Terminology

2185 terms, tools, patterns and metrics an architect is expected to use precisely. Each one gets a short explanation of what it is, and — where it matters — what it is commonly confused with. Search filters as you type; the column headers sort.

All areas2185 Architecture Fundamentals77 Distributed Systems107 Data Architecture110 Cloud Architecture89 Networking88 API & Integration Architecture82 Reliability & Resilience75 Observability70 Performance & Capacity Engineering72 Security Architecture81 Cost Architecture & FinOps66 Business Architecture67 Architecture Communication67 Enterprise Architecture66 Legacy Modernization66 AI-Era Architecture69 Software Architecture & Engineering71 Architecture Patterns71 Architecture Decision-Making63 The Architect's Meta-Skills61 Delivery & Release Engineering66 Platform Engineering & Developer Experience70 Testing & Quality Architecture66 Data Platform Architecture64 Streaming & Real-Time Data69 Data Governance & Semantics69 Frontend & Experience Architecture66 Edge, Mobile & IoT68 Regulatory & Data Protection Architecture65 Assurance, Audit & Model Risk64

Kind Any concept785 practice729 pattern362 metric125 case-study77 tool62 protocol45

7 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Authorization Code Flow with PKCE PKCE	protocol	OAuth 2.0 & OIDC	The OAuth flow recommended for all client types, in which an authorisation code is exchanged for tokens using a proof key that binds the exchange to the original requester.
JSON Web Token JWT	protocol	Security Architecture	A signed, self-contained token carrying claims, which a service can validate locally without calling the issuer.
JWKS JSON Web Key Set	protocol	Tokens & JWTs	A published endpoint listing an issuer's current public keys, allowing resource servers to validate token signatures without a shared secret and to survive key rotation.
OAuth 2.0	protocol	Security Architecture	An authorisation framework that lets an application obtain scoped, delegated access to a resource without handling the user's credentials.
OpenID Connect OIDC	protocol	Security Architecture	An identity layer over OAuth 2.0 that adds a signed ID token asserting who the user is and how they authenticated.
Token Exchange RFC 8693, Delegation Token	protocol	OAuth 2.0 & OIDC	Trading one token for another with different scope, audience or subject, so a service can call downstream on a user's behalf without reusing the original token.
Token Introspection	protocol	OAuth 2.0 & OIDC	Asking the authorisation server whether a token is currently valid, rather than validating it locally from its signature.