Glossary
Definitions of terms and concepts used throughout RamAPI documentation.
A
Adapter : A bridge between RamAPI's core routing system and the underlying HTTP server implementation (e.g., Node.js HTTP, uWebSockets.js).
API (Application Programming Interface) : A set of protocols and tools for building software applications.
Authentication : The process of verifying the identity of a user or system.
Authorization : The process of determining what an authenticated user is allowed to do.
C
Context (ctx)
: An object passed to route handlers containing request information and response methods. Replaces req/res in Express.
CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) : A mechanism that allows restricted resources on a web page to be requested from another domain.
CRUD : Create, Read, Update, Delete - the four basic operations of persistent storage.
D
Distributed Tracing : A method of tracking requests as they flow through distributed systems, collecting timing and metadata.
Dynamic Route
: A route with parameters (e.g., /users/:id) that matches multiple URLs.
E
Exporter : Component that sends telemetry data (traces, metrics) to external systems (e.g., Jaeger, Prometheus).
F
Flow Tracking : RamAPI's visualization system that shows the execution timeline of requests.
Flow Visualization : Visual representation of request execution, including waterfall charts and sequence diagrams.
G
Graceful Shutdown : Process of stopping a server while allowing existing requests to complete.
GraphQL : A query language and runtime for APIs that provides a complete description of the data.
gRPC : High-performance RPC framework using Protocol Buffers.
H
Handler : A function that processes a request and sends a response.
Health Check : An endpoint that reports the application's operational status.
HTTP Error : An error object with an HTTP status code (e.g., 404, 500).
HTTPMethod : HTTP request methods: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS, HEAD.
J
Jaeger : Open-source distributed tracing system for monitoring microservices.
JWT (JSON Web Token) : A compact, URL-safe means of representing claims to be transferred between two parties.
M
Middleware : Functions that execute during the request-response cycle, before the final handler.
Multi-Protocol : Support for multiple communication protocols (REST, GraphQL, gRPC) in one application.
O
Observability : The ability to measure a system's internal state by examining its outputs (traces, logs, metrics).
OpenTelemetry : Open-source observability framework for traces, metrics, and logs.
OTLP (OpenTelemetry Protocol) : Protocol for transmitting telemetry data.
P
Profiling : Process of measuring performance characteristics to identify bottlenecks.
Prometheus : Open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit.
R
Rate Limiting : Controlling the rate at which users can make requests to prevent abuse.
REST (Representational State Transfer) : Architectural style for distributed hypermedia systems.
Router : Component that maps URLs to handler functions.
S
Sample Rate : Percentage of requests to trace (e.g., 0.1 = 10% of requests).
Schema : Definition of data structure and validation rules.
Span : A unit of work within a trace, representing a single operation.
Static Route
: A route with a fixed path (e.g., /users) that only matches exact URLs.
T
Trace : A record of a request's journey through a system, composed of spans.
Trace Context : Information propagated through a distributed system to correlate spans.
Trace ID : Unique identifier for a trace (32 hex characters).
TypeScript : Typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript.
V
Validation : Process of ensuring data meets specified criteria before processing.
W
Waterfall Chart : Visual representation showing the timeline of operations in sequence.
Z
Zod : TypeScript-first schema validation library used by RamAPI.