FOREWORD
Please consider the following terms and their meanings as an overview. The IT world is complex, a little different in every company, so even the meanings in practice often differ from team to team and company to company. This glossary is a supplement to external training, it has no ambition to replace official instructions in your company. The goal is to facilitate basic orientation in the IT environment and to have somewhere to return to after the training.
IT IN GENERAL AND TECHNOLOGY
SAML = Single Sign On – user authorization by one central system. The user can then log into multiple systems without constantly entering a password (e.g. logging into a PC also means logging into Google, SAP and other internal systems).
Database – the place where the data is stored.
Query – database query with the parameters I need, e.g. Show me all clients from Prague who took out a loan in November
Server – network computer (computer to which I connect via the Internet)
Virtual server – As a server, "running as an application" on some real computer, it doesn't really exist
A thin client system = access to data and functions on the server through a browser (e.g. Gmail)
A thick client system – the application works on my computer. What I do has to be syncronized (upload and download to the server), it's hardly used nowadays
Citrix – access to a remote computer through an application that I have installed with me. Safety reasons
GUI – UI – UX – Graphical User Interface / User eXperience – provides the user with the possibility of interactive computer control. With the help of input devices such as a mouse, keyboard, the user controls the graphic elements on the monitor and thereby transfers his thoughts and instructions to the action of the PC. It is actually any application where we just click. Thus, a person can control the device without knowing the command or programming codes.
VPN = Virtual Private Network – Secure remote access to the company's IT environment
F/E = Frontend – systems and functions that the user can see (e.g. internet banking or the system used by branch staff)
B/E = Backend – systems and functions not visible to the user, various calculations and data transfers between systems (e.g. middleware or a system managing client accounts)
OS = Operating System – a basic program in every device that is used to run the device – that the screen lights up, the control works, communicates with the environment (e.g. Windows, Linux, iOS, Android)
Application – something that the user installs on the device himself (e.g. Microsoft Office, Chrome, Whatsapp)
Blockchain – a special kind of distributed decentralized database storing an ever-expanding number of records that are protected against unauthorized access. The most common application of blockchain technology is its use as a ledger of cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin) that stores transactions made by users. The combination with cryptography makes it possible to ensure the anonymity of operations and prevent unauthorized transactions. For businesses, blockchain holds the promise of transaction transparency—the ability to create secure, real-time communication networks with partners around the world that support everything from supply chains to payment networks, real estate transactions, and health data sharing. Without the danger of a single authority controlling the system.
DATA STORAGE OPTIONS
- My disk on the computer
- Cloud (One Drive and Azure from Microsoft, iCloud from Apple, Google Drive from Google)
- Server
ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS
CRM – Client Relationship Management system for managing client details
DMS - Document Management System for managing documentation
LMS - Learning Management System for education management
ERP - SAP - Enterprise Resolution Planning for key company processes, e.g. attendance, accounting, etc.
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SYSTEMS
- Interface = interface – a place where two or more systems communicate with each other (the front door of your apartment)
- Integration – the state when several systems are connected together, their communication connection
- Service = feelers – The form of how the system communicates with its environment, the definition of what it can and cannot do (For example, internet banking – it can show the transaction history, enter a new order, but it cannot change the account number)
- Middleware (MW) = OSB – software enabling communication for applications. It is sometimes referred to as a pipe because it connects two applications so that data can be easily transferred through a "pipe". One middleware is used for all applications in the bank.
- Online communication – immediate communication between systems, e.g. card blocking in banking must be immediately recorded in another system
- Offline communication = batch = dose – scheduled data transfer, e.g. once a day / once an hour / once a week. E.g. data transfer for monthly reporting
- Inbound – direction of communication to the system (e.g. a file is being downloaded to my computer)
- Vs. Outbound – direction of communication from the system (e.g. I am sending an email)
TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTS (I CAN'T DEVELOP NEW FEATURES UNDER CLIENTS' HANDS)
- development = development - where new functionalities should be developed, but is often connected with the test environment in one
- testing = QA = preproduction = int – where new system functionalities are tested before they are given to the client
- live = productive – the real environment that the user sees (Now, when you open any system that you use daily, it is a live environment
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
- waterfall = classic = sequential approach – robust, suitable where the entry does not change and the plan is clear (For example, changing Windows 7 to Windows 10, moving data from one computer to another)
- agile approach – it gives flexibility, it is suitable where the assignment changes and the exact result is not known in advance (e.g. a new product for clients)
- Release = deployment – delivery of functionalities to the production environment (to the one that serves the client)
- Release = deployment of the application / changes into operation – mostly over the weekend, moving the code from the test environment to the production environment (from now on the client can see it), basic tests and deciding whether the move was successful or whether the change needs to be reverted (Go/noGo decision)
- Workaround – a temporary quick solution to a problem, which often becomes a permanent solution (For example, taping a fallen light on the car with tape before I take it to the service center. But I will never go to the service center again, because it works after all)
- Fix = Patch – Fixing some bug (piece of code) in the application
- Patch – The bug is usually fixed more, that's why the whole package of patches is delivered
- Service Exposure – the service is ready for use or testing
- Service invocation – Test the service to see if it works
TESTING
- mock / smoke test – a set of initial basic tests of the new functionality, to confirm that it is programmed and functional before the real more complex tests begin
- regression test – tests of the entire system, to reveal possible errors that have nothing to do with the new functionality (that the new thing did not break something existing that worked until now)
- Integration tests – tests of all systems that are affected by the new change. The goal is to verify that all data flows between systems as they should
- Dummies – Test data that looks real but is not real, e.g. fictitious client
WHEN AJŤÁK SPEAKS
- ACK – Confirmation that I heard you, based on two devices communicating over the Internet
- We will deliver = We will exhibit – we will finish our part of the work
TYPES OF SOFTWARE = APPLICATIONS = PROGRAMS
- Commercial software – Programs whose code is protected and managed by the company itself. The company sells them as its product (e.g. Microsoft Office or Microsoft Windows)
- OPEN SOURCE – Programs whose code the company shares with the IT community because it believes in cooperation and authentication (E.g. Linux or Lible Office)
- FREEMIUM – “Free” apps – we pay by collecting our data and often not all features are available. At the same time, it imposes advertising and offers to remove it if we buy a full (Premium) version
- FREEWARE – An application that is free to use
- SHAREWARE = TRIAL VERSION – A trial version, e.g. for 30 days, with all functions, is intended to entice you to buy the full version after the trial period is over
