Glossary

Glossary

Quick reference for technical terms used throughout this course. Don't worry about memorizing these now - refer back as needed.

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A

Agent

A specialized AI personality with domain expertise (e.g., frontend, security). Defined in `.agent.md` files with YAML frontmatter containing at minimum a `description` field.

API

Application Programming Interface. A way for programs to communicate with each other.

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C

CI/CD

Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment. Automated testing and deployment pipelines.

CLI

Command Line Interface. A text-based way to interact with software (like this tool!).

Context Window

The amount of text an AI can consider at once. Like a desk that can only hold so much. When you add files, conversation history, and system prompts, they all take up space in this window.

Context Manager

A Python construct using the `with` statement that automatically handles setup and cleanup (like opening and closing files). Example: `with open("file.txt") as f:` ensures the file is closed even if an error occurs.

Conventional Commit

A commit message format that follows a standardized structure: `type(scope): description`. Common types include `feat` (new feature), `fix` (bug fix), `docs` (documentation), `refactor`, and `test`. Example: `feat(auth): add password reset flow`.

Dataclass

A Python decorator (`@dataclass`) that automatically generates `__init__`, `__repr__`, and other methods for classes that primarily store data. Used in the book app to define the `Book` class with fields like `title`, `author`, `year`, and `read`.

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F

Frontmatter

Metadata at the top of a Markdown file enclosed in `---` delimiters. Used in agent and skill files to define properties like `description` and `name` in YAML format.

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G

Glob Pattern

A pattern using wildcards to match file paths (e.g., `*.py` matches all Python files, `*.js` matches all JavaScript files).

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J

JWT

JSON Web Token. A secure way to transmit authentication information between systems.

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M

MCP

Model Context Protocol. A standard for connecting AI assistants to external data sources.

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N

npx

A Node.js tool that runs npm packages without installing them globally. Used in MCP server configurations to launch servers (e.g., `npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem`).

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O

OWASP

Open Web Application Security Project. An organization that publishes security best practices and maintains the "OWASP Top 10" list of most critical web application security risks.

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P

PEP 8

Python Enhancement Proposal 8. The official style guide for Python code, covering naming conventions (snake_case for functions, PascalCase for classes), indentation (4 spaces), and code layout. Following PEP 8 makes Python code consistent and readable.

Pre-commit Hook

A script that runs automatically before each `git commit`. Can be used to run Copilot security reviews or