Terminology

2225 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 areas2225 Architecture Fundamentals77 Distributed Systems107 Data Architecture110 Cloud Architecture94 Networking88 API & Integration Architecture82 Reliability & Resilience75 Observability70 Performance & Capacity Engineering72 Security Architecture86 Cost Architecture & FinOps71 Business Architecture67 Architecture Communication67 Enterprise Architecture66 Legacy Modernization71 AI-Era Architecture74 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 Architecture69 Streaming & Real-Time Data69 Data Governance & Semantics74 Frontend & Experience Architecture66 Edge, Mobile & IoT68 Regulatory & Data Protection Architecture65 Assurance, Audit & Model Risk69

Kind Any concept801 practice736 pattern377 metric127 case-study77 tool62 protocol45

4 terms shown.

Term	Kind	Topic	What it is
Client-Side Data Layer Query Cache, Server State Management	pattern	Client Caching & Data Layer	A client library that owns fetching, caching, invalidation and background refresh of server data, distinct from local UI state.
Commitment Read Never Commit From Cache, Authoritative at the Point of Action	concept	Client Caching & Data Layer	The rule that the read immediately preceding an irreversible action must come from the authoritative source, which is what allows everything else in the interface to be aggressively cached.
Normalised Client Cache Entity Cache, Client-Side Store, Identity-Keyed Cache	pattern	Client Caching & Data Layer	Caching server responses as entities keyed by identity rather than as whole responses keyed by request, so that updating an entity once updates every view that displays it.
Stale While Revalidate	pattern	Client Caching & Data Layer	Serving cached data immediately while fetching a fresh copy in the background, which makes an interface feel instant at the cost of a brief inconsistency.