A reference from Weave

Engineering & AI glossary

Understand the metrics, models, and methods behind modern engineering. Clear definitions, practical examples, and a closer look at what the numbers actually mean.

All terms

2,008 terms

  • Absolute positional embedding

    Absolute positional embedding is a language-model concept about training behavior and measurement. It names a mechanism, representation, training practice, or operational behavior that can change how an AI system processes input and produces output.

    LLM fundamentals

  • Absolute risk reduction

    Absolute risk reduction is a statistical or measurement concept used to describe, compare, or interpret engineering data. Its meaning depends on the unit of analysis, data-generating process, and question being asked.

    Measurement and experimentation

  • Abstract interpretation

    A static-analysis method that approximates program behavior with a simpler mathematical model.

    Code quality and technical debt

  • Abstract syntax tree

    A structural representation of source code that records its syntax as connected nodes.

    Code quality and technical debt

  • Abstraction branching

    Abstraction branching is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.

    DORA and DevOps

  • Abstractness metric

    A measure of how many types in a component are abstract rather than concrete.

    Code quality and technical debt

  • Accelerator utilization

    Accelerator utilization is the serving concept concerned with accelerator utilization during AI inference.

    Inference performance

  • Acceptance criteria

    Acceptance criteria is a way to organize, support, or evaluate software work so that teams can make useful progress with less avoidable friction. It is most valuable when connected to a concrete outcome and the local conditions of the team using it.

    Developer productivity

  • Acceptance test-driven development

    Acceptance test-driven development is a software testing or test-design practice used to gather evidence about a defined risk, behavior, boundary, or operating condition. It makes the question under test explicit, identifies the inputs and observations that matter, and gives a team a repeatable basis for deciding whether the result is acceptable.

    Code quality and technical debt

  • Acceptance testing

    Acceptance testing is a software testing or test-design practice used to gather evidence about a defined risk, behavior, boundary, or operating condition. It makes the question under test explicit, identifies the inputs and observations that matter, and gives a team a repeatable basis for deciding whether the result is acceptable.

    Code quality and technical debt

  • Accessibility debt

    Accessibility debt is a software maintenance concern describing a condition that can make future changes, verification, operation, or ownership harder. Its practical importance depends on supported behavior, rate of change, and the consequences of delay.

    Code quality and technical debt

  • Accessibility testing

    Accessibility testing is a software testing or test-design practice used to gather evidence about a defined risk, behavior, boundary, or operating condition. It makes the question under test explicit, identifies the inputs and observations that matter, and gives a team a repeatable basis for deciding whether the result is acceptable.

    Code quality and technical debt

  • Accuracy

    Accuracy is a defined lens for examining AI system behavior with a stated task, evidence, and interpretation rule.

    Evaluations and benchmarks

  • Actionable metric

    Actionable metric can trigger a specific decision by a clear owner.

    Engineering analytics

  • Activation

    Activation is a language-model concept about training behavior and measurement. It names a mechanism, representation, training practice, or operational behavior that can change how an AI system processes input and produces output.

    LLM fundamentals

  • Activation patching

    Activation patching is a language-model concept about serving behavior and operational tradeoffs. It names a mechanism, representation, training practice, or operational behavior that can change how an AI system processes input and produces output.

    LLM fundamentals

  • Activation quantization

    Activation quantization is the serving concept concerned with activation quantization during AI inference.

    Inference performance

  • Active work time

    Active work time is a developer productivity concept that helps teams understand active work time in the context of software delivery.

    Developer productivity

  • Active-active routing

    Active-active routing is a model-routing or gateway concept used to manage traffic selection for AI requests. It describes a distinct decision, control, interface, or observation point between an application and one or more model providers.

    Model routing and gateways

  • Active-passive routing

    Active-passive routing is a model-routing or gateway concept used to manage traffic selection for AI requests. It describes a distinct decision, control, interface, or observation point between an application and one or more model providers.

    Model routing and gateways

  • Activity measure

    Activity measure is a developer productivity concept that helps teams understand activity measure in the context of software delivery.

    Developer productivity

  • Adaptive batching

    Adaptive batching is the serving concept concerned with adaptive batching during AI inference.

    Inference performance

  • Admission control

    Admission control is a reliability concept used to describe a specific condition, control, or decision in the operation of software services.

    Reliability and observability

  • Adversarial set

    Adversarial set is a defined lens for examining AI system behavior with a stated task, evidence, and interpretation rule.

    Evaluations and benchmarks

  • Afferent coupling

    The number of incoming dependencies from other components into a component.

    Code quality and technical debt

  • Aftercare monitoring

    Aftercare monitoring is a release engineering and DevOps concept for controlling how software changes are prepared, introduced, or understood.

    DORA and DevOps

  • Agent Action Approval

    Agent Action Approval is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Action Space

    Agent Action Space is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Audit Log

    Agent Audit Log is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Authorization

    Agent Authorization is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Budget

    Agent Budget is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Build Repair

    Agent Build Repair is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Change Control

    Agent Change Control is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Checkpoint

    Agent Checkpoint is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Code Execution Risk

    Agent Code Execution Risk is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Code Search

    Agent Code Search is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Command Allowlist

    Agent Command Allowlist is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Concurrency

    Agent Concurrency is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Context Compaction

    Agent Context Compaction is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Context Management

    Agent Context Management is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Context Poisoning

    Agent Context Poisoning is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Controller

    Agent Controller is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Coordination

    Agent Coordination is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Cost

    Agent Cost is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Critic

    Agent Critic is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Data Exfiltration

    Agent Data Exfiltration is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Data Redaction

    Agent Data Redaction is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Data Retention

    Agent Data Retention is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Delegation

    Agent Delegation is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents

  • Agent Dependency Upgrade

    Agent Dependency Upgrade is a software-engineering concept describing how an AI coding system, its tools, or human collaborators handle a defined task.

    AI coding and agents