Basics
All articles
136 total
Choosing Where to Deploy Your App Updated
Static sites, SPAs, SSR apps, APIs, workers, scheduled jobs - different …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·7 min
Databases Compared Updated
PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, SQLite, Supabase, PlanetScale - which …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·9 min
Deployment Platforms Compared Updated
Vercel, Railway, Render, Fly.io, Netlify, Heroku, AWS - where should you …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·8 min
Developer Community Programs Updated
AWS Community Builders, GitHub Stars, Google Developer Experts, …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
Famous Open Source Projects Updated
Linux, Git, Python, Kubernetes, React - the origin stories of projects …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·10 min
Frontend Frameworks Compared Updated
React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Solid - which frontend framework should you …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
Full-Stack Frameworks Compared Updated
Next.js, React Router (formerly Remix), Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro - which …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·8 min
GitHub Alternatives Updated
GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea, and self-hosted options - why developers …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
How DNS and Domains Work Updated
How typing a URL turns into connecting to a server. Domain names, DNS …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·5 min
Open Source Foundations Updated
Linux Foundation, Apache, CNCF, OpenJS - organizations that govern and …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·7 min
Storage Costs as You Scale Updated
How storage costs grow as your SaaS scales from 0 to 10,000 users. What …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
The Open Source Sustainability Problem Updated
Critical software maintained by unpaid volunteers, burnout, corporate …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·7 min
Types of Storage Explained Updated
Git repos, databases, S3 buckets, EBS volumes, NAS - what each type of …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·8 min
What is a Domain Name? Updated
A domain name is the human-readable address for your website. It's how …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·4 min
What is a Large Language Model (LLM)? Updated
A large language model is the AI behind ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. …
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Added 22 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·5 min
What is a Neural Network? Updated
A neural network is the core architecture behind modern AI. …
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Added 22 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·4 min
What is a Programming Language? Updated
A plain-English explanation of programming languages, compilers, …
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Added 23 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·17 min
What is a Token? Updated
Tokens are how AI models read and charge for text. Understanding tokens …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
What is AI Hallucination? Updated
AI hallucination is when a language model produces confident, fluent, …
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Added 22 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·5 min
What is an AI Agent? Updated
An AI agent is software that uses an LLM to plan and take actions …
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Added 22 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·5 min
What is Authentication vs. Authorization? Updated
Authentication is proving who you are (logging in). Authorization is …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·5 min
What is ChatGPT? Updated
ChatGPT is OpenAI's AI chatbot, running at the time of writing …
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Added 22 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·7 min
What is Cloud-Native? Updated
Cloud-native is a philosophy for building applications that fully …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
What is Computer Vision? Updated
Computer vision is the AI field that enables software to understand …
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Added 22 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·5 min
What is Fine-tuning? Updated
Fine-tuning adapts a pre-trained AI model to a specific task or domain …
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Added 22 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
What is Generative AI? Updated
Generative AI is software that creates new content: text, images, audio, …
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Added 22 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·5 min
What is Hosting? Updated
Hosting is where your code actually runs when people visit your site. …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·4 min
What is Kubernetes? Updated
Kubernetes manages containers at scale - deciding where they run, …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
What is Natural Language Processing (NLP)? Updated
Natural language processing (NLP) is the field of AI concerned with …
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Added 22 Jun
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Upd 25 Sep
·4 min
What is React Native? Updated
React Native lets you write one JavaScript codebase that runs as a real …
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Added 28 May
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Upd 25 Sep
·7 min
What is the Cloud? Updated
The cloud is other people's computers, rented by the second. Here is …
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Added 24 May
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
What is TypeScript? Updated
JavaScript with types. Catch errors before running your code, get better …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
What is Vibe Coding? Updated
Vibe coding is building software by describing what you want in plain …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 25 Sep
·8 min
When Do I Need a Server? Updated
Not every app needs a server. Static sites, SPAs, and serverless …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·5 min
Where to Store Files in Your App Updated
User uploads, images, documents, backups - a practical guide to where …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
Why It Works Locally But Not Deployed Updated
The classic developer frustration explained. Environment variables, …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·6 min
Wireframing and Prototyping Updated
Sketch before you build. Wireframes and prototypes help you think …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 25 Sep
·5 min
A Short History of Computing: From the Abacus to the Microchip
Plain-English history of computing, from counting beads to mechanical …
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Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·7 min
Agile for Solo Builders
Lightweight agile practices for individuals and tiny teams. Sprints, …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
Architecture Decision Records
Document the why behind technical choices. ADRs capture context, options …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
Backend Frameworks Compared
Express, FastAPI, Django, Rails, NestJS, Go - which backend framework …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·8 min
Common Error Messages Explained
npm ERR!, ModuleNotFoundError, 502 Bad Gateway, Cannot read property of …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·8 min
Feedback Loops and Iteration
Build, measure, learn, repeat. Shipping fast means nothing if you don't …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
Frontend vs Backend: The Layers of an App
A plain-English guide to the frontend, backend, database, and …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·9 min
Git vs GitHub: What's the Difference?
Git is the tool. GitHub is the platform. They're as different as videos …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
How Search Algorithms Work
A plain-English guide to linear search, binary search, and hash table …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·8 min
How Sorting Algorithms Work
A plain-English guide to how sorting algorithms put data in order, from …
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Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·8 min
How to Ask Good Questions
Get better answers from Stack Overflow, Discord, AI, and developers. The …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
How to Collaborate on GitHub
Pull requests, forks, code review, and contributing to open source …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
How to Contribute to Open Source
Your first contribution doesn't have to be code. Here's how to find …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
How to Debug Your Code
Systematic approaches to finding bugs. console.log, browser DevTools, …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
How to Delegate to AI Effectively
Get better results from AI coding assistants. Prompting strategies, …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
How to Read Documentation
Documentation isn't meant to be read like a book. Learn how to navigate …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
How to Set Up a Project on GitHub
A step-by-step guide to creating your first GitHub repository, …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
How to Slice Work Effectively
Break big features into small, valuable pieces. Vertical slicing, MVP …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
How to Write User Stories
Define what you're building before you build it. User stories, …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
Library vs Framework vs SDK vs API: What is What
A plain-English guide to the difference between a library, a framework, …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·9 min
Metrics That Matter
Not all metrics are created equal. Learn to distinguish vanity metrics …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
Number Systems: Binary, Decimal, and Hexadecimal Explained
A plain-English guide to how computers count using binary, decimal, and …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·8 min
Prioritization Frameworks
Decide what to build first. RICE, ICE, MoSCoW, and other frameworks for …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
Product Discovery Techniques
Figure out what to build before building it. Impact mapping, event …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
Programming Paradigms: Procedural, Object-Oriented, Functional, and More
A plain-English tour of the main ways to organize code, from procedural …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·9 min
Prompt Engineering for Code
AI generates what you describe - describe poorly, get poor code. Learn …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
Reversible vs Irreversible Decisions
One-way doors vs two-way doors. Know which decisions need careful …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
Scope Creep and Feature Bloat
Features accumulate. Scope expands. Before you know it, you're building …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
Security Basics for Beginners
The security mistakes that get vibecoders hacked. SQL injection, XSS, …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
Tech Meetups and Conferences
What meetups and conferences are, why the tech industry runs on them, …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
Technical Decision Making
Build vs buy vs open source, technology selection, and how to make …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
The Art of Done
Good enough vs perfect. When to ship, when to polish, and when to stop. …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
UI/UX Design Principles for Developers
The core design principles that make interfaces usable. Visual …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
User Journey Mapping
Understand how users move through your product before building it. …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
Volunteering in Tech
Why so much of the tech industry runs on volunteers - from open source …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
What Are Backups?
Backups are copies of your data that you can restore when things go …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
What Are Containers?
Containers package your app with everything it needs to run - same …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
What are Environments?
An environment is a separate copy of your software: one to experiment in …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·3 min
What are Prompts?
A prompt is how you tell an AI model, in plain words, what you want. …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What are Regions?
A region is a place in the world where the cloud keeps its data centres. …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is a 404 Error?
404 means 'page not found' - the server understood your request but …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·4 min
What is a Build Process?
Why 'npm run build' exists. Bundling, transpiling, and minifying - …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
What is a Computer?
A computer is a machine that follows instructions. Understanding this …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·6 min
What is a Data Structure?
A plain-English guide to data structures, the ways you organize data in …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·9 min
What is a Database?
A database is an organised system for storing and retrieving data. Every …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·6 min
What is a Dependency?
A dependency is code someone else wrote that your project uses. It's why …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·4 min
What is a Framework?
A framework is a ready-made starting kit for building software, so you …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·3 min
What is a Function?
A function is a named, reusable step in code. You write the job once, …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is a Git Branch?
A branch lets you work on a new feature without breaking the main code. …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
What is a Model?
A model is the learned thing an AI produces from data and then uses to …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is a Package Manager?
npm, yarn, pip, cargo - package managers download and manage code …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
What is a Server?
A server is just a computer that runs continuously and waits for …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·5 min
What is a Terminal?
The terminal is a text-based interface for controlling your computer. It …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·5 min
What is a Webhook?
A webhook is how services tell your app that something happened. Instead …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·4 min
What is AI?
AI is software that learns patterns from data instead of following …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·7 min
What is an Algorithm?
A plain-English explanation of algorithms: the step-by-step recipes that …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·7 min
What is an API Key?
An API key is a password for your code to access services like Claude, …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·4 min
What is an API?
An API is a contract that defines how two pieces of software talk to …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·6 min
What is an Environment Variable?
Environment variables are settings that live outside your code. They're …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·4 min
What is Async/Await?
Making JavaScript wait for things. Promises, async functions, and why …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
What is Big O Notation?
A plain-English guide to Big O notation, the language for describing how …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·8 min
What is Bootstrapping?
A plain-English guide to bootstrapping, the practice of building a …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·8 min
What is Caching?
Why your changes don't appear immediately. Browser cache, CDN cache, …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
What is Cloud Storage?
Cloud storage is file storage on someone else's servers, accessible from …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
What is Code?
Code is instructions written in a language a computer can understand. …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·5 min
What is Coding?
Plain-English explanation of coding for product managers, founders, and …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·6 min
What is CORS?
CORS is why your frontend can't talk to your backend. It's a browser …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·4 min
What is Data (and JSON)?
Data is information organised in a shape software can read. JSON is the …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·3 min
What is Deployment?
Deployment is the step that takes your working code off your own …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·3 min
What is DevOps and CI/CD?
DevOps is a culture of collaboration between development and operations. …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
What is Frontend and Backend?
Frontend is the part of an app you see and touch. Backend is the part …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is Git?
Git is the version control tool used by almost every software team on …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·6 min
What is GitHub?
GitHub is where the world's code lives. It hosts Git repositories, …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·5 min
What is HTTPS?
HTTPS is HTTP with encryption - it means the connection between your …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
What is JSON?
JSON is the universal language for sending data between apps. When you …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·4 min
What is Localhost?
Localhost is your own computer pretending to be a server. It's why your …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·4 min
What is Machine Learning?
Machine learning is how AI learns from data instead of following …
Basics
Added 22 Jun
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Upd 22 Jun
·5 min
What is Microservices Architecture?
Microservices break large applications into small, independent services. …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
What is Monitoring (and Logs)?
Monitoring watches your running software live and warns you when …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·3 min
What is Open Source?
Open source means the code is public and you can use, modify, and share …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
What is Rate Limiting?
Rate limiting is why the AI stops responding with '429 Too Many …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·4 min
What is Scaling?
Scaling means handling one user or a million without falling over. It is …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is Security and Auth?
Security and auth are how software lets the right people in and keeps …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is Serverless?
Running code without managing servers. Lambda functions, edge functions, …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
What is Software?
Software is code organised to do a real job from start to finish. It is …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is SQL?
SQL is how you talk to databases. Want to get all users who signed up …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
What is SSR vs CSR?
Server-side rendering vs client-side rendering. Why Next.js exists, what …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
What is State?
State is what a system remembers right now: who is logged in, what is in …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is Storage (and Files)?
Storage is where software keeps the big, heavy things, images, videos …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is Testing?
Testing is checking that software works the way it should before real …
Basics
Added 15 Jun
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Upd 15 Jun
·4 min
What is the DOM?
The Document Object Model - the tree structure browsers build from HTML …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
What is the Internet?
The internet is a global network of computers that have agreed to speak …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·5 min
What is Timeboxing?
Plain-English explanation of timeboxing, the habit of setting a fixed …
Basics
Added 23 Jun
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Upd 23 Jun
·7 min
What is Version Control?
Version control is a system that tracks every change ever made to a …
Basics
Added 24 May
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Upd 30 May
·4 min
When Do I Need Multiple Servers?
One server works until it doesn't. Here's when you need to think about …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·5 min
When Do You Need Analytics?
Logs, metrics, analytics, observability - when does each become …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
When to Say No
Features become baggage. Learn when to decline requests, remove …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·6 min
Why Different Programming Languages Exist
Python, JavaScript, Rust, Go, Java - why there are hundreds of …
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Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
Working with Constraints
Time, budget, scope - you can't have everything. Learn to make …
Basics
Added 30 Jul
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Upd 30 Jul
·7 min
136 articles in this section. Search for a specific topic.
Work with Linda Mohamed, AWS Community Hero