Glossary

Search results

AI Code Assistant(also: AI coding assistant, AI programming assistant)

A developer tool powered by large language models that provides code completion, natural-language explanations, refactoring, bug fixes, and conversational programming support inside an IDE or editor. Modern AI code assistants (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Cline) often include…

AI Coding Assistant(also: AI Pair Programmer, Code Copilot)

An artificial intelligence tool integrated into code editors that assists developers by generating code suggestions, completing code snippets, and answering programming questions using large language models trained on code repositories. In accessibility contexts, AI coding…

Acceptance Testing(also: User Acceptance Testing, UAT, Acceptance Tests)

A form of software testing that validates whether a system meets its specified requirements from the end user's perspective. In accessibility, acceptance tests simulate real user interaction scenarios — such as navigating a web page using only the keyboard or activating…

Accessibility API(also: Accessibility Application Programming Interface, A11y API)

A set of programming interfaces provided by operating systems that allow assistive technologies and accessibility services to interact with application user interfaces. Accessibility APIs expose information about on-screen elements — their labels, roles, states, and…

Accessibility Bug Report(also: ABR, Accessibility Defect Report)

A bug report that specifically documents an accessibility barrier or failure in software. These reports describe issues that prevent or hinder people with disabilities from using an application, such as missing alternative text, unlabeled form controls, keyboard navigation…

Accessibility Linter(also: A11y Linter, Accessibility Lint)

A static analysis tool that scans source code — typically HTML, CSS, and related web technologies — for accessibility violations against standards such as WCAG. Accessibility linters can be integrated into code editors, build pipelines, or run as standalone tools to flag issues…

Accessible Software(also: Accessible Application, Accessible Program)

Software that is designed and developed so that people with disabilities can effectively perceive, understand, navigate, interact with, and contribute using the application. Accessible software properly exposes its interface elements through platform accessibility APIs, supports…

Agent Mode(also: AI agent mode)

An interaction mode in AI code assistants where the assistant autonomously decomposes a high-level request into subtasks, iteratively plans, executes, and observes — typically editing multiple files, running terminal commands, and self-correcting until goals are met. Agent mode…

Back-end Development(also: Server-side Development, Back-end Engineering)

The practice of building server-side logic, databases, APIs, and application architecture that power websites and applications. Back-end developers work with languages like Python, Java, Ruby, and Node.js, focusing on data processing, authentication, and business logic rather…

Behaviour-Driven Development(also: BDD, Behavior-Driven Development)

A software development methodology that extends Test-Driven Development by writing test cases as human-readable scenarios in natural language, describing expected system behaviour from the user's perspective. BDD test scenarios typically follow a Given-When-Then format that…

Bug Report(also: Defect Report, Issue Report)

A structured document submitted to a bug tracking system that describes a software defect, including steps to reproduce, expected behavior, and actual behavior. In the accessibility context, bug reports are a critical mechanism for users with disabilities and developers to…

Bug Repository(also: Bug Tracker, Issue Tracker, Bug Tracking System)

A software system used to record, track, and manage bug reports throughout their lifecycle. Popular examples include Bugzilla, Jira, GitHub Issues, and Monorail (used by Google Chromium). Bug repositories serve as archives of defect information and are valuable for research into…

Code Review(also: Peer Code Review)

A software quality assurance practice in which one or more developers systematically examine source code written by a colleague, looking for bugs, design issues, readability problems, and adherence to coding standards. Code reviews can be asynchronous (reviewing pull requests)…

Code Walkthrough

A form of peer review in which a developer leads colleagues through a segment of code, explaining its logic, structure, and design decisions line by line. Unlike pair programming where both developers actively write code, a walkthrough is typically led by one person while others…

Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery(also: CI/CD, Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery)

Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) is a software development practice where code changes are automatically built, tested, and prepared for release on an ongoing basis. In accessibility practice, CI/CD pipelines can incorporate automated accessibility testing…

Cross-Platform Development(also: Cross-Platform Framework, Multi-Platform Development)

A software development approach that allows a single codebase to run on multiple operating systems or device platforms, such as iOS and Android. Frameworks like React Native, Flutter, and Xamarin enable developers to write code once and deploy it across platforms, reducing…

Cross-Platform Development Framework(also: CPDF, Cross-Platform Framework)

A software development toolkit that allows developers to write application code once and deploy it on multiple operating systems, such as iOS and Android. Popular examples include React Native, Xamarin, and Flutter. While CPDFs reduce development and maintenance costs, research…

Cursor Tethering(also: Cursor Sync, Cursor Following)

A collaborative editing feature that automatically synchronizes one user's cursor position to match another user's cursor location in a shared document or code file. Unlike visual Follow mode (which syncs the viewport but not the actual cursor), cursor tethering moves the…

Design System(also: Component Library, UI Kit)

A collection of reusable components, patterns, guidelines, and assets that together define the visual language and interaction standards for a product or organization. Design systems typically include UI components, typography, color palettes, icons, illustrations, and…

Domain Specific Language(also: DSL)

A Domain Specific Language (DSL) is a small, specialised programming language designed for writing programs within a particular application domain, as opposed to a general-purpose language like Python or Java. In accessibility contexts, DSLs have been proposed for tasks such as…

Front-end Development(also: Client-side Development, Front-end Engineering)

The practice of building the user-facing portion of websites and applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Front-end developers create visual interfaces, handle user interactions, and ensure responsive design across devices. For blind developers, front-end work presents…

GUI Widget(also: UI Widget, User Interface Widget, Control)

A graphical user interface element that users can interact with or that displays information, such as buttons, text fields, images, checkboxes, and sliders. In mobile accessibility, widget types determine which accessibility requirements apply—interactive widgets like buttons…

GitHub Copilot(also: Copilot)

An AI code assistant developed by GitHub and Microsoft, integrated into editors such as Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, and JetBrains IDEs. Copilot offers inline code completion, conversational chat (Ask, Edit, and Agent modes), and an Accessible View designed to present…

Interaction Shell

A software component that renders user interface elements in a specific modality and handles direct interaction with the user. In the Fruit toolkit architecture, the interaction shell is separated from the application logic, allowing different shells (GUI, character-screen,…

Microservices(also: Microservice Architecture)

A software architecture pattern where an application is composed of small, independent services that communicate over well-defined APIs, each responsible for a specific function and deployable independently. In accessibility tooling, microservices architecture enables modular…

Middleware

Software that acts as an intermediary layer between different applications, services, or components, enabling them to communicate and share data despite being built with different technologies, protocols, or programming languages. In the context of accessibility, middleware is…

OpenXR

An open, royalty-free standard developed by the Khronos Group that provides a unified API for accessing VR and AR platforms and devices. OpenXR lets XR applications run across different headsets (Meta Quest, Valve Index, HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality, etc.) without…

Pair Programming(also: Paired Programming, PP)

A software development practice where two programmers work together at one workstation, with one writing code (the "driver") and the other reviewing each line as it is typed (the "navigator" or "observer"). The two developers switch roles frequently. Pair programming promotes…

Programming Accessibility(also: Accessible Programming, Accessible IDE)

The practice of making software development tools, environments, and workflows usable by programmers with disabilities. Programming presents unique accessibility challenges beyond general computer use: code requires precise typing of special characters and symbols, specific…

Quorum(also: Quorum Programming Language)

An evidence-based programming language designed with accessibility as a core principle, making it usable by people with and without visual impairments. Quorum provides audio input and output, screen reader compatibility, and an accessible debugger called SODBeans that uses…

Repository Mining(also: Software Repository Mining, Mining Software Repositories)

A research methodology that involves extracting and analysing data from software repositories such as version control systems, bug trackers, code-sharing platforms, and Q&A sites like Stack Overflow. In accessibility research, repository mining has been used to assess whether…

Screen Reader Plugin(also: Screen Reader Add-on, Screen Reader Script, Screen Reader Extension)

A small piece of code that extends or modifies the functionality of a screen reader application. Screen reader plugins can make inaccessible applications accessible, customize the screen reader's behavior for specific software, add new keyboard shortcuts, and provide additional…

Shift-Left Accessibility(also: Early-Stage Accessibility, Accessibility by Design)

An approach to software development that moves accessibility considerations earlier in the development lifecycle — from testing and remediation phases to requirements gathering and design phases. The term borrows from the broader "shift-left" movement in software engineering,…

User Interface Management System(also: UIMS)

A software framework that separates user interface presentation and interaction from application logic, allowing the interface to be designed, modified, or replaced independently of the underlying program. A UIMS typically manages input handling, output rendering, and the…

Vibe Coding

A programming style, popularised by Andrej Karpathy in 2025, in which developers express high-level goals to an AI code assistant in natural language and let the AI handle implementation details, iterating conversationally rather than authoring code line-by-line. Vibe coding…

Visual Programming(also: Visual Programming Language, Block-Based Programming)

A programming paradigm that allows users to create programs by manipulating graphical elements — such as blocks, nodes, and connecting paths — rather than writing text-based code. Popular examples include Scratch, LabVIEW, and dataflow systems where blocks represent…

Vocal Programming(also: Voice Coding, Speech-Based Programming, Voice Programming)

The practice of writing, editing, and navigating computer code using speech recognition rather than keyboard input. Vocal programming is an important accessibility concern because conventional software development tools implicitly require the use of a keyboard, creating a…

Web Composition(also: Component-Based Web Development)

Web composition is the practice of building web pages by dynamically combining smaller, reusable pieces of HTML markup — often called snippets, components, or fragments — into complete pages. Modern web frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue are built around this compositional…

Workspace Awareness(also: Collaborator Awareness, Shared Workspace Awareness)

The up-to-the-moment understanding of another person's interactions within a shared workspace, including their location, actions, and intentions. In collaborative software development, workspace awareness encompasses knowing which file a colleague is viewing, what line they are…

39 results.