Glossary

You will find a myriad of jargon, acronyms and product or tool names used both in technical documentation and social media discussion of the Boost C++Libraries and C++ development in general. This section contains descriptions of the most common.

You will find well known acronyms such as DLL, URL and UUID in this list, because they also refer to Boost libraries of the same name.

A

ABI : Application Binary Interface

ADL : Argument-Dependent Lookup

AFAICT : As Far As I Can Tell

AFAIK : As Far As I Know

ASIO : Asynchronous Input/Output - refer to Boost.Asio

B

BBK : Badly Broken Keyboard - describing terrible code or debugging issues

BFS : Breadth-First Search

Bikeshedding or BS : Focusing on trivial issues

BOFH : B’d Operator From Hell - referring to a grumpy system admin

BOGOSITY : A measure of how bogus something is - typically bogus code or bogus logic

BTW : By The Way

C

CICD (CI/CD) : Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (or Delivery). CI refers to the practice of automatically integrating code changes into a shared repository, where each change is verified by automated builds and tests. CD extends this process to automatically deploy or deliver new code to production environments. Refer to Contributor Guide: Continuous Integration.

CML : Can mean CMake Language, Conversion Markup Language, Configuration Menu Language, Concurrent ML (a high-level language for concurrent programming) - depending on context.

CRC : Cyclic Redundancy Code - refer to Boost.Crc

CRTP : Curiously Recurring Template Pattern

CSS : Cascading Style Sheet - defines the styles used in HTML web pages.

CUDA : CUDA originally stood for Compute Unified Device Architecture though is now generally used as a name for a parallel computing platform, language and API. For more information, refer to CUDA Toolkit.

D

DDS : Data Distribution Service

DFL : Do not Fix Later - used sarcastically pointing out procrastination on fixing bugs

DFS : Depth-First Search

DLL : Dynamic Link Library - also refer to Boost.Dll

DOCCA : A set of XSLT transformations that convert Doxygen XML extracted from Javadoc comments in C++ source code, into Boost.Quickbook output.

Drone : A continuous integration (CI) and delivery platform that automates the build, test, and deploy stages of a software pipeline. It is container-based and integrates with various version control systems, supporting multiple languages and environments - refer to Contributor Guide: Continuous Integration.

DRY : Don’t Repeat Yourself

E

EVP :

Used in cryptography, particularly in OpenSSL, where EVP stands for Envelope. It is used to refer to high-level cryptographic functions in the OpenSSL library, such as encryption, hashing, and signing. C++ programs using OpenSSL for cryptographic operations might use the EVP APIs.
Enhanced Vector Processing : in high-performance computing contexts, EVP might refer to techniques that leverage vectorization or SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) for improving computational performance. It relates to libraries or frameworks that optimize algorithms using vectorized processing.

F

FIFO : First In, First Out

FOMO : Fear Of Missing Out

FOOBAR or FUBAR : Fed Up Beyond All Recognition

FPU : Floating Point Unit

FSM : Finite State Machine

FUD : Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

FWIW : For What It’s Worth

G

GCC : GNU Compiler Collection - a popular open-source compiler that supports C++, and it is frequently mentioned in discussions about toolchains, performance optimizations, and cross-platform development.

GDB : Often used as short for GNU Debugger, though can mean Graph Database.

GIL : Generic Image Library - Boost.Gil is a library designed for image processing, offering a flexible way to manipulate and process images.

H

HCF : Halt and Catch Fire - a bug that crashes everything, usually exaggerated

HOF : High-Order Functions - refer to Boost.Hof

HRT : High-Resolution Timer - a high-resolution timing mechanisms used in C++ for precise measurements of time, especially in performance profiling and real-time systems.

HSM : Hierarchical State Machine - used in designing state machines in software development, often in real-time systems or simulations.

I

ICL : Interval Container Library - refer to Boost.Icl

ID10T : Idiot - pronounced "ID-ten-T" (user errors)

IDEs : Integrated Development Environments

IIUC : If I understand correctly

IIRC : If I remember correctly

IMO or IMHO : In My (Honest or Humble) Opinion

IO : Input/Output - refer to Boost.Io

IOW : In Other Words

IR : Intermediate Representation - an internal representation of code or data.

IWBNI : It Would Be Nice If - a feature request is a dream

J

Jinja or Jinga2 : Jinga is a popular Python text template engine. Jinga2C++ is a modern C++ implementation of Jinga.

JNI : Java Native Interface - a framework that allows C++ code to interact with Java code. JNI is relevant when integrating C++ components into Java applications, especially in cross-language development.

JIT : Just-In-Time (Compilation) - while JIT compilation is more commonly associated with languages like JavaScript or Java, it is occasionally discussed in the context of C++ when talking about optimization techniques, runtime compilation, or performance-critical applications. Some C++ libraries (e.g., LLVM) support JIT compilation features.

K

K8s : The Kubernetes container orchestration system

KDE : The K Desktop Environment (a Linux graphical environment)

KISS : Keep It Simple, Stupid

KPI : Key Performance Indicator

KVM : Kernel-based Virtual Machine

L

LEAF : Lightweight Error Augmentation Framework - refer to Boost.Leaf

LGTM : Looks Good To Me - often used in code reviews to signal approval

LIFO : Last In, First Out

LLVM : Initially this stood for Low Level Virtual Machine but is now no longer considered an acronym. LLVM is now the name for a set of compiler and toolchain technologies that support the development of a frontend for any programming language and a backend for any processor architecture. It is written in C++.

LOL : Laughing Out Loud

LOPS Lack Of Programmer Skill - used humorously when a problem is tricky to debug

LSP : Liskov Substitution Principle - states that objects of a derived class should be able to replace objects of the base class without affecting the correctness of the program, ensuring that a subclass can stand in for its superclass without altering expected behavior.

M

MDS :

Meltdown Data Sampling : in the context of system security and CPU vulnerabilities, MDS refers to a family of side-channel attacks that target weaknesses in modern CPU architectures. These attacks can potentially leak sensitive data through speculative execution flaws, similar to vulnerabilities like Meltdown and Spectre.
Modular Design Structure : sometimes used to describe a software design methodology in which systems are broken down into modules, allowing for separation of concerns and better maintainability.
Multiple Data Streams : a more abstract term, refers to scenarios where an application handles multiple data streams simultaneously, possibly in a parallel or distributed environment.

MPI : Message Parsing Interface - refer to Boost.Mpi

MPL or MP11 : Metaprogramming Libraries - refer to Boost.Mpl and the later Boost.Mp11

MVP : Model-View-Presenter

N

NDA : Non-Disclosure Agreement

NIMBY : Not In My Back Yard - when a programmer doesn’t want to deal with a particular issue

NTTP : Non-Type Template Parameter

O

Odeint : Ordinary Differential Equations (Initial) - a library for solving initial value problems of ordinary differential equations, refer to Boost.Numeric/odeint

OOB : Out of Bounds or Out of Band - meaning irrelevant

OOP : Object-Oriented Programming

P

PEBKAC : Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair - user error

PFR : A library to perform basic reflection - refer to Boost.Pfr

PICNIC : Problem In Chair, Not In Computer

PIMPL :

Pointer to IMPLementation
Perception Is My Lasting Principle - the "Cheshire Cat" idiom where someone’s perception of reality is subjective

PITA : Pain In The Application - difficult or frustrating code issue

POD : Plain Old Data

POSIX : Portable Operating System Interface

PR : Pull Request

Q

QBK : Quickbook - a Boost tool for automated documentation, not to be confused with Intuit Quickbooks accounting software.

QED : "Quod erat demonstrandum" in Latin, which translates to "that which was to be demonstrated".

QML : Qt Meta Language - a declarative language used in conjunction with Qt for designing user interfaces. QML is commonly referenced in C++ discussions related to UI development in Qt.

QOI : Quite OK Image format - a relatively new image file format that aims to provide lossless image compression with a focus on simplicity and speed, sometimes used in performance-critical applications dealing with image processing.

QoS : Quality of Service - a concept that often appears in networking discussions, especially when C++ programs deal with real-time communications, distributed systems, or systems requiring specific performance guarantees.

Qt : This is a widely-used C++ framework for cross-platform GUI applications. While not an acronym, it’s often capitalized as Qt in discussions. Qt is known for its rich set of libraries and tools to develop not only graphical applications but also applications that require network handling, file I/O, and more.

QVM : Quaternions Vectors and Matrices - refer to Boost.Qvm

R

RAII : Resource Acquisition Is Initialization

RPC : Remote Procedure Call

RTFM : Read The Fine (or Friendly) Manual

RTTI : Run-Time Type Information

Rustaceans : Afficionados of the Rust programming language

S

SHA : Secure Hash Algorithm, a function that will reliably give different hash values for different inputs.

SFINAE or SFINAED : Substitution Failure Is Not An Error

SMOP : Small Matter of Programming - sarcastically downplaying complex problems

SOLID : Single Responsibility, Open/Closed, Liskov Substitution, Interface Segregation, Dependency Inversion (Design principles)

STL : Standard Template Library

T

TCO : Tail Call Optimization

TCP : Transmission Control Protocol

TDD : Test-Driven Development

Test Matrix : A test matrix is a table used to define and track test cases, inputs, and environments, such as various operating systems, compilers, and hardware platforms. Each row represents a test scenario or feature, while the columns represent variations like software versions or hardware setups - refer to Contributor Guide: Test Matrix.

TLS : Thread-Local Storage

TL;DR : Too Long; Didn’t Read

TL;DW : Too Long; Didn’t Watch - used when someone posts an overly long video or demo

TTI : Type Traits Introspection - refer to Boost.Tti

TTOU : Time To Opt Out - used humorously to express wanting to quit a project that is heading south

TTW : Time To Whine - used sarcastically used when someone starts complaining about their code or environment

U

UB : Undefined Behavior

UBlas : Basic Linear Algebra - refer to Boost.Numeric/ublas

URL : Universal Resource Locator - refer to Boost.URL

UDP : User Datagram Protocol

UTC : Coordinated Universal Time

UUID : Universal Unique Identifier - refer to Boost.Uuid

V

VALA : Vector Arithmetic Logic Array - a specialized hardware design or computation technique, but in some performance-critical C++ applications, vector arithmetic and optimization may be discussed in a similar context.

VCPKG : Microsoft’s open source package manager for acquiring and managing libraries

VFS : Virtual File System - abstract file system operations across multiple platforms might implement or make use of a VFS layer. This allows consistent file I/O behavior regardless of the underlying file system.

VLA : Variable Length Array - although C++ does not officially support VLAs in the standard, some compilers provide support as an extension. VLAs allow the length of an array to be determined at runtime.

VMD : Variadic Macro Data - refer to Boost.Vmd

VoIP : Voice over Internet Protocol - in networking libraries or real-time communication systems, VoIP is often discussed when implementing features for voice transmission over IP networks.

VR : Virtual Reality - in game programming, simulations, or graphics-intensive applications, VR is often mentioned in discussions. C++ is commonly used for developing VR engines and related tools.

VTable : Virtual Table - a mechanism used in C++ to support dynamic (runtime) polymorphism through virtual functions. Discussions involving inheritance and object-oriented programming often reference vtables.

W

WAD : Works As Designed - usually sarcastic

WG21 : Working Group 2021 - a C++ Standards working group

WIP : Work In Progress

WITIWF : Well I Thought It Was Funny

WowBagger : The name of the web server where boost.org and lists.boost.org are running. It’s a Redhat Linux machine and soon to be replaced.

WRT : With Respect To

WTB : Where’s The Bug? - used sarcastically when trying to find a difficult-to-locate issue

X

XFS : Extended File System - a high-performance file system in Linux

XSS : Cross-Site Scripting - a security vulnerability where malicious scripts are injected into websites

XUL : XML User Interface Language - used to define user interfaces in Mozilla applications

Y

YAGNI : You Aren’t Gonna Need It

YAP : An expression template library - refer to Boost.Yap

YOLO : You Only Live Once - used when someone takes a risky or questionable coding decision

Z

ZALGO : refers to a form of distorted or "corrupted" text, and while this is more of a meme in the programming community, it comes up when discussing character encoding or text rendering in C++.

ZF : Zero-Fill - zero-filling memory, often done for security reasons or to initialize data in C++ programs.

ZFP : Compressed Floating-Point Arrays - ZFP is a C++ library for compressed floating-point arrays, often used in scientific computing or simulations requiring efficient memory usage.

Zlib : Zlib Compression Library - a widely-used compression library in C++ for data compression and decompression.

ZMQ : ZeroMQ - a high-performance asynchronous messaging library that can be used in C++ for concurrent programming and networking applications.

Z-order or Z-ordering : Refers to the drawing order of objects in 2D or 3D space. This is relevant in C++ game development or graphical applications when managing layers of objects.

Glossary

Contents

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

See Also