Glossary
Use the chapter references to return to the worked example. Definitions describe the course's usage rather than every meaning a term can have.
| Term | Practical meaning |
|---|---|
| Acceptance criterion | An observable condition used to judge whether a requested artifact or behavior is complete. CH03. |
| Acquisition | Obtaining a sample from an input source. The required project uses synthetic acquisition; a physical adapter is separate. CH13. |
| Agent | A workflow in which model output can lead to permitted tool actions such as reading, executing, or editing. CH01. |
| AGENTS.md | Project guidance recognized according to a host's discovery and scope rules; not access control or a subagent definition. CH10. |
| API | An interface through which software calls another component or service. The selected course sign-in path does not require a separately billed API client. CH04. |
| Application | The interface and surrounding features through which a model is used. CH01. |
| Artifact | A concrete output such as source, a brief, a test record, or a diagram. |
| Assertion | A check comparing actual program behavior with a required condition; failure produces test evidence. CH15. |
| Baseline | A named, understood starting state used for comparison and recovery. |
| Bench evidence | An observation from a real physical setup using a stated method. It is distinct from simulation. |
| Boundary case | An input at or around a condition where behavior changes, such as exact threshold equality. CH15. |
| Branch | A named line of Git history whose reference advances as commits are made. CH07. |
| Build | The process that produces executable artifacts from source and dependencies using a selected configuration. |
| Caller | Code that invokes a function and supplies its inputs. CH01. |
| Caption | Synchronized text for audio in video, or a figure's descriptive text depending on context. |
| Checkpoint | A supplied project stage with a defined starting state and applicable exercises. |
| Clone | A new local repository obtained from another repository or bundle. CH06. |
| Code-supported | A claim directly supported by the supplied source within its stated assumptions. CH01. |
| Commit | A recorded selected snapshot with metadata and relationships to earlier Git history. CH05. |
| Compiler | A tool that translates and checks source under language and target rules; it does not measure hardware. |
| Constraint | A condition a valid solution must preserve, such as a unit, interface, or excluded change. CH03. |
| Context | Information available to a model for an interaction, including selected instructions, references, and tool results. CH02. |
| Context window | A bounded capacity for material available in a model interaction. CH02. |
| Cross-compilation | Building code for a target different from the host executing the compiler. CH04/13. |
| Decision record | A short explanation of a choice, its context, tradeoffs, consequences, and revisit condition. CH09. |
| Dependency | An external tool, library, or component required for an operation. |
| Diff | A comparison identifying content changes between selected versions or Git states. CH05. |
| Documented | Supported by an applicable identified reference; not necessarily physically observed. |
| Embedding | A numerical representation used to work with relationships among inputs. CH02. |
| Evidence | Material that supports a bounded claim: source, document, executed result, or physical observation. |
| Exit status | A program's completion code, interpreted according to that program's contract. |
| FAULT | A project state indicating unavailable, invalid, stale, or recovering input according to its requirements. |
| Fetch | Retrieve remote objects and update local remote-reference knowledge without integrating into the current branch. CH06. |
| Firmware | Software intended to run on an embedded target. |
| Fixture | Controlled input used to exercise a program. Supplied course fixtures are synthetic. |
| FQBN | Arduino's fully qualified board name/configuration identifier used to select a build target and options. |
| Frontmatter | A delimited metadata block at the beginning of a file, such as skill YAML. CH11. |
| Grounded claim | A claim traceable to relevant supplied or retrieved evidence. CH02. |
| Hallucination | Here, a generated factual claim that is unsupported or false, such as an invented API or source section. CH02. |
| Handoff | A concise current-state record with evidence, open questions, and next action. CH16. |
| Host | The computer running development tools or a native test program. |
| Hunk | A grouped section of a diff with surrounding context. CH07. |
| Hysteresis | Different transition boundaries depending on current state, used here to retain state inside a temperature band. CH17. |
| Illustrative | Constructed to explain an idea; not presented as an observed execution result. |
| Index | Git's staging area: selected content for the next commit. CH05. |
| Inference | Using a trained model to process new input and produce output. CH02. |
| JSON Lines | A text format with one JSON object per line, used for project output. CH13. |
| Markdown | Plain text with conventions for headings, links, code, and other rendered structure. CH08. |
| Merge conflict | Overlapping contributions requiring a deliberate content resolution. CH07. |
| Model | The learned system that processes input and generates output. CH01. |
| Mutation/seeded fault | A deliberate defect used to show whether a check detects meaningful wrong behavior. CH15. |
| Native executable | A program built to run on the current host environment. |
| Nonfinite | A floating-point value such as NaN or infinity, rejected as a valid reading by the final policy. |
| Permission | A runtime or operating-system rule governing what actions are allowed. Guidance alone is different. |
| Policy | Logic translating inputs and state into defined behavior, separated here from acquisition. |
| Post-training | Further model training intended to shape behavior after an initial training stage. CH02. |
| Primary source | The originating specification, official documentation, research paper, or direct observation supporting a claim. |
| Pull | Fetch followed by integration according to options and configuration. CH06. |
| Pull request | A collaboration surface proposing integration between branches, including a diff and review discussion. CH06/07. |
| Push | Transfer local commits and request a remote reference update. CH06. |
| Regression check | A check that required behavior remains correct after a change. |
| Remote | A named Git repository location stored in local configuration. CH06. |
| Replay | Executing software with a controlled sequence of supplied events and injected time. CH13. |
| Reproducer | The smallest useful input and sequence that demonstrates a reported behavior. CH14. |
| Restore | A Git operation changing selected working or staged content from another state, according to its options. CH07. |
| Retrieval | Bringing additional material into context for a task; interpretation still needs review. CH02. |
| Revert | A new Git commit reversing a selected earlier change. CH07. |
| Rollover | A finite-width counter wrapping from its largest value to zero; timing arithmetic must state its assumptions. CH15. |
| Sandbox | A runtime boundary restricting actions or access; exact behavior depends on the host configuration. |
| SCORM | A course packaging/tracking standard used for the companion LMS export. It does not certify engineering competence. |
| Skill | A focused reusable procedure with a trigger, inputs, instructions, and optionally references/helpers. CH11. |
| Source of truth | The designated applicable record governing a particular fact or requirement. CH09. |
| Staging | Selecting current content for the next Git commit. CH05. |
| Stale | Too old to be treated as current under a stated freshness requirement. |
| Synthetic | Deliberately generated input used for software exercises, not a physical measurement. |
| Target | The embedded platform selected for firmware compilation and optional deployment. |
| Task brief | A bounded request naming goal, context, constraints, output, and acceptance criteria. CH03. |
| Terminal | A text interface displaying shell commands and program output. CH04. |
| Token | A unit used to represent model input/output, not reliably one word. CH02. |
| Training | Adjusting model parameters through data and an optimization process. CH02. |
| Transcript | Text matching the final spoken narration; an earlier script is not automatically the transcript. |
| Unresolved | Not established by the current evidence; should have a concrete next question or check. |
| Upstream | The tracked branch relationship used for synchronization/status context in Git. CH06. |
| Working directory | The folder from which a command resolves relative paths. CH04. |
| Working tree | The project files being edited in a Git checkout. CH05. |
| YAML | A data-serialization format used for the small skill metadata block. CH11. |