Terminology

  • AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML): The ability to load content without having to reload an entire page; the power of AJAX comes from server side scripts like PHP
  • AMD (Asynchronous Module Definition)
  • CFM (Control Flow Management): Page and data loading asynchronously
  • dp (Density Independent Pixels): is a measure of screen size (aka resolution)
  • dpi (Dots per Inch): is a measure of screen density (aka high-density or retina) … also known as ppi
  • Events: can be traditional browser DOM events (e.g., clicks) or internal application events such as Model changes
  • Event Bubbling: when an event is fired on an element and it “bubbles” up the DOM to the nearest ancestor with a handler for that event
  • Event Delegation: monitoring events on descendants via a common parent, thus reducing overhead and allowing for descendants not yet created to inherit the functionality
  • JavaScript Callback Function (aka Callback): A function that is passed as an argument to another function
  • JavaScript: IIFE (Immediately Invoked Function Expression):
    (function(){ ... }());
  • JavaScript Object Literal: Shorthand for creating a new object
    var myObject = {
        stringProp: 'some string value',
        numProp: 2,
        booleanProp: false
    };
  • JavaScript Partial: A function with (an) argument(s) pre-filled-in
    • The process of making a function understand and handle partial application is called currying
  • JavaScript Strict Mode: Allows for faster debugging by not just failing silently (read article)
  • Login vs. Log In: “Login” is a noun or adjective, and “log in” is a verb phrase
  • MVC (Model, View, Controller)
    • Models define default values because first and foremost a Model is a data container
  • REST (Representational State Transfer)
  • RWD (Responsive Web Design)
  • Source Map: Linking compiled code to the uncompiled code for ease of debugging
  • Stateless: There is not a constantly open connection between the browser and server (ex. The HTTP protocol is stateless)
  • XHR (XML HTTP Request)