A smart home scene is a saved set of target states for several devices, such as lights, blinds and heating, that is…
A smart lock is an electronically controlled door lock that can be opened by phone, code, key card or automation and records…
A smart meter is a utility meter that records energy use in short intervals and sends the readings to the supplier, enabling…
A smart plug is an adapter between an outlet and a device that switches power on or off remotely, making ordinary lamps…
A smart refrigerator is a connected fridge that reports temperatures, sends door and fault alerts and can be monitored and adjusted from…
A smart switch is a connected wall switch that replaces a standard light switch and lets wired lights be controlled by app,…
A smart thermostat is a connected heating and cooling controller that learns schedules, senses occupancy and can be adjusted remotely to save…
A smart TV is a television with a built-in operating system and network connection that runs streaming apps and can act as…
A smartphone is a handheld mobile computer that combines cellular voice and data, a touchscreen, sensors and an app platform in one…
SMTP is the Internet standard protocol that email servers and clients use to submit, relay and deliver messages between mail systems across…
A Snap is a self-contained Linux software package that bundles an application with its dependencies and installs, updates and confines it through…
A snapshot in server backup and recovery is a point-in-time image of a volume or file system that allows fast rollback but…
SNMP is the standard protocol for polling and receiving status data from network devices, used in network monitoring to track interfaces, load…
SOA is the Start of Authority DNS record that opens every zone and holds its primary server, admin contact, serial number and…
An SoC, or system on a chip, integrates CPU, GPU, memory controllers, I/O and accelerators on one semiconductor die or package to…
SOC 2 is an AICPA attestation framework in which an independent auditor reports on a service organization's controls for security and related…
Social listening in social media marketing is the analysis of public online conversations about a brand, market or topic to guide strategy…
Social media marketing (SMM) is the use of social platforms to build audiences, engage customers and drive business results through organic and…
A social media strategy is a documented plan that links an organization's goals to chosen platforms, audiences, content, budget and success metrics.
A socket is the operating system endpoint that binds an application to a transport protocol, an IP address and a port number…
Soft light is illumination from a source that is large relative to the subject, producing gradual shadow edges, gentle contrast and smooth…
Soft proofing is the on-screen simulation of how a photograph will look when printed on a specific paper, printer and ink combination…
Software is the set of programs, data and instructions that tell computer hardware what to do, from operating systems to everyday applications.
A software license is the legal permission that defines how a program may be used, copied, modified and redistributed, and under which…
A software package is an archive of program files plus metadata on version, dependencies and install steps that a package manager uses…
A software repository is a managed storage location from which package managers download signed, versioned software packages and their metadata.
A software update is a newer release of installed software, delivered to fix bugs, close security holes or add features without a…
The SOLID principles are five object-oriented design guidelines that keep classes focused, extensible and loosely coupled in software architecture.
Solidity is the statically typed, contract-oriented programming language most widely used to write smart contracts for the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
A sorting algorithm arranges the elements of a collection into a defined order, trading off speed, memory use and stability in different…
Sound pressure level in acoustics expresses the effective pressure of a sound in decibels relative to 20 micropascals, the threshold of hearing.
Source code is the human-readable text of a program, written in a programming language and turned into runnable software by a compiler…
An SPA (single-page application) is a web application that loads one HTML document and updates its views with JavaScript instead of full…
Spanning Tree Protocol is a Layer 2 switching protocol that blocks redundant Ethernet links to prevent loops while keeping backup paths ready…
Specificity in CSS is the weight a browser computes for each selector to decide which conflicting declaration applies to an element.
A spectrum auction is a competitive bidding process in which a regulator assigns licenses to use radio frequencies, typically to mobile network…
A spectrum license is a government authorization that grants an operator the right to transmit on defined radio frequencies in a defined…
Speech intelligibility is the degree to which listeners correctly understand spoken words in a recording or room, shaped by noise, reverberation and…
Speech-to-text is the AI task of converting spoken audio into written text, using acoustic and language modeling to produce timed transcripts.
Speed Index is a lab metric in web performance that measures how quickly the visible content of a page is painted during…
A speed test measures the download speed, upload speed and latency of a mobile or fixed internet connection by exchanging data with…
A speedlight is a compact, battery-powered flash unit for photography that mounts on the camera hot shoe or works off camera as…
SPF is an email authentication method in which a domain publishes in DNS which servers may send its mail, letting receivers detect…
A sponsored link is a link placed in exchange for payment or other value, which SEO rules require to be marked with…
Sponsorship is a paid arrangement in which a brand funds a creator's content or channel in exchange for disclosed promotion to the…
A spot instance is spare cloud compute capacity sold at a deep discount that the provider can reclaim at short notice when…
Spot metering measures light from a small area of the frame, usually a few percent, so the photographer sets exposure for one…
Spotlight is the system-wide search service of macOS that indexes files, apps and metadata so they can be found and opened from…
SQL injection is a vulnerability in which untrusted input changes the structure of a database query, letting attackers read or modify data.
SQLite is an embedded, serverless relational database engine that stores a complete SQL database in a single file inside the application.