2.8 — Vocabulary Bank (Phase 2)
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Context engineering | Deliberately shaping what the AI can see to get better output |
| CLAUDE.md | Project-level instruction file Claude Code reads automatically every session |
| Branch | Parallel version of your project for making changes safely |
| Pull Request (PR) | Proposal to merge a branch, with description and review process |
| Merge conflict | Two branches changed the same line; a human must decide which to keep |
| Diff | View of exactly what changed between two versions of code |
| Stack trace | Chain of function calls leading to an error — read bottom to top |
| Regression | A fix that breaks something that was previously working |
| Edge case | Unusual or extreme input that exposes bugs normal inputs don’t |
| YAGNI | You Ain’t Gonna Need It — don’t build features before they’re needed |
| DRY | Don’t Repeat Yourself — one source of truth, not twelve copies |
| Architecture | How a system’s pieces are organized and connected |
| State | Data that changes over time and affects what the user sees |
| Environment variable | Setting stored outside code, varies between local and production |
| Changelog | Record of what changed between software versions |
| Refactor | Restructuring code without changing what it does — improving internals without breaking behavior |
| Technical debt | Shortcuts taken now that create more work later |
| Scope creep | When a project gradually grows beyond its original boundaries |
| MVP (Minimum Viable Product) | The smallest version that delivers value — ship this first, improve later |
Previous vocabulary: Phase 1 — Vocabulary | Next vocabulary: Phase 3 — Vocabulary
Phase overview: Phase 2 | Next phase: Phase 3 — Agent Architect