microservice
A small, independent piece of software that performs one function within a larger application.
Example: Each microservice handles a single part of the checkout process.
C120 words · Advanced
Information Technology vocabulary — C1
Advanced IT vocabulary for software engineering, including a microservice, refactoring code, technical debt and the continuous integration and rollback that keep releases safe.
20 questions
Words in this set
20refactor
To rewrite existing code to make it cleaner or more efficient, without changing what it does.
Example:
The team spent a sprint working to refactor the old code.
technical debt
The extra work created later because a quick or easy solution was chosen now instead of a better one.
Example:
Rushed fixes left the project with heavy technical debt.
regression testing
Re-running existing tests after a change to make sure nothing that worked before has broken.
Example:
Regression testing caught a bug the update had introduced.
continuous integration
A practice where developers merge and test their code changes into a shared project frequently and automatically.
Example:
Continuous integration caught the conflict before it reached customers.
deprecate
/ˈdɛprəˌkeɪt/To officially mark a feature or piece of software as outdated and due to be removed.
Example:
The company will deprecate the old login system next year.
penetration testing
A simulated attack on a computer system used to find security weaknesses before real attackers do.
Example:
Penetration testing revealed a flaw in the login page.
container
/kənˈteɪnər/A lightweight package that bundles an application with everything it needs to run.
Example:
The team deployed each service inside its own container.
rollback
/ˈroʊlˌbæk/Undoing a software update and returning to the previous working version.
Example:
After the crash, engineers performed a rollback to the last stable release.
load testing
Checking how a system performs under a heavy amount of use.
Example:
Load testing revealed the server crashed at ten thousand users.
idempotent
Producing the same result however many times it is run.
Example:
Making the script idempotent ended a whole class of incident.
observability
How well you can understand a system from its outputs.
Example:
Observability was added after the third outage, not before.
failover
Automatic switching to a backup when something fails.
Example:
Failover worked perfectly and nobody had tested failing back.
service level agreement
A contract setting out the standard of service promised.
Example:
The service level agreement promised four hours and meant four days.
blue-green deployment
Releasing by switching traffic between two identical environments.
Example:
Blue-green deployment made the rollback a single command.
canary release
Releasing to a small group first to check for problems.
Example:
The canary release found the fault at two per cent of traffic.
dependency injection
Supplying a component's requirements from outside it.
Example:
Dependency injection made the whole thing testable at last.
eventual consistency
A guarantee that data will agree in time, but not immediately.
Example:
Eventual consistency is fine until somebody refreshes too quickly.
least privilege
Giving accounts only the access they actually need.
Example:
Least privilege would have contained the breach to one server.
air gap
Keeping a system physically disconnected from any network.
Example:
The backups sat behind an air gap and that is why they survived.
