M
Mode
The value that appears most frequently in a data set.
aiModel Collapse
A degenerative process where an AI model trained on AI-generated data begins to lose its ability to represent reality accurately, eventually producing nonsensical or repetitive outputs.
aiModel Registry
A central repository for managing the lifecycle of machine learning models, including versioning, stage tracking, and annotations.
aiModel Versioning
The practice of tracking and managing different iterations of machine learning models, including their code, parameters, and training data.
aiModem
A device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information and demodulates the signal to decode the transmitted information.
networkMomentum
A technique used in optimization algorithms to accelerate gradient descent by taking into account the previous gradients.
aiMongoDB
A source-available cross-platform document-oriented database program.
aiMonolithic Architecture
A traditional software development model where the entire application is built as a single, unified unit.
devMonte Carlo Simulation
A mathematical technique used to estimate the possible outcomes of an uncertain event.
aiMoore's Law
The observation that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles approximately every two years.
hardwareMore than Moore(MtM)
A trend in semiconductor development focused on adding value through functional diversification rather than just shrinking transistor size.
hardwareMOSFET(MOSFET)
Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor; the most common type of transistor used in digital and analog circuits.
hardwareMotherboard
The main printed circuit board (PCB) in a computer that holds and allows communication between many of the crucial electronic components.
hardwareMoving Average(MA)
A calculation used to analyze data points by creating a series of averages of different subsets of the full data set.
aiMQTT(MQTT)
A lightweight, publish-subscribe network protocol that transports messages between devices.
networkMSS(MSS)
The maximum amount of data that a device can receive in a single TCP segment.
networkMSTP(MSTP)
An extension of RSTP that allows multiple VLANs to be mapped to a single spanning tree instance.
networkMTU(MTU)
The maximum size of a packet or frame that can be sent in a single network transaction.
networkMulti-AZ Deployment
A high-availability strategy where a service is deployed across multiple Availability Zones to ensure resilience against data center failures.
cloudMulticast
A communication method where data is sent from a single source to a specific group of interested recipients simultaneously.
networkMulti-cloud
A strategy where an organization uses cloud computing services from multiple providers.
cloudMulti-core Processor
A single computing component with two or more independent processing units (cores) that read and execute program instructions.
hardwareMulti-Factor Authentication(MFA)
A security process that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource.
securityMulti-head Attention
An extension of self-attention that allows the model to jointly attend to information from different representation subspaces at different positions.
aiMultimodal AI
AI systems capable of processing and relating information from multiple types of data, such as text, images, audio, and video.
aiMulti-Page Application(MPA)
A traditional web application architecture where every change in data or navigation requires a full page reload from the server.
webMulti-tenant Architecture
A software architecture where a single instance of an application serves multiple customers (tenants), while keeping their data isolated.
cloudMulti-threading
The ability of a CPU (or a single core) to provide multiple threads of execution concurrently.
hardwareMultus
A CNI plugin for Kubernetes that enables attaching multiple network interfaces to a single pod.
cloudMutation Testing
A type of software testing where the source code is intentionally modified (mutated) to see if the existing tests can detect the changes.
devMySQL
An open-source relational database management system.
aiN
Named Entity Recognition(NER)
An NLP task that involves identifying and categorizing key information (entities) in text into predefined categories such as names, organizations, locations, and dates.
aiNamespace
A mechanism in Kubernetes to isolate groups of resources within a single cluster.
cloudNAPALM(NAPALM)
A Python library that provides a unified, vendor-neutral API for interacting with various network device operating systems.
networkNash Equilibrium
A concept in game theory where no player can benefit by changing their strategy while others keep theirs unchanged.
webNAT Gateway
A Network Address Translation (NAT) service that allows instances in a private subnet to connect to the internet while preventing the internet from initiating connections with those instances.
cloudNational Vulnerability Database (NVD)(NVD)
The US government repository of standards-based vulnerability management data, synchronized with the CVE list.
securityNatural Language Generation(NLG)
A subtopic of NLP focused on the automated production of human-like text or speech from structured data or internal representations.
aiNatural Language Processing(NLP)
A field of AI focused on the interaction between computers and human language.
aiNatural Language Understanding(NLU)
A subtopic of NLP focused on machine reading comprehension and the ability of a system to understand the intent and meaning behind human language.
aiNear Field Communication(NFC)
A set of communication protocols that enables two electronic devices to establish communication by bringing them within 4 cm of each other.
networkNestJS
A progressive Node.js framework for building efficient, reliable, and scalable server-side applications, heavily inspired by Angular.
webNetDevOps
The application of DevOps principles—such as automation, continuous integration, and continuous delivery—to network operations.
networkNetFlow
A network protocol developed by Cisco for collecting IP network traffic statistics and monitoring network flow.
networkNetmiko
A multi-vendor Python library that simplifies SSH connections and command execution on network devices.
networkNetwork Access Control List(NACL)
An optional layer of security for a VPC that acts as a firewall for controlling traffic in and out of one or more subnets.
cloudNetwork Automation
The process of automating the configuration, management, testing, deployment, and operation of physical and virtual network devices.
networkNetwork File System(NFS)
A protocol that allows multiple cloud instances to access and share a common file system over a network.
cloudNetwork Functions Virtualization(NFV)
A network architecture concept that uses virtualization technologies to replace dedicated hardware appliances with software running on standard servers.
networkNetwork Graph
A visualization that shows how different entities (nodes) are connected to each other (edges).
aiNetwork Layer
The third layer of the OSI model, responsible for packet forwarding, routing, and logical addressing.
networkNetwork Load Balancer(NLB)
A high-performance load balancer that functions at the transport layer (Layer 4), capable of handling millions of requests per second with ultra-low latency.
cloudNetwork Monitoring
The use of a system that constantly monitors a computer network for slow or failing components and notifies the network administrator in case of outages or other problems.
networkNetwork Security
The set of rules and configurations designed to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility of computer networks and data.
securityNetwork Slicing
A type of virtual networking architecture that allows multiple virtual networks to run on top of a shared physical network infrastructure.
networkNetwork Topology
The physical or logical arrangement of the elements (links, nodes, etc.) of a communication network.
networkNetwork Visibility
The ability to see and analyze all traffic flowing across a network, including physical, virtual, and cloud environments.
networkNeural Network
A computational model inspired by the structure of the human brain, consisting of interconnected nodes that process information.
aiNeural Processing Unit(NPU)
A specialized circuit that implements all the necessary control and arithmetic logic needed to execute machine learning algorithms.
hardwareNeuromorphic Computing
A method of computer engineering in which elements of a computer are modeled after systems in the human brain and nervous system.
aiNew Relic
A cloud-based observability platform that helps engineers monitor, debug, and improve their entire software stack.
cloudNext.js
A powerful React framework that enables features like server-side rendering and static site generation for high-performance web applications.
webNexus Repository
A popular artifact repository manager that supports a wide range of package formats.
cloudNIST Cybersecurity Framework(NIST CSF)
A set of guidelines for mitigating organizational cybersecurity risks, published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.
securityNmap
An open-source tool for network discovery and security auditing, used to identify hosts, services, and vulnerabilities on a network.
securityNode
A worker machine in Kubernetes, which may be either a virtual or a physical machine.
cloudNode.js
An open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment that executes JavaScript code outside a web browser.
webNon-Uniform Memory Access(NUMA)
A computer memory design used in multiprocessing, where the memory access time depends on the memory location relative to the processor.
hardwareNormalization
The process of organizing data in a database to reduce redundancy and improve data integrity.
aiNorthbridge
An older term for the chip in a chipset that connected the CPU to high-speed components like RAM and the graphics card.
hardwareNoSQL Database
A non-relational database designed for high scale, flexibility, and performance, often used for unstructured or semi-structured data.
cloudNotifications API
A browser API used to display system-level notifications to the user.
webNPM
The default package manager for Node.js and the world's largest software registry.
webNuxt.js
An open-source framework based on Vue.js that simplifies the development of server-side rendered and static web applications.
webNVMe
Non-Volatile Memory Express; a logical-device interface specification for accessing non-volatile storage media attached via a PCIe bus.
hardwareO
OAuth 2.0
An industry-standard protocol for authorization that allows applications to obtain limited access to user accounts via secure tokens.
securityObject Detection
A computer vision task that involves identifying the presence, location, and type of objects within an image or video.
aiObject-Oriented Programming(OOP)
A programming paradigm based on the concept of 'objects', which can contain data in the form of fields and code in the form of procedures.
devObject Storage
A data storage architecture that manages data as objects, ideal for unstructured data.
cloudObject Storage Bucket
A logical container used to store objects (data and metadata) in an object storage service.
cloudObservability
The ability to measure the internal state of a system by examining its external outputs, specifically metrics, logs, and traces.
cloudObserver Pattern
A behavioral design pattern that lets you define a subscription mechanism to notify multiple objects about any events that happen to the object they're observing.
devOff-chain Governance
A governance process where decisions are made through informal discussions and community consensus outside of the blockchain's protocol.
webOffline-First Design
An approach to web development where the application is designed to function without an internet connection by default.
webOLAP(OLAP)
A category of software that allows users to analyze information from multiple database systems at the same time.
aiOLTP(OLTP)
A class of software programs capable of supporting transaction-oriented applications on the internet.
aiOn-call Rotation
A schedule that assigns specific team members to be responsible for responding to incidents outside of normal business hours.
devOn-chain Governance
A governance system where proposed changes to a blockchain are voted on by stakeholders and automatically implemented via code.
webOne-Hot Encoding
A process of converting categorical variables into a binary vector representation.
aiOne-shot Learning
A machine learning task where the model is required to learn information about a category from only one training example.
aiOPA(OPA)
Open Policy Agent (OPA) is an open-source, general-purpose policy engine that enables unified, context-aware policy enforcement across the entire stack.
devOpenFaaS
An open-source framework for building serverless functions on top of containers (Kubernetes or Docker Swarm).
cloudOpenFlow
A communications protocol that gives access to the forwarding plane of a network switch or router over the network.
networkOpen RAN(O-RAN)
A movement to create a more open, intelligent, and fully interoperable Radio Access Network (RAN).
networkOpen Source
Software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, enhance, and distribute.
devOpenStack
An open-source software platform for cloud computing, mostly deployed as infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS).
cloudOpenTelemetry(OTel)
A collection of tools, APIs, and SDKs used to instrument, generate, collect, and export telemetry data (metrics, logs, and traces).
cloudOptimistic Rollup
A Layer 2 scaling solution that assumes transactions are valid by default and only performs verification if a challenge is raised.
webOptimizer
An algorithm or method used to change the attributes of a neural network, such as weights and learning rate, to reduce the loss.
aiOracle (Blockchain)
A service that provides external, real-world data to smart contracts on a blockchain.
webOracle Database
A multi-model database management system produced and marketed by Oracle Corporation.
aiOSI Model(OSI)
A conceptual framework used to understand and standardize the functions of a telecommunication or computing system into seven abstraction layers.
networkOSINT (Open Source Intelligence)(OSINT)
The practice of collecting and analyzing information from publicly available sources for intelligence purposes.
securityOSPF(OSPF)
A widely used link-state routing protocol designed for large enterprise networks.
networkOutlier Detection
The identification of rare items, events or observations which raise suspicions by differing significantly from the majority of the data.
aiOut-of-Order Execution(OoOE)
A paradigm where a processor executes instructions in the order they become available rather than their original program order.
hardwareOverclocking
The practice of increasing a component's clock speed beyond its factory-rated specifications to achieve higher performance.
hardwareOverfitting
A modeling error that occurs when an AI model learns the training data too well, leading to poor performance on new data.
aiOverheating
A condition where a computer component exceeds its safe operating temperature.
hardwareOver-sampling
A technique used to adjust the class distribution of a data set by increasing the number of instances in the minority class.
aiOWASP Top 10
A regularly updated report outlining the ten most critical web application security risks.
securityP
Packet Capture(PCAP)
The process of intercepting and logging traffic as it passes over a digital network.
networkPacket Loss
A condition where one or more data packets traveling across a network fail to reach their destination.
networkPact
A popular open-source framework for consumer-driven contract testing.
devPage Fault
An exception raised by the MMU when a program tries to access a page that is not currently mapped in physical memory.
hardwarePageSpeed Insights(PSI)
A tool that reports on the performance of a page on both mobile and desktop devices and provides suggestions on how that page may be improved.
webPage Table
A data structure used by a virtual memory system to store the mapping between virtual addresses and physical addresses.
hardwarePaging
A memory management scheme that eliminates the need for contiguous allocation of physical memory.
hardwarePair Programming
An Agile software development technique in which two programmers work together at one workstation.
devParameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning(PEFT)
A set of techniques for fine-tuning large models by only updating a small number of parameters.
aiParcel
A zero-configuration web application bundler that offers a fast and easy-to-use alternative to Webpack.
webPAT(PAT)
A type of NAT that maps multiple private IP addresses to a single public IP address by using different port numbers.
networkPatch Management
The process of identifying, acquiring, installing, and verifying software updates (patches) to fix vulnerabilities and improve performance.
securityPath MTU Discovery(PMTUD)
A technique used to determine the smallest MTU along a network path to avoid IP fragmentation.
networkPCI DSS(PCI DSS)
A set of security standards designed to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment.
securityPCIe
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express; a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard.
hardwarePeering
A direct network connection between two Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) that allows them to communicate using private IP addresses.
cloudPeer-to-Peer Web(P2P Web)
An architectural approach where web content is served directly between users' browsers rather than from a centralized server.
webPenetration Testing
An authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system to evaluate its security.
securityPenetration Testing Framework (PTES)(PTES)
A comprehensive standard designed to provide a common language and scope for performing high-quality penetration tests.
securityPepper (Cryptography)
A secret constant added to a password before hashing, similar to a salt but stored separately from the database.
securityPerformance Testing
A type of testing intended to determine how a system performs in terms of responsiveness and stability under a particular workload.
devPeripheral
Any auxiliary device that connects to and works with the computer in some way.
hardwarePermissioned Blockchain
A blockchain where access to the network and the ability to participate in consensus are restricted to authorized users.
webPermissionless Blockchain
A blockchain that is open to anyone to join, transact, and participate in the consensus process without needing approval from a central authority.
webPersistent Volume(PV)
A piece of storage in a Kubernetes cluster that has been provisioned by an administrator or dynamically provisioned using Storage Classes.
cloudPersistent Volume Claim(PVC)
A request for storage by a user in a Kubernetes cluster.
cloudPersonal Area Network(PAN)
A network for interconnecting electronic devices within an individual person's workspace, typically within a range of 10 meters.
networkPhishing
A social engineering attack where an attacker sends a fraudulent message to trick a person into revealing sensitive information.
securityPhishing Simulation
A security exercise where an organization sends mock phishing emails to its employees to test their awareness and response to such attacks.
securityPhotolithography
A process used in microfabrication to pattern parts of a thin film or the bulk of a substrate using light.
hardwarePhysical Data Model
A representation of a data design as implemented, or intended to be implemented, in a database management system.
aiPhysical Layer
The first and lowest layer of the OSI model, responsible for the physical connection between devices and the transmission of raw bitstreams.
networkPie Chart
A circular statistical graphic, which is divided into slices to illustrate numerical proportion.
aiPinecone
A popular managed, cloud-native vector database designed for high-performance AI applications and similarity search.
aiPing
A basic network utility used to test the reachability of a host and measure the round-trip time for messages.
networkPipeline (Computing)
A technique where multiple instructions are overlapped in execution, similar to an assembly line.
hardwarePlatform as a Product
The mindset of treating an internal developer platform (IDP) as a product that serves internal customers (developers).
devPlatform as a Service(PaaS)
A cloud model that provides a platform for developing, running, and managing applications without infrastructure complexity.
cloudPlatform Engineering
The discipline of designing and building toolchains and workflows that enable self-service capabilities for software engineering organizations in the cloud-native era.
devPlay-to-Earn(P2E)
A business model for games that allows players to earn rewards with real-world value, typically in the form of cryptocurrencies or NFTs.
webPlotly
A graphing library that makes interactive, publication-quality graphs online.
aiPNPM
A fast, disk space efficient package manager that uses a unique content-addressable storage system.
webPod
The smallest and simplest unit in the Kubernetes object model that you create or deploy.
cloudPolicy as Code(PaC)
The practice of managing and enforcing policies (security, compliance, operational) using code and automated tools.
devPolkadot(DOT)
A multi-chain protocol that enables different blockchains to interoperate securely.
webPolling (I/O)
A technique where the CPU repeatedly checks the status of a device to see if it is ready for an I/O operation.
hardwarePolyfill
A piece of code (usually JavaScript on the Web) used to provide modern functionality on older browsers that do not natively support it.
webPolygon(POL)
A Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum that provides a framework for building Ethereum-compatible networks.
webPort Number
A 16-bit number used to identify a specific process or service on a device in a network.
networkPort Security
A Layer 2 security feature that restricts access to a switch port based on the MAC addresses of connected devices.
networkPortworx
A commercial cloud-native storage and data management platform for Kubernetes.
cloudPositional Encoding
A technique used in Transformers to provide the model with information about the relative or absolute position of tokens in a sequence.
aiPostCSS
A tool for transforming CSS with JavaScript plugins, allowing for advanced features like auto-prefixing and future CSS syntax.
webPostgreSQL
A free and open-source relational database management system emphasizing extensibility and SQL compliance.
aiPost-incident Review(PIR)
A meeting and document that summarizes the details of an incident, its impact, the response, and the lessons learned.
devPower BI
A business analytics service by Microsoft that provides interactive visualizations and business intelligence capabilities.
aiPower Gating
A power-saving technique that completely shuts off the current to blocks of a circuit that are not in use.
hardwarePowerPC
A RISC instruction set architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance.
hardwarePower Supply Unit(PSU)
The hardware component that converts high-voltage AC from the wall outlet to low-voltage DC power for the internal components of a computer.
hardwarePower Wall
The limit on processor performance imposed by the inability to dissipate the heat generated by increasing clock speeds and transistor density.
hardwarePPO(PPO)
Proximal Policy Optimization; a popular reinforcement learning algorithm used to train AI agents, including the alignment of LLMs.
aiPractical Byzantine Fault Tolerance(pBFT)
An algorithm designed to settle transactions efficiently in a distributed system even when some nodes are unreliable.
webPreact
A fast 3kB alternative to React with the same modern API, designed for performance and small bundle sizes.
webPrecision
A metric that measures the accuracy of a model's positive predictions; the ratio of true positives to the total number of positive predictions.
aiPrecision-Recall Curve(PR Curve)
A graph showing the tradeoff between precision and recall for different thresholds, particularly useful for highly imbalanced datasets.
aiPre-commit Hooks
A specific type of Git hook that runs before a commit is finalized, often used to check for code quality and security issues.
devPreemptible Instances
Low-cost virtual machine instances that can be terminated by the cloud provider at any time if the capacity is needed elsewhere.
cloudPrefetching
A technique that tells the browser to download resources that the user might need in the near future.
webPreloading
A technique that tells the browser to download a resource as soon as possible because it is critical for the current page.
webPresentation Layer
The sixth layer of the OSI model, responsible for data translation, encryption, and compression.
networkPrincipal Component Analysis(PCA)
A dimensionality reduction technique that transforms a large set of variables into a smaller one that still contains most of the information in the original set.
aiPrinciple of Least Privilege(PoLP)
The practice of limiting access rights for users to the bare minimum permissions they need.
securityPrivate Blockchain
A blockchain that is operated by a single organization which controls who can view the ledger and participate in the network.
webPrivate Cloud
Cloud computing resources used exclusively by a single organization.
cloudPrivileged Access Management(PAM)
A sub-discipline of identity security that focuses on managing and auditing the accounts of users with elevated permissions.
securityPrivilege Escalation
The act of exploiting a bug, design flaw, or configuration error in an operating system or software application to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected.
securityProblem Management
The process responsible for managing the lifecycle of all problems that happen or could happen in an IT service.
devProgressive Delivery
An evolution of Continuous Delivery that uses fine-grained control over traffic to release features gradually and safely.
devProgressive Web App(PWA)
A type of application software delivered through the web, built using common web technologies including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
cloudPrometheus
An open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit designed for reliability and scalability in cloud-native environments.
cloudPrompt Engineering
The process of refining and optimizing inputs (prompts) to guide Large Language Models toward generating more accurate and relevant outputs.
aiPrompt Injection
A security vulnerability where an attacker provides specially crafted input to an LLM to override its original instructions and perform unauthorized actions.
aiProof of Attendance Protocol(POAP)
A system that issues digital badges in the form of NFTs to prove that a person attended a specific event.
webProof of Authority(PoA)
A consensus mechanism that uses identity and reputation as a stake, rather than computational power or wealth.
webProof of History(PoH)
A technique used to create a historical record that proves an event occurred at a specific moment in time, used primarily by the Solana blockchain.
webProphet (Forecasting)
An open-source forecasting tool developed by Meta (Facebook) designed for analyzing time series data with strong seasonal effects.
aiProtobuf
Protocol Buffers (Protobuf) is a language-neutral, platform-neutral, extensible mechanism for serializing structured data.
devProto-Danksharding
An intermediate step toward full sharding (EIP-4844) that introduces 'blobs' to reduce Layer 2 transaction costs.
webProximity API
A browser API that provides information about the distance of a physical object from the device's proximity sensor.
web