Glossary

• Front-end - browser based environment (think HTML, CSS, jQuery)

• Back-end - desktop and server based environment (Ruby, Rails)

• Scripting language - language which default implementations run then die (Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby)

• Compilation language - language which default implementation stays alive (Java, C)

• Blocking - waiting for something to complete and not being able to do other things (waiting in line)

• Non-Blocking - waiting for something to complete and being able to do other things while you wait (waiting via callout system)

• Asynchronous - able to break off from the main flow of doing something (fork in a river)

• Synchronous - stays with the main flow (curve in a river)

• Parallel - multiple things happening at the same time (multi-tasking)

• Serial - things happen in order, one after the other (single-tasking)

• AltJS - languages that aren't javascript but become javascript through a compilation/transformation process (CoffeeScript)

• High-level - abstractions have obscured away the difficulties and challenges into a nice interface

• Low-level - you're provided with the bare minimum, difficulties and challenges are solved by you

• API (Application Programming Interface) - the things you call to do something with something

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