Glossary

abstract base class
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abstract method
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actual result (of test)
The value generated by running code in a test. If this matches the expected result, the test passes; if the two are different, the test fails.
attribute
A name-value pair associated with node in a DOM tree.
boilerplate
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boxing (a value)
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cognitive load
The mental effort required to solve a problem.
contract
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controller (in model-view-controller)
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cross validation
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document database
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Document Object Model (DOM)
A standard, in-memory representation of HTML. Each element is stored as a node in a tree with a set of named attributes.
element (in HTML)
A named component in an HTML document. Elements are usually written <name></name>, where “…” represents the content of the element. Elements often have attributes.
error (result of test)
Signalled when something goes wrong in a unit test itself rather than in the system being tested. In this case, we do not know anything about the correctness of the system.
expected result (of test)
The value that a piece of software is supposed to produce when tested in a certain way, or the state in which it is supposed to leave the system.
extend (a template)
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failure (result of test)
A test fails if the actual result does not match the expected result.
finite state machine (FSM)
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foreign key
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generator
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interpolation
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invasion percolation
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Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
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mock object
A simplified replacement for part of a program whose behavior is easy to control and predict. Mock objects are used in unit tests to simulate databases, web services, and other complex systems.
model (in model-view-controller)
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model-view-controller (MVC)
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NoSQL database
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object-relational mapper (ORM)
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parameter sweeping
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parameterize (a test)
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pass (result of test)
A test passes if the actual result matches the expected result.
permission
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plugin architecture
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primary key
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profiler
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random number generation seed
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relational database
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role
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route
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semantic versioning
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shortcode
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single nucleotide polymorphism
The replacement of the usual or standard base at one location in a gene sequence with another base.
spread
To automatically match the values from a list or dictionary supplied by the caller to the parameters of a function.
static site generator (SSG)
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synthetic data generator
A tool that creates data with the same properties as real data, usually for testing purposes.
template (for static site generator)
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term frequency - inverse document frequency (TF-IDF)
A formula used to rank documents when searching that assigns a score based on how often a word occurs overall and how specific it is to a particular document.
theme (for static site generator)
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TOML
“Tom’s Own Minimal Language” is yet another format for configuration files.
type annotation
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unboxing (a value)
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unit test
A test that exercises one function or feature of a piece of software and produces pass, fail, or error.
user ID (UID)
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view (in model-view-controller)
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visitor
A design pattern in which a recursive function visits each element of a structure and performs some user-defined operation there.
workflow
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