DPCM Interview Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering software configuration management, CI/CD tools, version control, and scripting concepts from the DPCM interview material.

Configuration Item

Any component (code, document, or tool config) placed under formal version control and tracked

Baseline

An approved, fixed snapshot of a configuration at a point in time, used as a reference for future changes

Version Control

Systematically tracking changes to files over time so you can retrieve, compare, or revert any prior state

Change Control

The formal process of proposing, reviewing, approving, and tracking changes before they are implemented

Change Impact Analysis

Evaluating what else might break or be affected before approving a change

Configuration Status Accounting

Recording and reporting the current status of configuration items and their change history

Configuration Audit

Verifying that a delivered product actually matches its documented configuration

Traceability

Being able to connect a requirement to a code change to a test to a release, end to end

Build

Compiling and packaging source code into a runnable artifact

Release

A build that has been approved and made available or deployed

CI (Continuous Integration)

Automatically building and testing code every time a change is made

CD (Continuous Deployment/Delivery)

Automatically releasing code that has passed all tests and checks

Git

A version control system used to track changes to source code over time

Git Branching

Creating a separate line of development so changes can be made without affecting the main codebase

Merge Conflict

When two branches have changed the same part of a file, Git cannot automatically combine them and asks you to resolve it manually

Jenkins

A CI/CD automation tool that orchestrates building, testing, and deploying code automatically

Artifactory

A tool used to store and manage built software packages (artifacts) after they are compiled

Nexus

Similar to Artifactory, a repository manager that stores build artifacts and dependencies

Coverity

A static analysis tool used to scan code for security vulnerabilities and quality issues before release

Azure DevOps Server

Microsoft's platform for managing source code, builds, releases, and project tracking

GitHub Actions

A CI/CD tool built into GitHub that automates workflows like testing and deployment on code changes

YAML

A human-readable data format commonly used for configuration files, including CI/CD pipeline definitions

Bash

A command-line shell and scripting language used to automate tasks in Linux/Unix environments

grep

A command-line tool used to search for text patterns within files

awk

A command-line tool used for processing and extracting data from structured text

sed

A command-line tool used to find and replace text within files

Pipe (|)

A symbol used to pass the output of one command directly into another command

Exit Code

A number returned by a program when it finishes, used to indicate success (0) or failure (non-zero)

Environment Variable

A named value stored outside a program that scripts can reference, such as a file path or config setting

Dependency Management

Tracking and controlling which versions of external libraries or components a project relies on

DevSecOps

An approach that integrates security practices directly into the development and operations pipeline

Build vs Release

A build is the compiled output of code; a release is that build after it has been approved and deployed