1. Dice Technical Skills Glossary for
Non-Technical Professionals
T o p T e c h n o l o g y a n d e n g i n e e r i n g c a n d i d aT e s
You don’t need to be an IT expert to recruit and hire great technology candidates. Use Dice’s
Technical Skills Glossary as your handy reference for easy-to-understand definitions on popular
IT skills.
—a— —B— cloud computing — other skill — A style
of computing that uses a network of shared
aBap — programming language — Advanced Business intelligence — database — The computing resources, “the cloud,” rather
Business Application Programming. An object- systems and tools businesses use to collect, than having local servers or personal devices
oriented programming language, created store and analyze corporate data and to process the applications.
by German company SAP, for developing understand market behavior.
applications for SAP’s system. coBol — programming language — Common
—c— Business Oriented Language. A popular
access — database — Software for creating language for business applications that run on
and managing databases from Microsoft. c — programming language — A popular large computers (mainframes). Though created
Access is easier to use than many other language that provides very fine control over the in the late 1950s, it is still one of the most widely
database systems making it ideal for less-skilled performance and size of a program, especially used languages.
users. compared to other higher-level languages.
cognos — database — An IBM company that
aiX — operating system — A UNIX-like c++ — programming language — A superset of makes software for business intelligence and
operating system produced by IBM. C that adds object-oriented features (a group performance management.
of objects that act on each other, rather than
aJaX — programming language — a set of functions or instructions). Popular for coldFusion — programming language — A
Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. A web graphical applications. toolset including an application server and
development model that groups existing software language used to create dynamic web
technologies together to create interactive web c# — programming language — (Pronounced pages integrated with databases.
applications. “c-sharp”) A combination of C and C++, C#
is an object-oriented language used on a crM — enterprise application — Customer
apache Tomcat — application server — A .NET platform to develop web applications. A Relationship Management. Encompasses the
specialized application server for Java code to Microsoft product that resembles Java. capabilities and technologies that support
execute. managing customer relationships, whether it is
cad — graphics & Multimedia — Computer- sales or service-related.
application delivery — networking Aided Design. A hardware and software
Technology — A suite of technologies that combination that allows engineers and crystal reports — database — A popular
provide application availability, load balancing, architects to design a variety of objects. Most Windows-based report generation program. It
security and acceleration. CAD workstations run on Windows-based PCs, can integrate data from multiple databases to
while some CAD systems run on hardware from create one report.
application server — application server — A a UNIX or Linux operating system.
server that hosts an application programming css — programming language — Cascading
interface to expose business logic and business change Management — process Management Style Sheets. A mechanism used by web site
processes for use by third-party applications. — A service management process that ensures developers to define how HTML web pages are
standardized, orderly methods for changes to IT displayed.
as/400 — iBM skill — A midrange server for infrastructure.
small companies and departmental use in large —d—
firms. The system has recently been rebranded cics — iBM skill — Customer Information
as the “IBM iSeries.” Control System. A transaction manager that data deduplication — storage — The process
controls processes on IBM mainframes. of deleting redundant data and storing only one
asp — programming language — Active copy of data while retaining the data index.
Server Page. A web page that includes one or cisco — networking Technology — A leading
more scripts (small embedded programs) that manufacturer of products for networking data Warehouse — database — A collection of
are processed on a server before being sent to including routers, switches, wireless and unified an organization’s electronically stored data.
a user. A Microsoft product. communications technologies.
dB2 — database — The group of relational
asp.net — programming language — Faster cissp — certification — Certified Information database management products from IBM.
than a standard ASP page, elements on an ASP. Systems Security Professional. An independent
net web page act as objects and are run on a information security certification administered dhcp — networking Technology — Dynamic
server. A Microsoft product. by the International Information Systems Host Configuration Protocol. A protocol used by
Security Certification Consortium. devices on a network to dynamically assign IP
addresses.
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2. Tech Skills Glossary
Page 2
disaster recovery — process Management — —g— Javascript — programming language —
A plan for recovering a business’s electronic Sharing many of the same features of Java,
resources, including data records, in the event gateway — networking Technology — A node JavaScript can interact with other code to make
of a disaster. or processing location on a network that acts as a web page more dynamic by changing the page
a doorway to another network. each time it is viewed.
dns — networking Technology — Domain —h—
Name System. An Internet process that converts JBoss — application server — An open
domain names into IP addresses. hp-UX — operating system — Hewlett- source, Java based application server and
Packard’s first, proprietary Unix operating development toolset available on multiple
—e— system. platforms.
ediscovery — storage — Refers to any process hTMl — programming language — The Jcl — programming language — Job Control
in which electronic data is sought, located, language used to create web pages. It provides Language. A scripting language used to instruct
secured and searched with the intent of using it structure to text in a web document and an IBM mainframe operating system to execute
as evidence in a civil or criminal legal case. enhances that text with interactive forms, a job.
images and other objects.
eMc corporation — storage — A leading JdBc — programming language — Java
provider of information infrastructure systems, hub/switch — networking Technology — A Database Connectivity. A Java programming
software and services found in storage piece of hardware that links together segments language that controls database access.
networks and large data centers. of a local area network (LAN).
Jde — enterprise application — J.D. Edwards.
ethernet — networking Technology — A widely hyper-V — other skill — Microsoft’s A suite of enterprise resource planning (ERP)
used connection between a computer and a implementation of a virtual machine hypervisor, software produced by Oracle Corporation.
local area network (LAN). which allows the separating of a computer
operating system from the underlying hardware Jsp — programming language — Java Server
erp — enterprise application — Enterprise resources. Pages. A Java technology developers use to
Resource Planning. A system that integrates all dynamically integrate HTML, XML and other
the data and processes of an organization into a —i— types of code to make the software more
single unified system. functional.
iis — application server — Internet
esX — other skill — An enterprise-class Information Server. A set of Internet-based Juniper — networking Technology — A
server virtualization platform offered by services for servers using Microsoft Windows. leading manufacturer of products for networking
VMware, Inc. including bridges, routers and switches.
illustrator — graphics & Multimedia — A
eTl — database — Extract Transform and drawing and illustration software program —l—
Load. A process that combines three database developed by Adobe Systems.
functions into one tool to pull data from one lan — network — Local Area Network. A
database and load it on to another. informatica — database — A leading provider computer network that covers a small area like
of data integration software. a home, office or close group of buildings.
—F—
iscsi — storage — Internet SCSI. A protocol linux — operating system — A UNIX-like
Fibre channel — storage — A network allowing organizations to link storage devices operating system that is free and can be run on
technology used for storage networking over a network and transfer data via IP many platforms, including PCs and Macs.
especially for mass storage that requires very networks.
high bandwidth. lotus notes — database — A sophisticated
iseries — iBM skill — A midrange server for email and database application that allows
Firewall — networking Technology — A small companies and departmental use in large users to develop and share communications as
system that prevents unauthorized users from firms. Previously known as “AS/400.” well as database-oriented programs.
accessing a network. Communications entering
or exiting the network pass through the firewall, iTil — process Management — Information —M—
which checks each communication and stops Technology Infrastructure Library. A widely
those that do not meet the security criteria. accepted set of best practices for IT service Mac os — operating system — The official
management. name of the operating system for a Mac
Flash — graphics & Multimedia — A software computer.
program from Adobe used to develop animation —J—
on the web. Mainframe — iBM skill — A large computer
Java/J2ee — programming language — An system that stores bulk data capable of
Frame relay — networking Technology object-oriented language often used for creating supporting a great number of users
— A packet-switching protocol that makes small applications, called Java applets, which simultaneously.
transmission of digital information more enhance the functionality of a web page. Similar
efficient. to C++ but simpler. Microsoft office — graphics & Multimedia
— MS Office. A suite of general business
software programs including Word, Excel and
PowerPoint.
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3. Tech Skills Glossary
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Microsoft project — special skill — A —p— ruby/ruby on rails — programming language
program designed to assist project managers in — An open source web application framework
developing plans, assigning tasks, tracking progress peoplesoft — enterprise application — A for Ruby, an object-oriented programming
and managing budgets. leading provider of human resource, customer language. ROR is used to develop database-
relationship and performance management backed web applications.
Mpls — networking Technology — Multi software.
Protocol Label Switching. A mechanism for —s—
using a shared IP network to securely carry perl — programming language — A language
traffic from many, possibly unrelated systems designed for processing text. Similar to C and saas — other skill — Software as a Service.
while allowing for differentiated handling to C++ but easier to learn and faster to code. A delivery method where software is treated as
ensure quality of service to critical or time- a service accessed from an Internet host. The
sensitive applications. php — programming language — An open- process saves companies money and reduces
source, embedded scripting language used to maintenance and support problems.
MysQl — database — A free relational create dynamic web pages.
database management system that depends on san — storage — Storage Area Network. A
SQL to process data in a database. See SQL and pl/sQl — programming language — Oracle network of shared storage devices that can be
RDBMS entries. Corporation’s proprietary server-based version accessed by multiple computers.
of the SQL language.
—n— sap — enterprise application — A leading
powerBuilder — programming language provider of comprehensive integrated business
nas — storage — Network-Attached Storage. — A computer application development applications.
A storage server dedicated to sharing on a system featuring an integrated development
network. environment that speeds the creation and sas — enterprise application — A software
deployment of applications. system for statistical analysis, reporting and
.neT — programming language — An umbrella data mining produced by SAS Institute.
term for a collection of Microsoft products that python — programming language — A general
depend on the .NET framework, such as C# or programming language that is open source and script — Technical Term — A small, simple
Visual Basic.NET. very portable. program or bit of programming code typically
used for repeated actions.
netapp — storage — Network Appliance, Inc. —Q—
A data management and computer storage security clearance — special skill — A status
company that fostered the widespread use of Qa — process Management — Quality granted by the U.S. government to individuals
network-attached storage. Assurance. A systematic development process allowing them access to classified information.
that ensures a project, product or service meets
network security — other skill — Policies certain standards, avoids defects and satisfies sharepoint — other skill — An integrated
and processes for monitoring a network and customer requirements. suite of Microsoft technologies used for
protecting it from unauthorized access. content sharing, collaboration and document
Qos — networking Technology — Quality of management.
nic — networking Technology — Network Service. The ability for a network to control
Interface Card. A card that allows a computer to different applications, data flow or users in shell — programming language — The
connect to a local area network (LAN). order to guarantee a specific performance level. processor that accepts and executes the
commands a user enters in a UNIX operating
—o— —r— system. Other versions include: C-shell (csh),
Tab C-shell (tcsh), Bourne shell (bash), Korn
object oriented — programming paradigm rdBMs — database — Relational Database shell (ksh).
— The idea that a computer program should Management System. Stores data in a series of
be made up of a group of objects that act on tables. siebel — enterprise application — A leading
each other, rather than a set of functions or provider of customer relationship management
instructions. red hat — other skill — A leading company software systems.
that sells and supports its own Linux distribution
open source — other skill — A program with and other open source technologies. sip — other skill — Session Initiation
source code that the general public can access Protocol. A signaling protocol that can be used
and modify for free. router — networking Technology — A to integrate Internet Telephony services with
hardware device that acts as a junction for email, Internet and chat.
oracle application server — application forwarding data between two or more networks.
server — A suite of Oracle products used to sMTp — networking Technology — Simple
develop, deploy and integrate applications. rpg — programming language — Report Mail Transfer Protocol. An Internet standard
Program Generator. An IBM programming for sending email messages between Internet
oracle dB — database — Oracle Corporation language used to develop business applications. servers.
is a major software company that is best known Widely used on AS/400 / iSeries systems.
for developing database products. soa — other skill — Service Oriented
Architecture. An application architecture that
integrates functions to perform various business
processes.
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4. Tech Skills Glossary
Page 4
soap — programming language — Simple Tso/ispF — other skill — Time Sharing Option —W—
Object Access Protocol. A protocol for and Interactive System Productivity Facility.
exchanging XML-based messages over a Two software environments that allow system Wan — network — Wide Area Network. A
computer network. functionality from creating and managing data geographically dispersed network.
sets to submitting jobs.
solaris — operating system — A UNIX- Weblogic — application server — A suite of
like operating system produced by Sun —U— application server products offered by Oracle
Microsystems. Corporation.
Ubuntu — operating system — A free operating
soX compliance — process Management — system derived from Debian Linux. Websphere — platform — Brand of IBM
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act mandates specific products that can process a high volume of
processes to improve the accuracy of financial UMl — programming language — Unified e-business transactions over the web.
reporting by public companies. SOX compliance Modeling Language. A standardized software
has IT implications including the rule that all engineering language used to specify and Wi-Fi — networking Technology — A common
electronic messages and resources are saved visualize software programs. technology that uses radio signals for wireless
for at least five years. networking. Wi-Fi is used in home networks,
Unified communications — other skill — A some mobile phones and other devices that
sQl — programming language — Structured movement to simplify business communications need wireless networking.
Query Language. SQL is used to retrieve data by integrating a range of technologies and
from a database. applications into one platform. WiMaX — networking Technology —
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave
sQl server — database — A database that can UniX — operating system — Developed by Access. A telecommunications technology, that
respond to queries from applications on PCs or Bell Labs in the 1970s, UNIX is a small, flexible uses a range of transmission modes to send
workstations using the SQL language. operating system that has many variations. data wirelessly. Also called IEEE 802.16.
sun Microsystems — enterprise service —V— Windows os — operating system — The
provider — A multinational company that sells collection of operating systems by Microsoft for
computers, software, IT systems and services, Virtualization — other skill — A technique to use on personal computers.
including the Solaris operating system. implement a complete simulation of a device
— an operating system, server or network — Wireless — network — A network where no
sUse — operating system — A commercial dividing the resource into multiple execution physical wired connection is required. A user
version of Linux sold by Novell, Inc. environments. may connect to the network via low-powered
radio waves.
sybase — database — Sybase generally refers Visual Basic — programming language — A
to database management systems developed by widely used programming language, Visual —X—
the Sybase Corporation. Basic was one of the first to provide graphical
programming, rather than using functions or Xen — other skill — An open source
—T— instructions. A Microsoft product. virtual machine hypervisor, which allows the
separating of a computer operating system from
Tcp/ip — networking Technology — Visual Basic.neT — programming language — the underlying hardware resources.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The next generation of Visual Basic that makes
A suite of communication protocols used to web applications easier to develop. XMl — programming language — eXtensible
exchange data over the Internet between two Markup Language. A language that facilitates
computer systems. Visual c++ — programming language — the sharing of data across different systems,
An object-oriented language developed by particularly systems connected via networked
Telephony — networking Technology — Sound Microsoft for C++ programmers. systems.
translated into electrical signals, which are
transmitted, and then converted back into VMware — other skill — A leading provider of Xsl — programming language — eXtensible
sound. Often refers to computer hardware and virtualization software and services. Style Language. A group of transforming
software that function similar to telephone languages used to describe how content and
equipment. Voip — networking Technology — A style should be separated when creating HTML
technology that delivers voice communications or XML web pages.
Toad — database — Tools for Oracle over IP-based data networks rather than
Application Development. A set of tools that traditional circuit transmissions.
streamlines development and administration
of applications, databases and business Vpn — network — Virtual Private Network.
intelligence. A private network that uses a public network
(usually the Internet) to connect remote sites or
Tomcat — application server — An open users together.
source, Java-based application server that runs
on multiple platforms.
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