Intermediate terms
Secrets Management
1
Storing, distributing, and rotating credentials securely — using dedicated tools rather than .env files in version control or hardcoded values in source code.
3mo ago
security intermediate
Security by Design
PHP 5.0+
Integrating security requirements into software architecture and design from the very beginning, rather than bolting it on afterwards.
OWASP A5:2021
3mo ago
security intermediate
serialize() / unserialize()
PHP 5.0+
PHP's native serialisation functions can trigger arbitrary code execution via magic methods when deserialising untrusted data.
CWE-502 OWASP A8:2021
3mo ago
php intermediate
9.8
Serverless Functions
PHP 7.4+
1
Event-triggered, stateless functions managed by a cloud provider — you deploy code, the provider handles servers, scaling, and availability.
3mo ago
cloud intermediate
Service Locator Anti-Pattern
A class that fetches its own dependencies from a global registry — hiding them from the constructor signature and making dependencies implicit, untestable, and hard to trace.
3mo ago
architecture intermediate
Session Riding
PHP 5.0+
An alternative term for CSRF — the attacker 'rides' the victim's authenticated session to perform actions on their behalf.
CWE-352 OWASP A1:2021
3mo ago
security intermediate
8.1
session_regenerate_id()
PHP 5.0+
Generates a new session ID after login — the primary defence against session fixation attacks.
3mo ago
php intermediate
Shared Responsibility Model
The division of security responsibilities between the cloud provider and the customer — the provider secures the infrastructure; the customer secures what runs on it.
3mo ago
cloud intermediate
Shell Pipes & Redirects
Pipes (|) connect stdout of one command to stdin of another; redirects (<, >, >>) send stdin/stdout to files — the foundation of composable Unix command-line workflows.
3mo ago
linux intermediate
Shotgun Surgery
A single change requires making many small edits across many different classes — a sign of poor cohesion.
3mo ago
quality intermediate
Side Effects
2
Observable changes a function makes beyond returning a value — modifying global state, I/O, mutation of arguments — that make code harder to reason about.
3mo ago
quality intermediate
Singleton (Anti-Pattern)
A class that restricts instantiation to a single instance — widely considered an anti-pattern due to hidden global state and testability issues.
3mo ago
general intermediate
SLA / SLO / Error Budgets (SRE)
SLA is the external promise; SLO is the internal target; error budget is the allowed downtime — together they guide reliability decisions.
3mo ago
devops intermediate
Sliding Window
An algorithmic technique that maintains a window of elements over a sequence, expanding or contracting it to find subarrays or substrings satisfying a condition in O(n).
3mo ago
algorithms intermediate
Snapshot Testing
PHP 7.0+
A technique that captures the serialised output of a component or function on first run, then compares future runs against that snapshot — detecting unintended changes.
3mo ago
testing intermediate
Sorting Algorithms
PHP 5.0+ Algorithms for ordering a collection — ranging from O(n²) simple sorts to O(n log n) comparison sorts and O(n) non-comparison sorts for specific data.
3mo ago
algorithms intermediate
Space Complexity
A measure of how much memory an algorithm uses relative to its input size, expressed in Big O notation.
3mo ago
performance intermediate
Specification Pattern
PHP 5.0+
Encapsulating business rules as composable objects that evaluate whether a candidate satisfies them — separating rules from entity code.
3mo ago
architecture intermediate
Speculative Generality
2
Unused abstractions, parameters, or hooks added for hypothetical future use that complicate the codebase without present value.
3mo ago
quality intermediate
Spread Operator (...)
PHP 5.6+
Unpacks arrays or traversables into function argument lists or array literals; also used for variadic parameters.
3mo ago
php intermediate