Lecture

Essential Programming Expressions Every Developer Should Know

When you read technical documents or observe communication in open-source communities, you'll notice a set of vocabulary and expressions frequently used in the IT industry.

For example, the English verb Implement is often used when developing new features. (e.g., Implement a JWT-based authentication system)

Additionally, when communicating with international clients, you might find it difficult to recall familiar expressions in English, such as overwrite, or user-defined.

You might also be mispronouncing words that frequently appear in professional settings, like execution, or deprecated.

Once you properly familiarize yourself with the vocabulary and expressions commonly found in the software development industry, you'll be able to understand technical documents or watch international tech conferences much more quickly.

We recommend not just reading these terms and expressions but also pronouncing them out loud or practicing writing them.

Our brains retain information more effectively when we convert input into output.

Let's explore the essential English terms and expressions for IT.

Quiz

0 / 1

The English pronunciation of `Execute` sounds like 'ek-suh-kyoot', not 'ik-si-kyoot'.

True

False

Essential English Expressions for Developers

agile

A software development methodology that involves performing work in small, rapid, and iterative cycles.

Agile software development refers to a software development methodology based on iterative development.

sprint

A short, time-boxed period in Agile methodology where specific tasks, such as new feature development or backlog processing, are completed in iterations.

A sprint is a time-boxed period during which specific work has to be completed and made ready for review.

dev-ops

A combination of development (Dev) and operations (Ops) to encourage communication and collaboration between development and operations teams through continuous maintenance, updates, and deployments.

DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops).

backlog

A task list of features to be developed and bugs to be fixed to achieve the roadmap.

There are massive backlogs we have to handle by this week.

hotfix

A quick patch to immediately fix urgent issues in an operational software, typically for serious errors or security problems that impact users.

The team released a hotfix to address the critical security vulnerability.

staging

An environment for testing and validation before deployment to users, configured similarly to production to ensure new features function properly.

The new feature is currently in the staging environment for testing before production release.

production

The operational environment where actual users interact with the software.

The application is now live in the production environment.

nightly build

A version of software automatically built every night to reflect the current development state, typically used internally for testing.

The nightly build includes the latest changes made by the development team.

canary build

An early version of software released to a small group of users to detect potential problems before a wider release.

We'll release the canary build to a small group of users for early feedback.

load balancing

Technology for distributing traffic across multiple servers to ensure even load distribution, optimizing performance and availability.

The load balancer distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers to ensure stability.

headless

A program that can operate without a GUI, separating the frontend (UI) from the backend (content and data).

A headless browser is a web browser that has no graphical user interface.

sandbox

A controlled and isolated environment for testing, used mainly in software development to safely experiment without impacting the actual environment.

We need additional sandbox testing before the official launch.

legacy

Old and outdated technology, software, or computer systems.

We have to replace the legacy system by July as part of the integration process.

refactor

The process of restructuring existing code without changing its external behavior to improve readability, maintainability, and performance.

We need to refactor the code to improve its readability and maintainability.

opinionated

Describes software or frameworks that strongly recommend a specific way or pattern, limiting the options for developers to ensure a consistent experience.

An opinionated framework provides a specific way to structure your application.

monorepo

A method of managing multiple projects within a single repository, enabling easy code sharing and dependency management.

A monorepo allows multiple projects to share code and dependencies easily.

microservices

An architectural style that develops an application as small, independent services, each deployed and scaled independently.

Microservices architecture allows for independent deployment and scaling of services.

serverless

A cloud computing model where developers build and run applications without managing servers, allowing focus solely on code writing.

Serverless computing allows developers to focus on writing code without managing servers.

out-of-the-box

Refers to features or settings provided by default, usable immediately without additional configuration, often in software or products.

The software comes with several out-of-the-box features that can be used immediately.

unit testing

The process of testing individual components or units of software; also known as 'unit testing,' to verify specific functions or methods work as intended.

Unit testing helps ensure that individual components of the software work as intended.

end-to-end testing

Testing the entire flow of software to validate real user scenarios; known as 'E2E testing,' ensuring all system parts work together as expected.

End-to-end testing simulates real user scenarios to ensure the entire system works as expected.

pull request

A process in a source control system where changes are proposed and reviewed, allowing team members to review and merge changes before including them in the main branch.

A pull request allows team members to review and discuss changes before merging them into the main branch.

branching

Creating a code branch in a source control system for independent development work, primarily used for new feature development or bug fixes.

Branching allows developers to work on new features without affecting the main codebase.