Basic developer concepts

This is a very brief list of basic concepts that every beginning developer should know. I use them all across articles.

For programmers

• Program - an independently running task for a computer.
• Script - a series of instructions that are executed by an interpreter (for example, PHP handles a special runtime on a server and JavaScript handles a web browser).
• Programming language - the language you use to describe to the computer the instructions it is to execute.
• Algorithm - a precise problem-solving procedure for a computer that can be solved in a finite amount of time.
• Server - a specially dedicated computer with a constant connection to the internet that provides services to users (for example, providing a website).
• Demon - a program that runs in the background of a system and waits for a specific event. When this event occurs, it starts.
• A smart program - a well-designed and efficient program. It works fast, without crashes, does not suffer from bugs.
• Dumb program - the opposite of a smart program. It's slow, inefficient, jams, crashes, or doesn't work at all.
• Naive solution - usually the first idea of how to solve the problem. It is usually very simple and often only works under very specific conditions.
• Syntax - describes how to write program code correctly to meet the language standards (sort of like spelling).
• String - a sequence of characters, i.e. a group of one or more characters. Typically written in quotation marks.

Related to PHP

• Code (source) - the source code of the HTML page. It is a text file that the browser receives from the web server and renders the page graphics according to it. HTML is a coding language.
• Script - not a program! Specially written code that is processed by a language interpreter (such as a web browser) and does something based on it.
• Interpreted language - the source code does not run directly on the processor, but uses an interpreter (such as PHP).
• Parser (language parser) - is a program that processes instructions and then executes them.
• Parser (general) - a program or script that parses text or code and processes it according to clearly defined rules.
• Cron - a script that runs once every certain period of time (usually every day, hour, 30 minutes, ...)
• Validator - a program that checks the cleanliness and correctness (validity) of code.
• Valid code - is such code that conforms to all code writing standards and does not contain formal errors.

Generally about computers

• Hardware - the physical part of a computer. Anything you can kick when something doesn't work.
• Software - programs and data. In short, anything that can't be touched.
• Ping - network and server response. It's the time it takes for data to get from you to the server and back.

Jan Barášek   Více o autorovi

Autor článku pracuje jako seniorní vývojář a software architekt v Praze. Navrhuje a spravuje velké webové aplikace, které znáte a používáte. Od roku 2009 nabral bohaté zkušenosti, které tímto webem předává dál.

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