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Glossary

Document: glossary.md
Version: 1.0.0

Purpose

This glossary defines the technical terms, abbreviations, and concepts used throughout Rundown OS.

Its purpose is to provide a shared vocabulary for everyone working on Rundown projects. Definitions are intentionally concise and focus on how each term is used within the context of the agency's engineering standards.

A

API

Application Programming Interface.

A mechanism that allows two software systems to communicate with one another.

ADR

Architecture Decision Record.

A document that records significant engineering decisions, the reasoning behind them, and any alternatives that were considered.

B

Branch

An independent line of development within a Git repository.

Rundown uses short-lived feature branches that are merged into the main branch through Pull Requests.

C

CDN

Content Delivery Network.

A distributed network of servers used to deliver static assets such as images, JavaScript, CSS, and videos with reduced latency.

Cloudflare is the standard CDN used by Rundown.

CMS

Content Management System.

Software that enables clients to manage website content without modifying code.

Payload CMS is the standard CMS used by Rundown.

Commit

A snapshot of changes recorded in Git.

Commits should be small, focused, and use Conventional Commit messages.

Component

A reusable piece of user interface.

Components should have a single responsibility and be reusable wherever practical.

D

Docker

A platform used to package and run applications in isolated containers.

Docker ensures consistency between development and production environments.

E

Environment Variables

Configuration values stored outside the application source code.

Examples include API keys, database credentials, and application secrets.

F

Feature Branch

A temporary Git branch created to develop a single feature, bug fix, or task.

Feature branches are merged into main after review.

G

Git

A distributed version control system used to track changes in source code.

GitHub

The platform used by Rundown to host Git repositories and manage collaboration.

H

Hook

A reusable React function that encapsulates stateful logic.

Custom hooks always begin with the use prefix.

I

Integration

A connection between the application and an external service.

Examples include payment gateways, email providers, analytics platforms, and third-party APIs.

L

Lighthouse

A website auditing tool used to measure performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices.

M

Migration

A controlled change to the database structure.

Migrations ensure that database changes remain consistent across environments.

N

Next.js

The official frontend framework used by Rundown for all production web applications.

P

Payload CMS

The official content management system used by Rundown.

Payload provides content management, authentication, media management, and an administrative interface.

Pull Request (PR)

A request to merge changes from one Git branch into another.

Every code change should be reviewed through a Pull Request before merging into main.

PostgreSQL

The relational database management system used across Rundown projects.

R

React

The JavaScript library used to build user interfaces within Next.js.

Repository

A Git project containing source code, documentation, configuration, and project history.

R2

Cloudflare R2 Object Storage.

Used by Rundown to store media files such as images, videos, and documents.

S

Server Components

React components rendered on the server rather than in the browser.

Server Components are used by Next.js to improve performance and reduce client-side JavaScript.

SSR

Server-Side Rendering.

A rendering strategy where HTML is generated on the server before being sent to the browser.

SSG

Static Site Generation.

A rendering strategy where pages are generated during the build process.

T

TypeScript

The programming language used across Rundown projects.

TypeScript extends JavaScript by adding static typing.

U

Utility Function

A reusable function that performs a single, well-defined task without depending on application state.

V

VPS

Virtual Private Server.

The standard hosting environment used for Rundown deployments.

W

Webhook

An HTTP callback used to notify one application when an event occurs in another.

Common examples include payment confirmations and form submissions.

Summary

This glossary provides a shared vocabulary for Rundown OS.

New terms should only be added when they are used throughout the handbook or are essential to understanding Rundown's engineering standards.