Lecture

Essential English Terms Every Developer Should Know

When reading technical documentation or observing communication in open-source communities, you'll notice certain English vocabulary and expressions that come up frequently in the tech industry.

For example, the verb implement is commonly used when introducing a new feature. (e.g., Implement a JWT-based authentication system)

Communicating with global clients can also be tricky if you're unfamiliar with terms like overwrite or user-defined.

You may even mispronounce common technical terms like execution or deprecated if you’ve only seen them in writing.

Learning these industry-standard terms and expressions will significantly boost your comprehension when reading docs or watching tech conference talks.

Don’t just read these words—say them out loud and try using them in your own sentences.

That’s because our brains retain information better when we actively use what we’ve learned.

Let’s go over the must-know English terms and expressions for software professionals.

Quiz

0 / 1

`Execute` is pronounced like [eek-see-kyoot].

True

False

Essential English for Developers

agile

A software development methodology based on quick, iterative work cycles.

Agile software development refers to a software development methodology based on iterative development.

sprint

A short, time-boxed period in Agile used to complete specific tasks or features.

A sprint is a time-boxed period during which specific work has to be completed and made ready for review.

dev-ops

A development approach that emphasizes collaboration between development and operations teams to ensure smooth deployment, maintenance, and updates.

DevOps is a set of practices that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops).

backlog

A prioritized list of tasks including features to build and bugs to fix.

There are massive backlogs we have to handle by this week.

hotfix

A quick patch applied directly to production to fix critical bugs or security issues.

The team released a hotfix to address the critical security vulnerability.

staging

A testing environment that mimics production, used to validate features before public release.

The new feature is currently in the staging environment for testing before production release.

production

The live environment used by real users.

The application is now live in the production environment.

nightly build

A build automatically generated each night that includes the latest development changes.

The nightly build includes the latest changes made by the development team.

canary build

An early version of software released to a small group of users to detect issues before wider deployment.

We'll release the canary build to a small group of users for early feedback.

load balancing

Distributing incoming traffic across multiple servers to prevent overload and ensure high availability.

The load balancer distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers to ensure stability.

headless

A setup or tool that runs without a graphical user interface (GUI), often separating frontend and backend.

A headless browser is a web browser that has no graphical user interface.

sandbox

A controlled testing environment isolated from production, used for safe experimentation.

We need additional sandbox testing before the official launch.

legacy

Outdated systems or technologies that are still in use.

We have to replace the legacy system by July as part of the integration process.

refactor

Improving the structure of existing code without changing its behavior.

We need to refactor the code to improve its readability and maintainability.

opinionated

Describes a framework or tool that enforces specific design patterns or conventions.

An opinionated framework provides a specific way to structure your application.

monorepo

A repository that contains multiple projects, allowing for easier code sharing and dependency management.

A monorepo allows multiple projects to share code and dependencies easily.

microservices

An architectural style where an app is broken down into small, independent services.

Microservices architecture allows for independent deployment and scaling of services.

serverless

A cloud computing model that lets you build and run apps without managing infrastructure.

Serverless computing allows developers to focus on writing code without managing servers.

out-of-the-box

Ready to use immediately without additional configuration.

The software comes with several out-of-the-box features that can be used immediately.

unit testing

Testing individual parts of an application in isolation.

Unit testing helps ensure that individual components of the software work as intended.

end-to-end testing

Testing the entire workflow of an application from the user’s perspective.

End-to-end testing simulates real user scenarios to ensure the entire system works as expected.

pull request

A way to propose and review changes before merging them into the main branch.

A pull request allows team members to review and discuss changes before merging them into the main branch.

branching

Creating separate lines of development for features or bug fixes in a version control system.

Branching allows developers to work on new features without affecting the main codebase.