# Glossary of Terms

## Common Abbreviations

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   * - Abbreviation
     - Full Term
     - Definition/Information
   * - **SQL**
     - Structured Query Language
     - A domain-specific language used for managing data held in a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS).
   * - **LSOA**
     - Lower Super Output Area
     - A small geographic unit in England and Wales containing around 1,000-3,000 people, used primarily for statistical reporting.
   * - **AHAH**
     - Access to Healthy Assets and Hazards
     - A specific index or measure often used in public health and geography research to assess the impact of the local environment on health.
   * - **JSON**
     - JavaScript Object Notation
     - A lightweight, human-readable text format commonly used for data interchange (sending data between a server and web application).
   * - **ERD**
     - Entity-Relationship Diagram
     - A structural diagram used to design or model a database. It shows how different entities (data objects) relate to one another.
   * - **MVP**
     - Minimum Viable Product
     - An early version of a project with basic features to collect feedback for future product development.
   * - **API**
     - Application Programming Interface
     - A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other.
   * - **NHS**
     - National Health Service
     - The publicly funded healthcare system of England, Scotland, or Wales.
   * - **ICB**
     - Integrated Care Board
     - A statutory NHS organisation in England responsible for the day-to-day planning and allocation of NHS resources.
   * - **ETL**
     - Extract, Transform, Load
     - A process in data warehousing that involves pulling data from sources, cleaning/modifying it, and inserting it into a destination.
   * - **SFTP**
     - SSH File Transfer Protocol (or Secure File Transfer Protocol)
     - A network protocol that provides secure file transfer capabilities using the Secure Shell (SSH) connection protocol.
   * - **EC2**
     - Elastic Compute Cloud
     - A service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that provides resizable computing capacity in the cloud.
   * - **VM**
     - Virtual Machine
     - An emulation of a computer system ('virtual computer') that can run an operating system and applications independently of the host machine.
   * - **DAG**
     - Directed Acyclic Graph
     - A mathematical structure used in computer science for modeling dependencies and workflows where all paths are one-directional and never loop.
```

## Quick Reference Guide

### Terms 

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   * - Term
     - Definition/Function
   * - **Database**
     - An organised collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically in a computer system. It allows for efficient storage, retrieval, modification, and management of data.
   * - **Pipeline**
     - An automated system that takes raw data, transforms it in some way, then moves it to a destination storage area.
   * - **Batch processing**
     - An execution method where data is collected over time and processed in large groups or "batches." It is efficient for non-urgent, high-volume data operations.
   * - **Daiser**
     - Daiser are a UK-based company that build digital health applications. 
   * - **Bucket (Object storage)**
     - The fundamental container used in object storage systems (like AWS S3) to store structured, semi-structured, or unstructured data. Buckets are used to organise, control access to, and manage data at a high level.
```
### Tools

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   * - Tool
     - Definition/Function
   * - **Python**
     - A high-level, general-purpose programming language widely used in data science, machine learning, web development, and automation due to its clear syntax and large ecosystem of libraries.
   * - **Jupyter Notebook**
     - An open-source web application that allows you to create and share documents containing live code, equations, visualisations, and narrative text.
   * - **Snakemake**
     - A workflow management system that helps create portable, reproducible, and scalable data analysis pipelines. It uses a Python-based syntax to define rules and dependencies.
   * - **UV Package manager**
     - An open-source, extremely fast Python package manager, written in Rust.
   * - **Github**
     - A web-based platform for version control and collaboration, built around the Git system. It is primarily used for hosting source code, managing projects, and facilitating team collaboration.
   * - **S3**
     - Amazon Simple Storage Service. A highly scalable, high-speed, low-cost cloud storage service for data backup, archival, and big data analytics. It operates using the concept of 'buckets.'
   * - **RONIN**
     - A cloud platform that simplifies the deployment and management of AWS computing infrastructure (like virtual machines and storage) for research and data-intensive projects.
   * - **DuckDB**
     - An open-source in-process SQL OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) database management system. It is designed to run complex analytical queries directly on data files (like CSVs, Parquet) without needing to load them into a traditional database server.
```