Web-Related Terms Beginning with S
Scheme (URL)
A scheme indicates the protocol (set of rules) browsers must use to access a website's resources. Some popular schemes are HTTP, HTTPS, Mailto, and FTP.
Scope
Scope refers to the area where an item (such as a function or variable) is visible and accessible to other code.
Scope Chain
A scope chain refers to the unique spaces that exist from the scope where a variable got called to the global scope.
Scrolling Element
A scrolling element is an element with a non-visible overflow value. In other words, an element has a scrolling mechanism if its overflow property is auto, hidden, overlay, or scroll.
search() in JavaScript
search() searches its calling string for the first occurrence of the method's regular expression argument.
Search Engine
A search engine is a software program you can use to search for resources on the internet.
In other words, a search engine is like a marketplace where you search for products.
A woman searches for vegetables at a marketplace – Image by Milada Vigerova
Popular search engines are Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, CC Search, and DuckDuckGo.
Self-Executing Anonymous Function Expression
An self-executing anonymous function expression is a function expression that invokes itself automatically.
Self-Invoking Function Expression
An self-invoking function expression is a function expression that invokes itself automatically.
Serialization
Serialization converts a native object to a format that clients and servers can interchange.
Server (Computing)
A server is a computer where documents are stored until other computers request them over the internet (or local network).
setState() in React
setState() is the method used to update a class component's state.
SHA-1 Checksum (Git)
A SHA-1 checksum is a long string that follows the word "commit" in a git log command's output.
In other words, whenever you run the git log command, you will get an output like so:
commit z8d2f115010634ea4ae0a2670p7aec61b394c306
Author: Oluwatobi Sofela <contact@codesweetly.com>
Date: Tue Dec 21 12:51:07 2023 +0100
Initialize project
The long string that follows the word "commit" in the snippet above is the SHA-1 checksum.
The SHA-1 checksum is a 40-character string which we sometimes call "commit hash" or "Git commit reference."
Add an --abbrev-commit flag to the git log command to display an abbreviated version of the SHA-1 checksum.
Here's an example:
$ git log --abbrev-commit
commit z8d2f11
Author: Oluwatobi Sofela <contact@codesweetly.com>
Date: Tue Dec 21 12:51:07 2023 +0100
Initialize project
Shallow Copy (JS)
You do shallow copy when you create references while cloning one object into another.
Shallow Object (JS)
A shallow object is one that contains only primitive items.
shift() in JavaScript
shift() removes its calling array's first item.
Side Effect
Side effect occurs in a program whenever you use an external code in your function—which, as a result, impacts the function's ability to perform its task.
Single-Page Application
A single-page application (SPA) is a web app in which each of its unique URL file paths refers to a single HTML page that gets loaded only once from the server.
slice() JavaScript Array Method
slice() extracts a specified part of its calling array into a new array—without altering the original array.
slice() JavaScript String Method
slice() extracts a specified part of its calling string into a new string—without altering the original string.
Software
Software is a collection of programs used to instruct the computer on what to do.
Source Code
A source code is your original file containing the code you wrote and edited. It is the source code that bundlers compile into a distribution code.
splice() in JavaScript
splice() alters its calling array by adding or removing a specific number of items to/from it.
split() in JavaScript
split() returns an array containing the result of splitting a string into substrings.
Spread Operator
A spread operator (...) expands iterables into individual elements.
Staging Area (Git)
The staging area is a file Git uses to store details about files it is about to commit into the .git directory.
Start Of (RegExp)
Regular expression's start of operator (^) asserts that you wish to find the RegExp pattern at the start of a string.
State
State is the data a stateful program is managing.
State Hook (ReactJS)
The state hook (useState) allows a function component hook into React's state object.
Stateful Program
A stateful program is a program whose output depends on external states (events).
Stateless Program
A stateless program is one whose output does not depend on any external event.
Statement (JS)
A JavaScript statement is a piece of code used to instruct the computer on an action to execute.
Sticky (RegExp)
Regular expression's sticky flag (y) tells the computer to find a RegExp pattern at exactly the lastIndex position—not starting from the lastIndex position.
Strict Equality Operator (JS)
The strict equality operator (===) checks if its two operands are strictly of equal type and value.
Strict Mode (JS)
JavaScript's strict mode is a way of ensuring the code in a script (or function) are strictly JavaScript code—not generic code nor mistyped JavaScript code.
You can invoke the strict mode by including the literal string "use strict"; as the first statement of your script file (or function statement).
String (JS)
A string is a quoted series of characters representing textual data.
String Expression (JS)
A string expression is a piece of code that expresses a string value.
Stub (TDD)
A stub is a test double used to mimic an external dependency while also returning hand-coded values that you can use to assess your program's behavior with various test case responses from the dependency.
Styling Language
A stylist helps to apply styles to an annotated document. So, for instance, CSS helps add artistic touches to the elements of an HTML document.
Subdomain
A subdomain (third-level domain) is a subset of a specific website. It allows you to categorize your website into one or more sections.
Submodule (JavaScript)
A submodule is a script used inside another module.
Substitutions (Webpack)
Substitutions—in webpack—refers to the use of bracketed strings to create templates for filenames.
Substring
Substring means part of a string. For instance, "Cat" is a substring of "Caterpillar" because "Cat" is part of the "Caterpillar" string.
switch Conditional Statement (JS)
The switch conditional statement instructs the computer to execute a code block if the block's case value matches the given expression.
Symbol (JS)
Symbol is a unique, anonymous value that you can create by invoking the Symbol() function in a JavaScript runtime environment.
Synchronous Callback
A synchronous callback is a callback whose execution happens immediately.
Synchronous Event
A synchronous event is an activity that must occur at a specific point in time.
System Software
System software is the computer programs computers use to accomplish specific tasks.