WebDev Bites: Glossary

keywords and terms

Generated with ChatGPT 4o with some edits in several passes

Table 1. - Static Site Glossary

Term Description
Asset Optimization Techniques such as bundling, minification, and compression applied to assets (CSS, JavaScript, images) to reduce load times.
Build Process Automated sequence of tasks (e.g., compilation, bundling, optimization) that prepares source files for deployment.
CDN Content Delivery Network; distributed servers that deliver static assets to users from a location geographically closer to them.
CSS Cascading Style Sheets; stylesheet language used to describe the presentation of HTML documents.
Deployment Process of publishing static files to a web server or hosting platform so they can be accessed by users.
DOM Document Object Model; programming interface representing the page structure as a tree of objects for script manipulation.
HTML HyperText Markup Language; standard markup language for defining the structure of web content.
HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol; application protocol used for transmitting static files (HTML, CSS, JS) over the web.
JavaScript Client-side scripting language used to create interactive behavior on otherwise static pages.
Minification Removal of unnecessary characters (whitespace, comments) from code to reduce file size without changing functionality.
Responsive Design Approach to ensure web pages render well on a variety of devices and screen sizes using fluid layouts and media queries.
SEO Search Engine Optimization; practices to improve the visibility of static pages in search engine results.
Sitemap XML or HTML file listing all pages of a site to help users and search engines navigate and index content.
Static Site Generator Tool that generates a full static HTML website from templates and content sources (e.g., Markdown).
Version Control System (e.g., Git) for tracking changes to source files and coordinating collaboration on static assets.
W3C Web Components Set of W3C standards (Custom Elements, Shadow DOM, HTML Templates, ES Modules) for creating encapsulated, reusable UI components in web pages.
Web Accessibility Practices (ARIA roles, semantic markup) ensuring static content is usable by people with disabilities.

Table 2. - W3C Web Components

Term Description
Custom Elements API for defining and using new HTML tags, extending standard elements with custom behavior.
Declarative Shadow DOM Syntax (<template shadowroot="open">…</template>) allowing Shadow DOM trees to be defined directly in HTML.
ES Modules JavaScript module system using import and export to encapsulate and share code between files.
External Dependencies References to external resources (such as CSS styles, custom properties, or light-DOM values) that a component’s Shadow DOM consumes or inherits from the host document.
HTML Imports Legacy mechanism for including HTML documents in other documents via <link rel="import"> (now deprecated).
HTML Templates <template> element that holds inert DOM fragments which can be cloned and stamped into the document at runtime.
Shadow DOM Encapsulation mechanism that isolates an element’s internal DOM and styles from the main document DOM.
Slots Placeholders in Shadow DOM (<slot>) where light-DOM children are projected into a component’s shadow tree.

Table 3. - HTML Structure and Models

Term Description
Border Box box-sizing: border-box mode where width and height include content, padding, and border.
Box Model CSS model defining block element structure as nested layers: content → padding → border → margin (outermost).
Flow Model Default CSS layout rule: block elements stack vertically; inline elements flow horizontally.
Margin Collapse CSS behavior where adjacent block element margins combine into the larger margin rather than summing.
Page Model HTML document structure: <!DOCTYPE><html><head> and <body>.
Positioned Element Element removed from normal flow using position: absolute, fixed, sticky, or float.
Semantic Elements HTML elements such as <article>, <nav>, <section> that convey meaning about their content.

Table 4. - CSS

Term Description
Cascade CSS rule resolution order: importance → origin → specificity → source order.
CSS Reset Stylesheet that removes or normalizes browser default styles for consistent cross-browser rendering.
Custom Properties CSS variables defined with --name: value and referenced with var(--name).
Flexbox CSS layout module using display: flex for one-dimensional flexible alignment and distribution of items.
Grid Layout CSS layout module using display: grid for two-dimensional layouts with named rows, columns, and template areas.
Inheritance CSS mechanism where properties such as font-size and color propagate from parent to child elements unless overridden.
@keyframes CSS at-rule defining animation frames using percentage steps or from/to keywords.
Media Query CSS conditional rule applying styles based on viewport or device characteristics such as width, orientation, or color scheme.
Pseudo-class CSS selector keyword such as :hover, :focus, :nth-child() targeting an element in a specific state.
Pseudo-element CSS selector keyword such as ::before, ::after styling a part of an element or inserting generated content.
Specificity CSS weight system determining which rule wins when multiple selectors target the same element; IDs outrank classes, classes outrank elements.
Transition CSS mechanism that smoothly animates a property change over a specified duration using transition-property and transition-duration.

Table 5. - JavaScript

Term Description
Event Bubbling Propagation phase where a fired event rises from the target element up through ancestor elements to the document root.
Event Capturing Propagation phase where an event descends from the document root down to the target element before bubbling begins.
Event Delegation Pattern attaching a single listener to a parent element to handle events from many child elements via bubbling.
Event Loop JavaScript runtime mechanism managing the call stack, event queue, and microtask queue to process asynchronous callbacks.
Getter / Setter Property accessors in JavaScript classes that intercept reads (get) and writes (set) to a named property.
Prototype Model JavaScript inheritance mechanism where objects delegate property lookup to a linked prototype chain.

Table 6. - DOM API

Term Description
Computed Style Final CSS property values applied to an element after cascade resolution, retrieved via window.getComputedStyle().
Document Fragment Lightweight DOM container used to batch DOM insertions without triggering repeated renders.
MutationObserver DOM API that watches for changes to the DOM tree (child additions, attribute mutations, subtree changes) and runs callbacks.
Node Traversal Navigation through the DOM tree using properties such as parentNode, childNodes, nextSibling.

Table 7. - Web Components Lifecycle

Term Description
:host CSS pseudo-class for styling the custom element host from within its own shadow DOM.
::slotted() CSS pseudo-element for styling light DOM content that has been projected into a shadow DOM slot.
attributeChangedCallback Custom element lifecycle hook invoked when a watched attribute is added, removed, or changed.
connectedCallback Custom element lifecycle hook invoked each time the element is inserted into the DOM.
disconnectedCallback Custom element lifecycle hook invoked when the element is removed from the DOM.
Form-associated Custom Element Custom element that participates in form submission and validation by calling attachInternals().
Light DOM User-authored content placed inside a custom element's tags, projected into the shadow tree via <slot>.
observedAttributes Static getter on a custom element class listing which attributes should trigger attributeChangedCallback.