Glossary¶

Audience: AI Agents

Standard terminology and definitions for AI agents working with enterprise architecture, software design, and technical documentation.

Architecture & Design Terms¶

Term	Definition
ADR	Architecture Decision Record - document capturing important architectural decisions
API	Application Programming Interface - contract for communication between systems
Bounded Context	Strategic DDD pattern defining boundaries where a domain model applies
C4 Model	Context, Containers, Components, Code - hierarchical architecture diagram framework
CRUD	Create, Read, Update, Delete - basic data operations
DRY	Don't Repeat Yourself - principle of reducing code duplication
Event Sourcing	Pattern storing state changes as sequence of events
Fitness Function	Automated check that validates architectural characteristics
Hexagonal Architecture	Pattern isolating core logic from external concerns (Ports & Adapters)
Microservices	Architectural style structuring application as collection of loosely coupled services
MVP	Minimum Viable Product - version with just enough features to satisfy early customers
NFR	Non-Functional Requirement - quality attribute (performance, security, scalability)
RFC	Request for Comments - document proposing changes for discussion
SOLID	Single responsibility, Open-closed, Liskov substitution, Interface segregation, Dependency inversion
TDD	Test-Driven Development - write tests before implementation
BDD	Behavior-Driven Development - specification through examples in natural language

Term	Definition
ADM	Architecture Development Method - TOGAF's core iterative process
Architecture Vision	High-level aspirational view of target architecture (Phase A)
Baseline Architecture	Current state of the enterprise architecture
Building Block	Reusable component of business, IT, or architectural capability
Enterprise Continuum	View of Architecture Repository showing evolution of architectures
Gap Analysis	Technique identifying differences between baseline and target
Migration Planning	TOGAF Phase F - creating implementation and migration plan
Opportunities & Solutions	TOGAF Phase E - identifying major work packages and transition architectures
Stakeholder	Individual, team, or organization with interest in architecture outcome
Target Architecture	Desired future state of the enterprise architecture
Transition Architecture	Intermediate architecture state between baseline and target
Viewpoint	Specification defining how to construct and use architectural views

Term	Definition
AAA	Authentication, Authorization, Accounting - security framework
CIA Triad	Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability - core security principles
CVE	Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures - public database of security flaws
DoS/DDoS	Denial of Service / Distributed Denial of Service - availability attack
GDPR	General Data Protection Regulation - EU data privacy regulation
IAM	Identity and Access Management - framework for managing digital identities
MFA	Multi-Factor Authentication - using 2+ verification methods
NIS 2	Network and Information Security Directive - EU cybersecurity regulation
OWASP	Open Web Application Security Project - security standards and tools
PII	Personally Identifiable Information - data that can identify individuals
RBAC	Role-Based Access Control - permissions assigned by role
SIEM	Security Information and Event Management - centralized security monitoring
SSL/TLS	Secure Sockets Layer / Transport Layer Security - encryption protocols
Zero Trust	Security model assuming no implicit trust, verifying everything

Term	Definition
CI/CD	Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment - automated build and release
Container	Lightweight, standalone executable package including code and dependencies
IaC	Infrastructure as Code - managing infrastructure through code
Kubernetes (K8s)	Container orchestration platform for automating deployment and scaling
Observability	Ability to understand system internal state from external outputs
SLA	Service Level Agreement - commitment defining expected service level
SLI	Service Level Indicator - specific metric measuring service level
SLO	Service Level Objective - target value for SLI
SRE	Site Reliability Engineering - applying software engineering to operations

Convention	Meaning	Common In
`snake_case`	Lowercase with underscores	Python, Ruby, SQL
`camelCase`	First word lowercase, rest capitalized	JavaScript, Java (methods)
`PascalCase`	All words capitalized	Classes, Types, Components
`SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE`	Uppercase with underscores	Constants, Environment Variables
`kebab-case`	Lowercase with hyphens	URLs, CSS classes, file names

Pattern	Usage
`.config.`	Configuration files
`.test.`	Test files
`.spec.`	Specification/test files
`README.md`	Documentation entry point
`CHANGELOG.md`	Version history and changes
`index.*`	Module entry points
`.env`	Environment variables
`Dockerfile`	Container build instructions

Term	Definition
HEAD	Current commit reference
upstream	The original repository that was forked
origin	Default name for the remote repository
rebase	Re-apply commits on top of another base
cherry-pick	Apply specific commits from another branch
squash	Combine multiple commits into one
PR	Pull Request (GitHub)
MR	Merge Request (GitLab equivalent of PR)