Intermediate terms
Search Query Parsing
PHP 8.0+
Transforming raw user search input into structured components - tokens, fields, operators, and phrases - before query execution.
1d ago
search intermediate
Server-Side Includes (SSI) Injection
Attacker-controlled SSI directives (`<!--#exec ... -->`) injected into pages parsed by Apache or another SSI-enabled server, achieving file disclosure or remote command execution.
CWE-97 OWASP A3:2021
1mo ago
security intermediate
9.8
Shadow DOM
A browser feature that attaches a scoped, encapsulated DOM subtree to an element — styles and IDs inside the shadow tree do not leak in or out, enabling true component isolation on the web.
2mo ago
frontend intermediate
Software Composition Analysis (SCA)
The practice and tooling for identifying all open-source and third-party components in a codebase, detecting known vulnerabilities (CVEs) in them, and flagging licence risks — distinct from static analysis of your own code.
2mo ago
security intermediate
Script Loading (defer, async, type=module)
How and when browser downloads and executes JavaScript — defer, async, and type=module control whether scripts block HTML parsing and in what order they run.
2mo ago
frontend intermediate
Structured Data — JSON-LD
Machine-readable schema markup embedded in a <script type='application/ld+json'> block, enabling Google rich results — star ratings, FAQs, breadcrumbs, events, and recipes in search.
2mo ago
frontend intermediate
Soft Delete Pattern
Marking records as deleted with a deleted_at timestamp instead of physically removing them — preserving data for auditing and recovery.
2mo ago
database intermediate
SQL Window Functions
Window functions (ROW_NUMBER, RANK, LAG, LEAD, SUM OVER) perform calculations across a set of rows related to the current row without collapsing them into a single aggregate — enabling rankings, running totals, and comparisons within result sets.
2mo ago
database intermediate
Structured Logging
PHP 8.0+
2
Emitting log entries as machine-parseable key-value pairs (JSON) rather than free-form strings — enabling filtering, aggregation, and alerting.
2mo ago
observability intermediate
Safe Mode — What It Was & Why It Failed
PHP 3.0+
PHP's safe_mode (PHP 3–5.3) attempted to restrict multi-user PHP hosting at the language level — it was removed in PHP 5.4 after being proven ineffective and breaking legitimate code.
3mo ago
php intermediate
Semantic Search
Search that matches by meaning and intent rather than exact keywords — a query for 'how to prevent database attacks' finds SQL injection documentation even if those exact words never appear.
3mo ago
ai_ml intermediate
Semaphore
2
A semaphore is a generalised mutex that allows N concurrent accesses — a counting semaphore with value N lets N threads proceed, blocking the (N+1)th.
3mo ago
concurrency intermediate
Service Discovery Patterns
The mechanism by which services in a distributed system locate each other's network addresses — eliminating hardcoded IPs by maintaining a registry that services register with and query at runtime.
3mo ago
architecture intermediate
Service Worker
7
A JavaScript file that runs in the background separate from the web page, intercepting network requests to enable offline support, background sync, and push notification delivery.
3mo ago
mobile intermediate
Simplifying Complex Conditional Logic
Complex conditionals can be simplified with De Morgan's laws, guard clauses, decomposing into named predicates, and consolidating duplicate conditions.
3mo ago
style intermediate
SLO / SLI / SLA
SLI (what you measure), SLO (your internal target), SLA (your customer commitment) — the hierarchy that turns vague 'uptime' promises into measurable operational objectives.
3mo ago
observability intermediate
SPL Introduction — Standard PHP Library
PHP 5.0+
SPL (Standard PHP Library, PHP 5.0) added data structures, iterators, and interfaces — SplStack, SplQueue, SplHeap, ArrayObject, and the Iterator/Countable interfaces.
3mo ago
php intermediate
SQLite in Production
PHP 5.1+
3
SQLite is a serverless, file-based SQL database that is appropriate for production use in single-server applications, edge deployments, and embedded systems — with specific limitations around concurrent writes that make it unsuitable for multi-server setups.
3mo ago
database intermediate
Starvation & Livelock
Starvation: a thread never gets resources because others monopolise them. Livelock: threads actively respond to each other but make no progress — like two people stepping aside for each other indefinitely.
3mo ago
concurrency intermediate
Structured Output from LLMs (JSON Mode)
PHP 8.0+
Instructing an LLM to return valid JSON rather than prose — either via a system prompt schema, a JSON mode API flag, or a tool-use response format — so the output can be reliably parsed and used programmatically.
3mo ago
ai_ml intermediate