# Glossary of Terms

## Overview
This glossary provides definitions for technical terms, concepts, and acronyms used throughout the Chat App project and AI-assisted development practices.

## A

### AI Agent
A software entity that uses artificial intelligence to perform tasks autonomously, make decisions, and interact with users or other systems. In the Chat App context, refers to AI systems that can execute complex multi-step tasks.

### AI-Assisted Development
A software development approach that integrates AI tools to enhance productivity, code quality, and development speed while maintaining human oversight and decision-making.

### Agentic AI
AI systems that can act autonomously to achieve goals, make decisions, and use tools without constant human guidance. Distinguished from simple prompt-response AI by its ability to plan and execute multi-step tasks.

### Anthropic
The AI company that develops Claude and Claude Code, focusing on AI safety and helpful, harmless, and honest AI systems.

### API (Application Programming Interface)
A set of protocols, routines, and tools for building software applications. Defines how software components should interact.

### Async/Await
Python programming pattern for asynchronous programming, allowing non-blocking execution of code that waits for I/O operations or other long-running tasks.

## B

### Benchmark
A standard or reference point for measuring and comparing performance, quality, or capabilities of systems or processes.

### Business Logic
The core functionality that handles the exchange of information between a database and a user interface, implementing the rules and procedures of the business domain.

## C

### CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment)
Development practice that involves frequent integration of code changes and automated deployment to production environments.

### Claude
Anthropic's family of large language models designed for conversational AI, code assistance, and various text-based tasks.

### Claude Code
Anthropic's integrated development environment and AI assistant specifically designed for software development tasks, providing agentic coding assistance.

### Code Quality
A measure of how well-written, maintainable, efficient, and bug-free source code is, often assessed through metrics like complexity, test coverage, and adherence to standards.

### Configuration Management
The practice of systematically handling changes to configuration settings and maintaining consistency across different environments.

### Context Window
The maximum amount of text (measured in tokens) that an AI model can process and remember in a single conversation or request.

## D

### Defect Density
A software quality metric that measures the number of defects per unit of code, typically expressed as defects per thousand lines of code (KLOC).

### DevOps
A set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to shorten the development lifecycle and provide continuous delivery.

### Documentation
Written text or illustration that accompanies software and explains how it operates, how to use it, or how it was designed and built.

## E

### Event Bus
A software architecture pattern where components communicate by publishing and subscribing to events, providing loose coupling between system components.

### Event-Driven Architecture
A software architecture pattern where the flow of the program is determined by events such as user actions, sensor outputs, or message passing.

## F

### Feature Flag
A software development technique that allows developers to enable or disable features without deploying new code.

### Framework
A pre-written code library that provides a foundation for developing applications, offering reusable components and establishing coding standards.

## G

### Git
A distributed version control system used for tracking changes in source code during software development.

### GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer)
A type of large language model architecture developed by OpenAI, used for generating human-like text.

## H

### Hallucination (AI)
When an AI model generates information that appears plausible but is factually incorrect or not based on its training data.

### Hook
A mechanism that allows plugins or external code to insert custom functionality into predefined points in a program's execution flow.

### HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)
The foundation protocol used for transmitting data over the web, commonly used for API communications.

## I

### IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
A software application that provides comprehensive facilities for software development, including code editing, debugging, and project management.

### Integration Testing
A type of software testing where individual units or components are combined and tested as a group to detect interface defects.

## J

### JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
A lightweight data interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write, commonly used for API communications and configuration files.

## K

### KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company or project is achieving key business objectives.

## L

### LLM (Large Language Model)
A type of artificial intelligence model trained on vast amounts of text data to understand and generate human-like text.

### Load Balancing
The practice of distributing workloads across multiple computing resources to optimize resource use and maximize throughput.

## M

### Microservice
An architectural style that structures an application as a collection of small, autonomous services that communicate over well-defined APIs.

### Monitoring
The practice of observing and checking the behavior and outputs of a system to ensure it operates as expected.

### Multi-modal AI
AI systems that can process and generate content across multiple types of data (text, images, audio, video).

## N

### Natural Language Processing (NLP)
A branch of artificial intelligence that helps computers understand, interpret, and manipulate human language.

## O

### Open Source
Software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance, typically distributed under licenses that promote collaboration.

### Orchestration
The automated coordination and management of multiple systems, services, or processes to work together as a unified system.

## P

### Plugin
A software component that adds specific functionality to an existing application or system without modifying the core system.

### Prompt Engineering
The practice of designing and optimizing input prompts to get desired outputs from AI language models.

### Pull Request (PR)
A method of submitting contributions to a software project, allowing other developers to review changes before they are merged into the main codebase.

## Q

### Quality Assurance (QA)
The process of ensuring that software meets specified requirements and functions correctly before release.

### Query
A request for information or data from a database, search engine, or other data source.

## R

### Refactoring
The process of restructuring existing computer code without changing its external behavior to improve code readability and reduce complexity.

### REST (Representational State Transfer)
An architectural style for designing networked applications, particularly web services, that uses standard HTTP methods.

### ROI (Return on Investment)
A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment or to compare the efficiency of different investments.

## S

### SDK (Software Development Kit)
A collection of software development tools that allows developers to create applications for a specific platform or system.

### Spec-Driven Development
A development methodology where detailed specifications are written before implementation begins, serving as a contract between stakeholders.

### Sprint
A short, time-boxed development cycle (typically 1-4 weeks) used in Agile development methodologies.

### Subagent
A specialized AI agent created to handle specific types of tasks within a larger AI system, each with its own context and expertise area.

## T

### Technical Debt
The implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer.

### Terminal
A text-based interface for interacting with a computer's operating system and applications, also known as command line interface (CLI).

### Test-Driven Development (TDD)
A software development approach where tests are written before the actual code, driving the design and implementation.

### Token
The basic unit of text that language models process, roughly corresponding to words or parts of words.

## U

### Unit Testing
A software testing method where individual units or components of software are tested in isolation from the rest of the application.

### User Story
A brief description of a software feature from the perspective of the end user, typically following the format "As a [user], I want [goal] so that [benefit]."

## V

### Version Control
A system that records changes to files over time so that specific versions can be recalled later.

### Velocity (Development)
A measure of the amount of work a development team can complete during a single sprint, often measured in story points.

## W

### Webhook
An HTTP callback mechanism that allows applications to provide other applications with real-time information when certain events occur.

### Workflow
A series of sequential steps or tasks that are performed to complete a particular process or achieve a specific outcome.

## X

### XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
A markup language that defines rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.

## Y

### YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language)
A human-readable data serialization standard commonly used for configuration files and data exchange.

## Acronyms and Abbreviations

### Technical Acronyms
- **API**: Application Programming Interface
- **CI/CD**: Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment
- **CLI**: Command Line Interface
- **CPU**: Central Processing Unit
- **CRUD**: Create, Read, Update, Delete
- **CSS**: Cascading Style Sheets
- **CSV**: Comma-Separated Values
- **DB**: Database
- **DNS**: Domain Name System
- **FTP**: File Transfer Protocol
- **GUI**: Graphical User Interface
- **HTML**: HyperText Markup Language
- **HTTP/HTTPS**: HyperText Transfer Protocol (Secure)
- **IDE**: Integrated Development Environment
- **JSON**: JavaScript Object Notation
- **KLOC**: Thousand Lines of Code
- **LLM**: Large Language Model
- **MVP**: Minimum Viable Product
- **NLP**: Natural Language Processing
- **OS**: Operating System
- **QA**: Quality Assurance
- **RAM**: Random Access Memory
- **REST**: Representational State Transfer
- **ROI**: Return on Investment
- **SDK**: Software Development Kit
- **SQL**: Structured Query Language
- **SSD**: Solid State Drive
- **SSH**: Secure Shell
- **SSL/TLS**: Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security
- **TDD**: Test-Driven Development
- **UI/UX**: User Interface/User Experience
- **URL**: Uniform Resource Locator
- **VCS**: Version Control System
- **XML**: eXtensible Markup Language
- **YAML**: YAML Ain't Markup Language

### Business and Project Management Acronyms
- **B2B**: Business to Business
- **B2C**: Business to Consumer
- **KPI**: Key Performance Indicator
- **MVP**: Minimum Viable Product
- **PO**: Product Owner
- **PM**: Project Manager
- **QoS**: Quality of Service
- **RFP**: Request for Proposal
- **SLA**: Service Level Agreement
- **SME**: Subject Matter Expert
- **SOW**: Statement of Work
- **TCO**: Total Cost of Ownership

## Project-Specific Terms

### Chat App Specific
- **Event Bus**: The central communication system in Chat App that manages plugin interactions
- **Plugin Registry**: The system component responsible for discovering and managing plugins
- **Status Line**: The terminal display area showing system and plugin status information
- **Terminal Renderer**: The component responsible for managing terminal display and updates
- **Thinking Animation**: Visual effects shown during AI processing to indicate system activity

### AI Development Specific
- **AI Pair Programming**: Collaborative development approach where AI assists human developers
- **Context Preservation**: Maintaining relevant project information across AI interactions
- **Prompt Template**: Standardized format for communicating with AI systems
- **Tool Orchestration**: Coordination of multiple AI tools to accomplish complex tasks

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*This glossary serves as a comprehensive reference for all stakeholders working with the Chat App project and AI-assisted development practices.*