions and data of a platform without knowing how that exactly works. It can create communication regardless of the systems' programming languages. The most common APIs are: SOAP, XML-RPC, JSON-RPC, REST.
ASCII
American Standard Code for Information Interchange
It is a standard for character encoding. Most modern character encodings use it as a base and extends it to support more characters.
ASP
Active Server Pages
ASP stands for Active Server Pages. This tehcnology is developed by Microsoft and can be used to generate dynamic web pages. It uses server-side scripting to serve client requests.
AWS
Amazon Web Services
The Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the leading cloud computing platform provided by Amazon. Customers can migrate their IT solutions and systems to this secure cloud service, so they can access them anytime on the web easily and cost-effectively. There are 3 main types of cloud computing services: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platforms-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).
BASH
Bourne Again Shell
Bash is an interface where users can type text based commands and the computer runs them. Commands, syntax and keywords were copied from the original Shell to maintain compatibility. Bash is the default shell in most Linux distributions and previous macOS versions.
BASIC
Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
It is one of the oldest programming language family. It was developed in the 1960s with the purpose of making it possible for non-tech users to write easy code to computers. Its usage has declined in the 1990s because with the spread of more advanced computers, more advanced languages appeared on the market.
BIOS
Basic Input Output System
It is a firmware to check hardware components and loads the boot loader which then starts the loading process of the operating system. UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is the successor to BIOS firmwares.
BPMN
Business Process Model and Notation
BPMN is a method to make the presentation of the steps of a business process easy to understand. It allows its users to create graphical documentations which can give organizations the ability to communicate these procedures in a standard way
CD
Continuous Delivery
CD is an approach in which teams ensure rapid system release per version. The aim of continuous delivery is to receive feedback on our work as soon as possible, so that we can adapt it to the customer's needs as perfectly as possible, and thus achieve the greatest possible satisfaction with the customers.
CDN
Content Delivery Network
The basic concept of cdn is to reduce latency when you are trying to load a web page. Multiple servers around the world store a cached version of the main server's content. To get the fastest loading time, you're going to get the content from the closest server to your location.
CI
Continuous Integration
Continuous Integration is a development method which help developers integrate code into a common interface several times a day. This way, even minor changes become quickly available to the rest of the team. CI makes it easier to fix bugs quickly and often, saving time and minimizing the
CLI
Command Line Interface
It is a user interface where you run commands in a text based interface. Historically this was the only available interface to use a computer. Nowadays, most people use Graphical User Interfaces (GUI), and only advanced professionals (programmers, system administrators) use command line interface to run commands.
CMS
Content Management System
CMS allows us to modify and add new content to our websites, webshops without any programming skills. Advantages include faster development time, no specific knowledge required and it can be cheaper, although it is not the best solution for a more complex website or webshop. The most commonly used CMS systems include WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Magento.
COBOL
Common Business Oriented Language
It is a programming language developed for business use. It is mostly used by financial institutes and goverments. Most of COBOL based systems are only maintained and no new features added.
CRUD
Create, Read, Update, Delete
These are the four fundamental way of handling and manipulating data. Most applications has interfaces for all of these, but in some cases you don't have permission to delete existing or create new data via the software.
CX
Customer Experience
Customer experience means the concrete impressions and feelings which developers in the customer by getting to know the brand and its products. It embraces the whole process which starts before the purchase and lasts until the actual use. CX is influenced by many components but the two most important things are buyer’s positive experiences by the people of the brand and the satisfaction over the brand’s product or service.
CSS
Cascading Style Sheet
It can be used to format and control the layout of multiple web pages. CSS is independent of HTML and can be used with any XML-based markup language.
CSV
Comma-Separated Values
It is a text file format where data is delimited by a separator character. While its name says comma, semicolon is the most standard separator though.
DMS
Database Management System
Database Management System refers to a software program in which a company collects all information to record, control and retrieve. By doing so, a company can save a lot of time, resources and energy when searching as well as managing data. It also improves efficiency and communication.
DNS
Domain Name System
A DNS server translates domain names (like bluebirdinternational.com) to IP addresses. Although it's easier to remember domain names for people, computers communicates by IP addresses. Domain names should be converted to IP addresses, so even computers can understand what computer or webpage we would like to access.
DOM
Document Object Model
It is the interface which describes HTML and XML documents. It is a tree based structure where every node describes a part of the document.
DRY
Don't Repeat Yourself
It is a software development methodology to avoid repeating source code. Instead of copy-pasting, use absctractions and data normalization.
DTD
Document Type Definition
It defines the valid building blocks of an HTML or XML document. There are standard document type definitions like HTML4, HTML5, XHTML, and developers can also define their own definitions.
EDI
Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI) Electronic Data Interchange is a standardized format for exchanging business information. This process allows a company to send information to another company electronically rather than on paper. We call commercial partners business company's that conduct business electronically.
ES
ECMAScript or ES is the standard behind JavaScript
Its main purpose is to standardize how JS webpages works across different browsers and devices.
FORmula TRANslation
It is a general purpose programming language developed by IBM in the 1950s. It is most used by mathematical and scientific applications. It was designed to speed up solving complex problems.
FOSS
Free and Open-Source Software
It is an umbrella term for software that are both free and has open source code. There isn't any constraints on copyright and the license makes it possible to use, copy and modify the source code in any way.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol
It is a standard protocol to transfer files between a client and a server. Web applications are most likely transferred via FTP from the developer's computer to the hosting server.
GCP
Google Cloud Platform
GCP is one of Google’s products, which is a cloud computing service. Purpose of this platform is to store User Data on Google's server infrastructure. GCP is a popular cloud service alongside AWS and Azure.
GIF
Graphics Interchange Format
It is one of the most used image formats. It makes possible to store single images or animations within a single file.
GUI
Graphic User Interface
GUI is a user interface where we handle an application via icons, buttons and other easy-to-use graphical elements. It was developed because command line interfaces were hard to use.
HTML
Hyper-Text Markup Language
HTML is the standard markup language for web pages to be displayed in a web browser. It defines the structure of the elements, such as navigation bar and side bars, header, document body and footer. HTML can be also integrated with some script languages such as JavaScript, to manipulate the behaviour of the web page.
HTTP
Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol
HTTP stand for Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol. It is a communication protocol used for establishing connection between a Web server and user's browsers. With that we can exchange data between two of them.
IaaS
Infrastructure as a Service
Infrastructure-as-a-service, or IaaS is a pay-as-you-go service, that provides third party infrastructure services. The resources can be accessed via cloud, trough the internet. You don't have to update, service or troubleshoot the real devices, that is done by the service providers.
IDE
Integrated Development Environment
An Integrated development environment (IDE) is an application used for software development. Its main purpose is to maximize productivity by combining all necessary tools inside an easy-to-use interface instead of using individual tools. It has built-in tools for writing and debugging code, compiling software, and version control. See some Python IDEs as an example.
IOT
Internet of Things
Networked intelligent objects and devices that communicate with each other. Sensors and transmitters help to record states and perform actions. Most common applications: smart homes, connected vehicles, traffic management, environmental monitoring.
ISTQB
International Software Testing Qualification Board
It is a non-profit software testing certification board that operates internationally and has founded in 2002, Edinburgh. There is Foundation, Advanced and Expert level exam. Foundation and Advanced Level certifications are valid for life.
J2EE
Java 2 Enterprise Edition
J2EE stands for Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition. J2EE consists of a set of APIs. Developers can use these APIs to build applications for business computing.
J2SE
Java 2 Standard Edition
J2SE is a basic standard with many features and capabilities. A Desktop environment that used to create applications and contain all the basics of Java, variables, arrays, JDBC, and more. Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) is an application programming interface. Other versions of this standard were later released as needed.
JDBC
Java Database Connectivity
It is an API for Java which makes it possible to connect to databases. It supports the standard SQL statements like CREATE, UPDATE, INSERT, DELETE, SELECT.
JEE
Java Enterprise Edition
Java Platform, Enterprise Edition, in short Java EE is a widely used server-side Java programming platform. Enterprise Edition differs from Standard Edition in that it includes multiple libraries (APIs) that support the creation of fault-tolerant, multi-layered, distributed applications using modular software components running on the application server. Java EE application server can handle the transactions, scalability, and competition of installed components, allowing the developer to focus on the logic of the application without having to deal with infrastructure and integration.
JS
JavaScript
JavaScript is a object-oriented, interpreted programming language. It's the most used programming language in the world, used both on the client-side and server-side. It allows you to make web pages interactive, while HTML and CSS gives structure and style to web pages.
JSE
Java Standard Edition
JSE is a computing platform for development and deployment of portable code for desktop and server environments and it uses the JAVA programming language. Java SE includes the Java virtual machine on which Java programs run (runtime environment) and a set of java class libraries.
JSF
JavaServer Faces
JSF is a JAVA specification for building user interfaces for web-appliactions and is a part of the JAVA Platform, EE. It's component-based and it is also a MVC web framework created to simplify the construction of UI. The UI components are reusable in a page for server based applications.
JSON
JavaScript Object Notation
JSON is a compact, standardized file format to store text-based data in a human-readable way. It has it's own structure representation, which is based on JavaScript object syntax. JSON is mostly used for data transmission in web applications, e.g. during server-client communication.
JSP
JavaServer Pages
JSP is an acronym for JavaServer Pages. It provides a simple and fast way to make dynamic web pages. It makes the development of server and platform applications independent.
JVM
Java Virtual Machine
JVM is a platform independent software that makes possible to run Java applications on any device. It acts as a middleware which translates Java code to Java bytecode, and then it is run by the computer.
JWT
JSON Web Token
It is a standard and secure way to transfer information between server and client as a JSON object. They are encrypted and digitally signed. Most used in authentication processes: after someone signs in, every request must include a JWT to check if the user is authorized to access a page.
LAMP
Linux + Apache + MySQL + PHP
LAMP is a software package used to run dynamic websites and servers on the Linux operating system. The acronym is based on the use of Linux, Apache HTTP Server, MariaDB or MySQL, and PHP, Perl or Python. Sometimes Perl or Python is used instead of PHP, all referring to the same package.
LLVM
Low Level Virtual Machine
It is a compiler written in C++ that acts as a middle layer between programming languages and computer code. It generates low-level assembly code that makes possible to run the machine-optimized code faster.
LOC
Lines Of Code
It is one of the most standard way to measure how big an application is. It stands for how many lines do we have in an application. It also counts empty lines, comments, opening and closing tags. See SLOC for a more precise measurement method.
MDN
Mozilla Developer Network
It is one of the most used web technology documentation sites - maintained by Mozilla. It covers HTML, CSS, JS, Node.js and many other topics. Microsoft, Google and Samsung also moved their documentation content to this site and shut down theirs.
MEAN
MongoDB + Express.js + Angular + Node.js
An open source software stack in which we can develop websites and web applications in one language (JS), both on the Backend and Frontend pages. Tech Stack: Mongo Db, ExpresJS, AngularJS / 2 +, Node.JS)
MERN
MongoDB + Express.js + React + Node.js
Like MEAN Stack, we can develop websites (JS) in one language on the backend and frontend pages. There is only React instead of Angular. So the stack is: Mongo.DB, Express.JS, React.JS, Node.JS
MS
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is the world's largest software company based in the US. Microsoft sells a wide variety of software products. The best known of this company’s products is Windows operating system with the latest version being Windows 11 and Windows Server 2012 R2.
MVC
Model, View, and Controller
It is a software design paradigm where we separate the application's logic into three main elements. Controller handles every input, requests data from Model (most likely from a database) and returns all of these date to the View.
MVP
Minimum Viable Product
The essence of MVP is the first prototype which capable of operating and can be created the fastest way. At the beginning this product has only the basic skills and functions which makes it usable. The aim is to collect as much feedback from users as possible so that the product can be perfected in the end.
NLP
Natural Language Processing
It makes possible for computers to understand human (or natural) language. It is one of the branches of artifical intelligence. With natural language processing computers can understand written and/or spoken texts.
ODBC
Open Database Connectivity
Open Database Connectivity is an open standard API for accessing a database. The creators aim was to create a standard, that is database and operating system independent. An ODBC compliant application can connect to any database for which the driver is installed.
OOP
Object Oriented Programming
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm fundamental that organizes software design around data or objects rather than logic or functions. An object can be defined as a data field that has unique attributes and behaviour. This approach to programming is applicable for programs that are complex, large and frequently updated or maintained.
ORM
Object Relational Mapper
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm fundamental that organizes software design around data or objects rather than logic or functions. An object can be defined as a data field that has unique attributes and behaviour. This approach to programming is applicable for programs that are complex, large and frequently updated or maintained.
OS
Operating System
An operating system (OS) is a program that connects the hardware and a computer/phone user. It performs essential tasks like managing the CPU, memory, Input/Output devices, peripherals, and file storage. Most popular Operating Systems include Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
PaaS
Platform as a Service
The platform can be used on a cloud basis, ie it is a service within which we can use a basic software service in the cloud (eg OP system, database, etc.). This service does not include business logic.
This service is cheaper to use and operate than to operate a server park.
PEAR
PHP Extension and Application Repository
PEAR is a repository for PHP extensions and applications. Furthermore, PEAR is a unified collection and 100% PHP code.There are several packages that include: DB, HTTP, HTML, XML.
PHP
Hypertext Preprocessor
It is the most used scripting language of server side web applications. The web server runs the code and returns its results via the HTTP protocol to the web browser, most likely in HTML format.
PL/SQL
Procedural Language SQL
PL/SQL (Procedural Language/Structured Query Language) is a programming language created by Oracle as an extension of SQL. Program code written in PL/SQL is generally used to manage data. It can handle large amounts of variables.
POC
Proof of Concept
This term is used in situations where the final aim of the work is to prove that the basic idea or plan is feasible. Through the collected feedback from users and team members the unforeseen risks can be reduced and thereby the end product later can be perfected. An other term for it is proof of principle.
PWA
Progressive Web Application
A web application that is developed usign standard web based languages like HTML, CSS, JS. Users can add these application to their mobile's home screen. There is no need to publish these web application in one of the mobile application stores.
QA
Quality Assurance
In the field of IT, this means testing, ie checking the operation of the given application / website / program, etc., filtering out errors, documenting them, thus ensuring the appropriate quality. It can be tested manually or automatically, there is functional testing, source code testing, performance testing, etc. Testing is an essential phase in arming any application / website / program, etc.
RAD
Rapid Application Development
It is a software development method where quick prototyping is used instead of long planning periods. Developers creates multiple iterations of software instead of always starting again. By changing the application several times, they can adapt to user requirements easier.
REGEX
Regular Expression
It is an advanced method to search by patterns in a given text. You can define extremely complex patterns with this. It is used by programmers most likely in conditional statements and text replacement source codes.
REST
Representational State Transfer
REST or Representational State Transfer is a cross-application communication type, that handles CRUD operations on data or accessing named resources. The transfer of the data requires only the representation of the data in a specific form (XML, JSON or plain text), without exposing or transferring the actual object.
SaaS
Software As a Service
The Software as a Service solution is often called "on-demand software" and is a method of delivering software.
Here, the software and associated data are centrally hosted - often in the cloud - with user access via a thin client, most often in a web browser application.
SaaS has recently become very prevalent in most business application service areas - for example: billing/accounting, HR area, CRM applications, MIS and ERP systems, CM content management and service desk management.
SDK
Software Development Kit
SDK Development Kit is a collection of software development tools, that developers can user to create applications on certain specific platforms. SDK is mostly used in development of native mobile application. Allows developers to add functionality to their application.
SDLC
Software Development Lifecycle
SDLC or Softver Development Life Cycle is a step-by-step guide for software development. Each of the 7 phases represents a specific type of task, that needs to be executed to successfully make great software.
The 7 phases of the life cycle are planning, requirements definition, design and prototyping, development, testing, deployment, maintenance, and operation.
SEM
Search Engine Marketing
It is a way of internet marketing that incorporates Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and PPC (Pay Per Click) in order to increase website visibility in search engines. Good websites must be developed with search engine marketing in mind.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization
Helps to improve to find a web page on the internet. The SEO's goal is to places them as close as possible to the first result in the search. SEO can help the web pages to gain more visit without payed advertisement.
SLA
Service Level Agreement
SLA is a type of contract that created between a customer and a service provider. It determines the level and quality of service to be provided.
They help set a standard for measuring customer satisfaction and team productivity.
SLOC
Source Lines Of Code
It is a measurement method to determine the size of an application. It counts the lines of an application but excludes empty whitespaces based lines, comments, opening and closing tags and everything not considered important program code.
SOAP
Simple Object Access Protocol
It is an acronym for Simple Object Access Protocol. It's messaging protocol for exchanging information among computers via internet. SOAP is an application of the XML specification.
SPA
Single Page Application
A single page application dynamically rewrites the web page's content with new data. Users won't refresh the page like in a normal website. This method makes the loading time faster and gives a native app feeling.
SQL
Structured Query Language
SQL is a programming language used for accessing and manipulating databases. SQL statements are used to perform tasks such as update data on a database, or retrieve data from a database.
There are basically 4 elements:
Data Definition, Data Management, Query, and Data Controller
There are a lot of database management systems that use SQL: Oracle, Access, Ingres
SSL
Secure Sockets Layer
SSL is a protocol for server and clients (browsers) which makes it possible to authenticate, encrypt and decrypt the data. It is now deprecated, and TLS (Transport Layer Security) must be used instead.
SVG
Scalable Vector Graphics
A modern image format based on XML. We can describe illustrations with a very small size without quality loss of compression. Images can be scaled without loss of quality. More and more websites use this file format to serve logos or icons and other small illustrations, because file size is small and can be served faster over the Internet.
SVN
Subversion
The SVN (Subversion) is a version control system and has been around since 2000. This version control system is used to manage current versions of files such as source code, web pages, and documentation. The Subversion is still being used effectively in many projects around the world.
TDD
Test-Driven Development
TDD is a process of development where the requirements are turned into test cases. After the code is written in such way to pass these tests. First developers write tests and after it is done, they write the software code.
UAT
User Acceptance Testing
UAT is the last and testing process of the software testing. This is when users tests features and checks whether everything fulfills the original requirements.
UI
User Interface
The user comes into contact with it when using a product or service.
The UI is designed to make the content it offers attractive to the user.
Find answers and solutions based on the user's needs.
UML
Unified Modeling Language
The Unified Modeling Language is used within the field of software engineering. The purpose of it, is to
provide a standard way to visualize the design of a system.
USB
Universal Serial Bus
It is a technology which connects a computer with peripherial devices. It was introduced in 1996 and started to develop by companies like IBM, Intel, Microsoft.
UX
User Experience
Any feeling, emotion or experience that the user has while using the product or service is part of the user experience.
Users develop a user experience at the beginning of using a product or service, which may change continuously during use.
Includes the tasks that make the use of the product or service efficient and enjoyable.
VB.Net
Visual Basic
.NET is one of the programming languages targeting the .NET ecosystem developed by Microsoft. New features are not actively developed to this VB.Net, but still receives security and bug fixes.
VIPER
View, Interactor, Presenter, Entity and Router
VIPER stands for View, Interactor, Presenter, Entity and Router that is the five levels of responsibility of the structure of the developed application. It is a design pattern for software development, especially for smarthone apps, primarily for iOS, however since then it is also used for Android.
VPN
Virtual Private Network
An internet connected network which is private because it uses encryption to all the data sent through.
VS
Visual Studio
VS is the short version of Visual Studio. It is an IDE software developed by Microsoft. This is the official software to develop .Net applications.
XML
Extensible Markup Language
XML is a markup language. Markup languages are artificial languages that used to provide with a certain marking system for computer display. Its primary purpose is to share information and structured text, textual content across the Internet.
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