Questions tagged [jargon]
14 questions
60
votes
3 answers
Name of a program's startup/initial loading window?
I am writing user documentation (an SOP) that involves third party programs that I am trying to describe well. One such program is a server that offers little indication of it's startup besides a graphic that shows during its initialization/startup…

rtmh
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29
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3 answers
What is the term for a 'decoy' feature or intentional bug?
I have forgotten a slang programming term. This thing is an intentional bug or a decoy feature used as a distraction. An example usage, "Hey Bob, QA is doing a review today. Put a $THING into the module so they actually have a problem to find".
This…

Freiheit
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7
votes
2 answers
What does "proxy to" mean?
I keep coming across the word "proxy" used as a verb in tutorials, etc. Usually something will "proxy to" something else. What does this mean?
Having spent some time googling for what it means in a programming context, I mostly found "proxy server"…
user25791
6
votes
3 answers
What does the term "fast follower" mean?
In the last few days, I've heard the term "fast follower" mentioned several times. It's used in the context of an unresolved bug/issue that (supposedly) will be quickly fixed and implemented.
Is this some new corporate jargon? I'm aware of a fast…

Mike Hildner
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5
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3 answers
Terms for different types of development
I'm trying to figure out the right terminology for the different types of software development
Right now, the only development term I know is "web development", but I've also done a lot of Java and C# development for desktop applications. Obviously…

Stephen Watkins
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4
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8 answers
What are the proper uses of the various "Sign-in" terminologies?
What are the preferred use cases for the following sets of terms:
Log in / Log out
Log on / Log off
Sign in / Sign out
Sign on / Sign off
From what I can guess, "Logging in" should be used for a long-lived session (like a website), whereas "Sign…

John Gietzen
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3
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1 answer
What is the proper terminology for this sort of thing?
A construct I often use when the list of "things to make a decision on" gets too big to be practical in an if/else or switch statement is to make a table with values and callbacks. For example, something like this (C):
struct keymap {
int key;
…

Braden Best
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3
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1 answer
What is the proper jargon to refer to a variable wrapped inside a function closure?
In JavaScript, there is no such thing as a "private" variable. In order to achieve encapsulation and information hiding in JavaScript, I can wrap a variable inside a function closure, like so:
var counter = (function() {
var i = 0;
var…

Vivian River
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2
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2 answers
What is this development methodology called?
I recall a methodology that emphasized making functions short and numerous. It said that if a section of code can be separated at all, it should be, even if the resultant functions are only used once. Some argue that it's DRY taken too far, and…

Maxpm
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Is there a name for this technique in testing?
When I've written tests for some code and want to make sure that it's actually testing what it's supposed to, I'll mess up or remove the code-under-test, and see if the tests fail. If they don't, I've got a problem.
Is there a name for this…

Alistair
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0
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2 answers
What is the (lowercase 't') true definition of "support" (to a computer scientist)?
tl;dr An audacious claim by a classmate caused me to question the definition of the word "support" (verb) in the context of computer science. Is it analogous to standard definitions where a degree of intent/competence is required? Or is it a sort of…

J_UPS
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0
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1 answer
Program coded in .Net
What does it generally mean when a programmer says his program/application was "coded in .Net"?
When I think of .Net I think of C# and Visual Basic. I don't usually think of any other language on this list:…

Quaxton Hale
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-3
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1 answer
Strategies in cloud migration
A few months ago I found a presentation with slides about the benefits of migrating to the cloud. I think that the presentation was maybe quite old but I think that it started with arguing that physical on-prem datacenters often have a lot of…

Niklas Rosencrantz
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What is the verb for "to make something into a plugin"?
What is the verb for "to make something into a plugin"?
Example use: "Developer can you make Module Foo into a plugin?". "Yes sir, I can some verb Module Foo".
Terms I have considered: pluginify, pluginize, make pluggable
Criteria for Acceptance: A…

Freiheit
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