Terminology Glossary
Confused by some of the terms used in the learning platform or in web development generally? This glossary provides simple explanations for key concepts and tools.
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.cursorignore
Similar to .gitignore, but tells Cursor's AI features which files or folders to ignore when analyzing your project. Other AI coding tools have equivalents (e.g., .claudeignore for Claude Code).
Category: Tools/Cursor.gitignore
A configuration file for Git that lists files and folders (like `node_modules` or temporary files) that should *not* be tracked or saved in the project's history.
Category: Tools/Git.gitkeep
An empty file used as a trick to make Git track an otherwise empty folder, as Git normally ignores empty folders.
Category: Tools/GitA
Agentic Workflow
A development approach where AI agents handle multi-step tasks autonomously — planning, executing, and iterating on code changes. Unlike simple chat-based AI, agentic workflows involve the AI taking actions (reading files, running commands, making edits) in a loop.
Category: Concepts/AIAI Agent
An autonomous AI system that can perceive its environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve goals. In software development, AI agents can write code, run tests, debug issues, and deploy applications with minimal human intervention.
Category: Concepts/AIAPI (Application Programming Interface)
A way for different software programs to talk to each other. It defines the "language" and rules they use to request and share information.
Category: ConceptsB
Backend
The "behind-the-scenes" part of an application that runs on a server. It handles data storage, user logins, calculations, and provides information to the frontend.
Category: Concepts/BackendBase44
An AI-powered platform for building web applications through natural language prompts, similar to Lovable and Bolt.
Category: Tools/AI CodingBolt
An AI-powered full-stack web development platform by StackBlitz that lets you build, run, and deploy applications directly in the browser using natural language prompts.
Category: Tools/AI CodingBucket (Storage)
A container for storing files (like images, videos, documents) in cloud storage services (like AWS S3 or Supabase Storage). Each bucket typically has a unique name.
Category: Concepts/CloudC
Changelog
A file that keeps a record of all notable changes made to a project over time, usually listing new features, bug fixes, and improvements for each version.
Category: Concepts/Project ManagementCI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment)
An automated process for building, testing, and deploying software. CI automatically integrates code changes, and CD automatically deploys tested code, making releases faster and more reliable.
Category: Concepts/DeploymentClaude Code
Anthropic's official command-line tool for AI-assisted coding. It runs in your terminal and can read your codebase, make edits, run commands, and handle complex multi-step development tasks autonomously.
Category: Tools/AI CodingClaude Skills
Custom reusable capabilities that can be created for Claude Code, allowing it to perform specialised tasks consistently. Skills are defined as markdown instructions that teach Claude how to handle specific workflows.
Category: Concepts/AICNAME Flattening
A DNS feature offered by some providers that makes it possible to point your main domain name (e.g., `yourdomain.com`) directly to another service's domain name, which isn't normally allowed.
Category: Concepts/DeploymentConsole Log
A command developers use to print messages or variable values to a hidden "console" area (in the browser or server terminal) to help understand what's happening in the code, especially for debugging.
Category: Concepts/DebuggingContainer
A lightweight, standalone, executable package of software that includes everything needed to run it: code, runtime, system tools, libraries, and settings. Docker is a popular tool for creating and managing containers.
Category: Concepts/DeploymentContext Window
The maximum amount of text (measured in tokens) that an AI model can process in a single conversation or request. Larger context windows allow the AI to consider more code and conversation history at once.
Category: Concepts/AICORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing)
A browser security feature that controls which websites are allowed to request resources (like data from an API) from a different domain. Servers need to enable CORS for specific domains.
Category: Concepts/SecurityCSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery)
A type of web security attack where a malicious website tricks a user's browser into performing an unwanted action on a trusted site where the user is logged in. Websites use special tokens to prevent this.
Category: Concepts/SecurityCursor
An AI-powered code editor built on VS Code that helps you build software faster by understanding your code and assisting with writing, debugging, and making changes. One of several AI coding tools alongside Claude Code, Lovable, Replit, and others.
Category: Tools/AI CodingD
Docker
A platform for developing, shipping, and running applications inside "containers". It packages an application and all its dependencies together, ensuring it runs consistently across different environments.
Category: Tools/DeploymentE
Embedding
A way of converting text, images, or other data into numerical vectors (lists of numbers) that capture meaning. Used in AI to compare similarity between pieces of content, power search features, and enable retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
Category: Concepts/AIEnvironment Variables
Configuration settings (like API keys or database passwords) stored outside the application code, making it easy to change settings for different environments (like development vs. production) without modifying the code itself.
Category: Concepts/DeploymentExpress.js
A popular framework built on Node.js that makes it easier to create backend services and APIs (the parts that handle data and logic behind the scenes).
Category: BackendF
Fine-tuning
The process of further training an existing AI model on a specific dataset to specialise it for particular tasks or domains. This can improve the model's performance on niche topics but requires significant data and compute resources.
Category: Concepts/AIFrontend
Everything the user sees and interacts with in their browser – the buttons, text, layout, and client-side interactivity of a website or app.
Category: Concepts/FrontendG
Git
The standard tool for tracking changes in code projects (version control). It lets you save versions, go back to older versions, and collaborate with others.
Category: ToolsGitHub
A website that hosts Git repositories (projects). It's the most popular place for developers to store their code, collaborate, and manage projects.
Category: ToolsGPT Codex
OpenAI's AI coding agent that can work autonomously on code tasks in a cloud sandbox. It can handle issues, write tests, refactor code, and submit pull requests through the ChatGPT interface.
Category: Tools/AI CodingH
Hallucination (AI)
When an AI model generates information that sounds plausible but is factually incorrect, made up, or inconsistent with reality. Common when the model lacks sufficient context or is asked about topics outside its training data.
Category: Concepts/AIL
LLM (Large Language Model)
A type of AI model trained on vast amounts of text data that can understand and generate human-like text. Examples include Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, and DeepSeek. LLMs power most modern AI coding tools.
Category: Concepts/AILovable
An AI-powered platform (formerly GPT Engineer) for building full-stack web applications through natural language conversation. It generates React + Supabase apps and deploys them automatically.
Category: Tools/AI CodingM
Main Branch (or Master Branch)
The primary, official version of the code in a Git repository, usually representing what is currently live and stable for users.
Category: Concepts/GitMCP (Model Context Protocol)
An open standard created by Anthropic that allows AI models to connect to external tools and data sources. MCP servers can provide AI coding tools with access to databases, APIs, file systems, and other services.
Category: Concepts/AIMiddleware
Code that runs on the server between receiving a request and sending a response. Often used for tasks like checking if a user is logged in, logging requests, or modifying data before it reaches the main application logic.
Category: Concepts/BackendN
Nginx
A popular high-performance web server software. It's often used as a reverse proxy (directing traffic to backend services), load balancer (distributing traffic across servers), and for serving static files efficiently.
Category: Backend/ToolsNode.js
A technology that lets JavaScript (usually run in browsers) run on servers. This is essential for building the "backend" or "server-side" logic of web applications.
Category: BackendO
OAuth (e.g., Google Sign-In)
An open standard for access delegation, commonly used for enabling third-party login ("Sign in with Google/GitHub"). It allows users to grant websites or applications access to their information on other platforms without sharing their passwords.
Category: Concepts/SecurityP
package.json
A file found in Node.js/JavaScript projects that lists the project's details (name, version), its dependencies (other software packages it needs), and defines scripts for common tasks (like starting or building the project).
Category: Concepts/Project StructurePostgreSQL
A powerful, open-source object-relational database system known for its reliability, robustness, and performance. Supabase uses PostgreSQL as its core database.
Category: Backend/DatabasePrisma
A modern database toolkit for Node.js and TypeScript. It simplifies database access with an auto-generated, type-safe query builder (Prisma Client) and tools for managing database schema changes (Prisma Migrate).
Category: Backend/DatabasePrompt Engineering
The practice of crafting effective instructions (prompts) for AI models to get better, more accurate results. In AI-assisted coding, this includes providing context, specifying requirements clearly, and structuring requests for optimal code generation.
Category: Concepts/AIR
Radix UI
A low-level UI component library focused on accessibility, customization, and developer experience. It provides unstyled, accessible building blocks for creating design systems and UI components (Shadcn UI is built on top of Radix).
Category: FrontendRAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
A technique that enhances AI responses by first retrieving relevant information from a knowledge base or database, then using that context to generate more accurate answers. Commonly used to keep AI responses grounded in specific, up-to-date data.
Category: Concepts/AIRailway
A modern cloud platform that simplifies deploying applications and managing the necessary infrastructure (servers, databases) without needing deep technical expertise.
Category: Deployment/ToolsRate Limiting
A technique used by servers and APIs to limit how many requests a user or application can make in a certain period, preventing overload and abuse.
Category: Concepts/BackendReact
A tool for building the visual parts of websites (user interfaces). It lets you create reusable blocks (components) to make complex interfaces easier to manage. Used for interactive web pages.
Category: FrontendREADME
A file typically included with software projects that provides essential information like what the project does, how to set it up, and how to use it. Think of it as the instruction manual.
Category: Concepts/Project ManagementReplit
A cloud-based development platform with an integrated AI assistant that can build, run, and deploy applications entirely in the browser. Supports multiple programming languages and collaborative coding.
Category: Tools/AI CodingRepo (Repository)
The complete collection of files and the history of changes for a project managed by Git. Often hosted on platforms like GitHub.
Category: Tools/GitRoutes
Definitions that map specific URL paths (like `/about` or `/users/123`) to the code or component responsible for handling that page or request in a web application.
Category: Concepts/Web DevelopmentS
Serverless
An approach to building and running applications where the cloud provider automatically manages the server infrastructure. Developers write and deploy code without worrying about provisioning or managing servers (e.g., AWS Lambda, Supabase Functions).
Category: Concepts/BackendShadcn UI
A collection of pre-built UI components (like buttons, forms, dialogs) designed for accessibility that you can easily copy into your projects. Built using Radix UI and Tailwind CSS.
Category: FrontendSQL Query
A command written in SQL (Structured Query Language) used to ask a database for specific information (e.g., "get all users") or to make changes to the data.
Category: Backend/DatabaseStaging Branch
A copy of the codebase (in Git) used for final testing in a production-like environment before changes are released to actual users (on the main branch).
Category: Concepts/GitSupabase
An "all-in-one" backend service. It provides a database (PostgreSQL), user authentication, file storage, and serverless functions, making it easier to build applications without managing complex infrastructure.
Category: Backend/ToolsSystem Prompt
A set of instructions given to an AI model before the conversation begins that defines its behaviour, personality, and constraints. In AI coding tools, system prompts (like .cursorrules or CLAUDE.md files) guide how the AI writes code for your project.
Category: Concepts/AIT
Tailwind CSS
A CSS framework that provides small utility classes (like `text-center`, `p-4`) allowing you to style web pages directly within your HTML structure without writing separate CSS files.
Category: FrontendTemperature (AI parameter)
A setting that controls how creative or random an AI model's responses are. Lower temperature (e.g., 0.1) produces more predictable, focused outputs; higher temperature (e.g., 0.9) produces more varied, creative responses.
Category: Concepts/AIToken
The basic unit of text that AI models process. A token is roughly 3-4 characters or about three-quarters of a word. AI services often charge based on the number of tokens processed (input + output).
Category: Concepts/AITool Use / Function Calling
A capability of modern AI models that allows them to invoke external functions or tools (like searching the web, running code, or querying a database) as part of generating a response. This is what enables AI agents to take actions beyond just generating text.
Category: Concepts/AItsconfig.json
A configuration file for TypeScript projects. It specifies how the TypeScript compiler should translate TypeScript code into JavaScript and sets rules for how the code should be checked for errors.
Category: Concepts/Project StructureTypes (in TypeScript)
In TypeScript (a variation of JavaScript), types define what kind of data (e.g., text, number, user object) a piece of code expects, helping to catch errors early during development.
Category: Concepts/FrontendV
Vercel
A popular platform for easily deploying and hosting websites and web applications, especially those built with modern frontend frameworks like Next.js.
Category: Deployment/ToolsVersion Control
A system (like Git) that tracks and manages changes to files over time. It allows you to revert to previous versions, compare changes, and collaborate with others without overwriting work. Essential for managing code projects.
Category: Concepts/GitVibe Coding
A term popularised by Andrej Karpathy describing the practice of building software by describing what you want in natural language and letting AI generate the code. The developer focuses on the vision and direction while AI handles implementation details.
Category: Concepts/AIVite
A modern frontend build tool that significantly improves the development experience by providing extremely fast server startup and code updates (Hot Module Replacement). Often used with frameworks like React or Vue.
Category: Tools/FrontendW
Web Inspector
Browser tools (like Chrome DevTools) that let you look "under the hood" of a website to see its HTML structure, CSS styles, and debug JavaScript code. Very useful for troubleshooting UI issues.
Category: Tools/DebuggingWindsurf
An AI-powered code editor (by Codeium) that features an "agentic" approach to coding assistance, with deep codebase understanding and the ability to execute multi-step coding tasks.
Category: Tools/AI Coding