When you’re a programmer, it’s essential to keep up with the latest technology jargon. Knowing the correct terminology can help you communicate your ideas and develop your career. Familiarize yourself with the following terms so that you can understand others and more effectively get your point across.
1. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing involves using the internet to provide services, like database storage and computing power that previously might have required physical servers. The cloud is advantageous because it’s highly scalable, making it a flexible, affordable solution for growing businesses. As a programmer, you should be aware of the various cloud providers and their services and products because you will likely encounter them. Understanding a cloud provider in depth is valuable because you can perform specialized tasks, such as implementing a cloudwatch alarm to monitor your applications on AWS.
2. Integrated Development Environment
You probably know your integrated development environment as the software you use when building your applications. Understanding everything IDEs can offer will help you select the right one for your programming needs. First, the IDE can perform simple, automated tasks, like compiling and packaging code, that are necessary for creating a local build. Next, an IDE is your source code editor, and many have features, such as autocomplete and the use of colored text to highlight, that make it easier to write quality code. Finally, IDEs typically have debugging tools and automated testing that help you identify issues with your application.
3. Artificial Intelligence
In computer science, artificial intelligence refers to systems that enable computers to successfully perform complex tasks requiring intelligence, such as comprehending speech and image recognition. Smart assistants, recommendation algorithms and spam filters are all common examples of AI. Machine learning is a type of AI that uses data to improve a program’s ability to perform specific tasks over time. The field of information technology employs AI extensively to enhance cybersecurity, compliance and reliability. In addition, the finance industry performs high-frequency trading facilitated by AI. Furthermore, companies are increasingly using AI to improve the quality of their customer service and marketing. As a programmer, you can use AI to make your projects more efficient.
4. Application Programming Interface
APIs are protocols that enable applications to communicate with one another. This makes data sharing more efficient and can help you keep your code lean on the front-end while adding utility. A single API can have multiple implementations with a variety of libraries. Public APIs allow developers to extend and employ existing software features to enhance their own applications and the experience of their users. Some companies also use internal APIs to build their consumer-facing interfaces and web services.
5. Software Developer Kit
An SDK is a set of tools that programmers can use when creating an application. These kits include libraries and tools that help you debug and compile your code. Many SKDs also have a software framework. Which SDKs you employ will depend upon your platform and the features you need. Most platforms have their own specific SDKs, and sometimes programmers are required to use them. You can also look into third-party SDKs to add particular features efficiently. Furthermore, SDKs can be an easy way to collect data about activity in your application and other valuable analytics.
6. Data Science
The broad, interdisciplinary approach that seeks to extract insight and value from large or complex data sets is known as data science. By using statistics, algorithms and artificial intelligence, data scientists can turn the growing quantity of data that companies collect into useful information. Many data scientists have a background in programming, and many software developers use data curation and analysis in their work, so there is considerable overlap between the two fields. Familiarizing yourself with data science could open up new career opportunities.
Technology is constantly evolving and so is the language used to describe and classify it. You can better express yourself and understand other programmers if you know the terms people use when they discuss technology.
APIs are protocols that enable applications to communicate with one another. This makes data sharing more efficient and can help you keep your code lean on the front-end while adding utility. A single API can have multiple implementations with a variety of libraries. Public APIs allow developers to extend and employ existing software features to enhance their own applications and the experience of their users. Some companies also use internal APIs to build their consumer-facing interfaces and web services.
APIs are protocols that enable applications to communicate with one another. This makes data sharing more efficient and can help you keep your code lean on the front-end while adding utility. A single API can have multiple implementations with a variety of libraries. Public APIs allow developers to extend and employ existing software features to enhance their own applications and the experience of their users. Some companies also use internal APIs to build their consumer-facing interfaces and web services.
