Introduction

This glossary provides definitions for key terms related to Web workflows and common Web development techniques. It is designed for individuals who are not necessarily familiar with the domain, to offer brief explanations without requiring having to look up additional terms.

Should you come across terms that are not listed here or need further clarification, please feel free to add a suggestion to the document.

Categories

Since the notions defined in this document may be loosely tied to OpenUSD and can even be high-level concepts, they are annotated with the following icons to indicate the reason for including them:

Glossary

A

AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) 📚
A technique for creating dynamic web applications by allowing data to be exchanged with a server without reloading the entire page.

Asynchronous 🔥
A programming concept where operations execute independently of the main program flow, allowing tasks to run concurrently without blocking execution. Commonly used in JavaScript with callbacks, Promises, and async/await.

B

Backend 🧐
The part of a web application that runs on a server and handles logic, database interactions, and authentication.

Browser Cache 📚
A storage mechanism that allows web browsers to save copies of web pages, images, and scripts to speed up loading times.

C

CDN (Content Delivery Network) ⚡
A network of servers distributed globally to deliver web content faster by caching assets such as images, scripts, and stylesheets closer to users.

Client-Side 📚
Refers to code that is executed in a User’s web browser rather than on the server, typically written in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) 🧐
A security feature implemented by web browsers that controls how resources on a web page can be requested from another domain, preventing unauthorized access to data.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) 📚
A language used to define the visual appearance and layout of web pages.

D

DOM (Document Object Model) 🔥
A structured representation of a web page that allows scripts to manipulate the document’s structure, style, and content.

E

ECMAScript 🔥
A standard for scripting languages, best known as a JavaScript standard intended to ensure the interoperability of web pages across different web browsers. [more info]

Endpoint ⚡
A specific URL where an API can be accessed to send or receive data.

Emscripten ⚡
A complete compiler toolchain to WebAssembly, using LLVM, with a special focus on speed, size, and the Web platform.

F

Frontend 🔥
The part of a web application that Users interact with directly, usually built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

G

GraphQL ⚡
A query language for APIs that allows clients to request exactly the data they need, reducing over-fetching and under-fetching of data.

H

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) 🔥
A protocol used for communication between web browsers and servers.

HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) 🔥
A secure version of HTTP that encrypts data transmitted between the browser and the server.

J

JavaScript 🔥
A programming language used to create interactive and dynamic content on web pages.

M

Middleware 🧐
Software that connects different components of a web application, often used in backend frameworks to handle authentication, logging, or request processing.

P

PWA (Progressive Web App) 🔥
A web application that behaves like a native app by offering offline capabilities, push notifications, and fast performance.

R

REST (Representational State Transfer) 🔥
A common architecture for building APIs that use standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) for communication.

Rust (Memory-safe programming language without garbage collection) 🧐
A fast, reliable, and productive programming language that can run on embedded devices, web services, that natively compiles to WebAssembly.

S

Session ⚡
A way to store user-specific data on a server while they interact with a web application.

SPA (Single Page Application) ⚡
A web application that loads a single HTML page and dynamically updates content without requiring a full reload.

T

TypeScript ⚡
A programming language developed by Microsoft that extends JavaScript by adding static types. It helps catch errors at compile time and improves code maintainability for large-scale applications.

W

WebSocket ⚡
A protocol that enables real-time, bidirectional communication between a client and a server.

Worker (Web Worker) ⚡
A script that runs in the background of a web page to perform tasks without blocking the main thread.

WebAssembly (WASM) 🔥
A runtime execution language in text and binary format that enables near real-time execution of code in web browsers, allowing developers to run compiled languages like C, C++, and Rust alongside JavaScript.

WebGPU 🔥
The current state of the art interface to hardware accelerated graphics and compute in a browser. It is a successor to WebGL.