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Older notes, lessons, and series entries from the growing technical library.

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6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 70

Metadata: Data About Data That Preserves Meaning

Learn how descriptive, structural, administrative, technical, and provenance metadata make files and records discoverable, interpretable, governable, and reusable.

#technology#computer-science#metadata#data-governance
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 69

Data Formats: CSV, JSON, and XML for Exchanging Information

Compare CSV, JSON, and XML, including tables, nested structures, types, schemas, escaping, streaming, security, and how to choose a format for data exchange.

#technology#computer-science#data-formats#csv#json#xml
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 68

Backups and Restore: Recovery Must Be Proven

Learn how backups differ from replication and synchronization, how RPO and RTO define recovery goals, and why tested restores are the only evidence that backups can recover a system.

#technology#computer-science#backups#recovery
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 67

Transactions and Consistency: Protecting Multi-Step Data Changes

Learn how database transactions group changes, what ACID guarantees mean, how isolation affects concurrent work, and why application invariants still require careful design.

#technology#computer-science#databases#transactions
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 66

Indexes: Faster Data Lookup Without Scanning Every Row

Learn how database indexes accelerate searches and ordering, how B-tree and hash-style indexes work conceptually, and why indexes cost storage and write performance.

#technology#computer-science#databases#indexes
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 65

SQL Queries: Describing the Data You Want

Learn how SQL selects, filters, joins, groups, inserts, updates, and deletes relational data, and why safe queries, parameters, transactions, and execution plans matter.

#technology#computer-science#sql#databases
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 64

Tables, Rows, and Columns: The Relational Database Model

Learn how relational databases organize entities into tables, records into rows, attributes into columns, and relationships through primary and foreign keys.

#technology#computer-science#databases#relational-data
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 63

What Is a Database? More Than a Large File

Learn why databases manage shared data, how database management systems provide querying, concurrency, integrity, security, and recovery, and when ordinary files remain appropriate.

#technology#computer-science#databases#data
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 62

Structured and Unstructured Data: Different Shapes for Different Information

Understand structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data, how schemas shape querying, and why real systems often combine tables, documents, media, and metadata.

#technology#computer-science#data#data-structures
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 61

What Is Data? Recorded Representations That Need Context

Learn what data is, how facts become representations a computer can store, and why context, measurement, quality, and interpretation determine whether data is useful.

#technology#computer-science#data#databases
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 60

Open Source Software: Code, Licenses, Communities, and Responsibility

Learn what open source software means, how licenses grant rights, how projects are governed and maintained, and what users and contributors must evaluate.

#technology#computer-science#open-source#software
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 59

Libraries, Frameworks, and APIs: How Software Reuses Other Software

Understand how libraries provide callable tools, frameworks organize applications, and APIs define communication contracts between software components.

#technology#computer-science#libraries#frameworks#apis#programming
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 58

Bugs and Debugging: Finding the Cause Behind Wrong Behavior

Learn what software bugs are and how developers reproduce failures, gather evidence, form hypotheses, isolate causes, verify fixes, and prevent regressions.

#technology#computer-science#debugging#programming
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 57

Algorithms: Step-by-Step Methods for Solving Problems

Understand algorithms as defined procedures, how they differ from code, and how correctness, time, memory, approximation, and input size shape algorithm choices.

#technology#computer-science#algorithms#programming
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 56

Functions and Reusable Logic: Giving One Job a Clear Name

Learn how functions package reusable logic, accept parameters, return results, create scope, and help developers divide large programs into understandable, testable pieces.

#technology#computer-science#functions#programming
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 55

Loops and Repetition: Reusing Instructions Across Data and Time

Learn how for, while, and collection loops work, how initialization, condition, and progress prevent infinite loops, and how iteration, break, continue, nesting, and complexity affect code.

#technology#computer-science#loops#programming
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 54

Conditions and Decisions: How Programs Choose What to Do

Learn how Boolean expressions, comparisons, if/else branches, logical operators, truth tables, short-circuiting, guard clauses, switch statements, and edge cases control software.

#technology#computer-science#conditionals#programming
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 53

Variables and Data Types: Naming Values and Defining Their Rules

Learn how variables bind names to values, how types define representation and valid operations, and how scope, mutability, integers, floating point, strings, nullability, and structures work.

#technology#computer-science#data-types#programming
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 52

Source Code and Machine Code: How Human-Readable Programs Run

Learn how source code becomes machine instructions through compilers, interpreters, virtual machines, JIT compilation, linking, executables, portability, and optimization.

#technology#computer-science#compilers#programming
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 51

What Is a Program? Precise Instructions for a Computing System

Learn what programs contain, how instructions and data become running processes, and how input, state, control flow, output, correctness, and environment shape software behavior.

#technology#computer-science#programming#software
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 50

Cookies, Sessions, and Local Storage: How Websites Remember State

Learn how cookies travel with requests, how server sessions work, how local and session storage differ, and how SameSite, HttpOnly, Secure, CSRF, XSS, expiry, and privacy affect design.

#technology#computer-science#cookies#web
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 49

JavaScript in the Browser: Programmable Web Behavior

Learn how browser JavaScript handles events, updates the DOM, uses the event loop, makes asynchronous requests, manages modules and memory, and operates inside security boundaries.

#technology#computer-science#javascript#web
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 48

CSS: The Presentation Layer for Web Content

Learn how CSS selectors, cascade, specificity, inheritance, the box model, Flexbox, Grid, responsive design, states, and accessibility control presentation.

#technology#computer-science#css#web
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 47

HTML: The Structure of a Page and Meaning of Its Content

Learn how HTML elements, attributes, nesting, document structure, semantic markup, links, forms, images, accessibility, and the DOM describe web content.

#technology#computer-science#html#web
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 46

What a Browser Does: From URL to Interactive Page

Follow a browser through URL parsing, DNS, networking, security, HTML and CSS parsing, JavaScript execution, layout, painting, compositing, storage, and process isolation.

#technology#computer-science#browser#web
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 45

HTTPS and Encryption in Transit: What the Browser Lock Protects

Learn how HTTPS and TLS authenticate servers, negotiate keys, encrypt HTTP, detect tampering, use certificates, and what they cannot guarantee about a website.

#technology#computer-science#https#web
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 44

HTTP Requests and Responses: The Structured Conversation of the Web

Learn HTTP methods, targets, headers, bodies, status codes, content negotiation, caching, connections, idempotency, and what happens during a web request.

#technology#computer-science#http#web
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 43

Clients and Servers: Roles in a Network Conversation

Learn what clients and servers are, how requests, listeners, concurrency, APIs, state, scaling, proxies, peer-to-peer systems, and failures shape network applications.

#technology#computer-science#client-server#web
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 42

Domains, Subdomains, and URLs: Reading a Web Address Correctly

Learn every part of a URL, how domains and subdomains relate, what schemes, ports, paths, queries, fragments, encoding, origins, and relative URLs mean.

#technology#computer-science#urls#web
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 41

DNS: Names for Internet Addresses and Other Routing Information

Learn how DNS resolvers, root servers, TLDs, authoritative servers, records, TTLs, caching, delegation, DNSSEC, and encrypted DNS answer name queries.

#technology#computer-science#dns#web
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 40

Ports and Network Connections: Delivering Traffic to the Right Application

Learn how TCP and UDP ports identify application endpoints, how sockets and connections use address-port pairs, and how listeners, ephemeral ports, firewalls, and NAT fit together.

#technology#computer-science#network-ports#networking
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 39

Bandwidth, Latency, and Jitter: Three Different Network Speeds

Learn how bandwidth, throughput, latency, round-trip time, jitter, loss, queues, and bufferbloat affect downloads, calls, games, and web browsing differently.

#technology#computer-science#network-performance#networking
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 38

Wi-Fi Explained: Sharing a Local Radio Channel

Learn how Wi-Fi access points and clients use radio bands, channels, modulation, contention, signal strength, MIMO, roaming, and encryption.

#technology#computer-science#wifi#networking
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 37

Modems and Internet Providers: Connecting Your Network Outward

Learn how cable modems, fiber terminals, DSL, cellular access, routers, providers, authentication, addressing, upload speeds, and shared infrastructure connect users to the internet.

#technology#computer-science#isp#networking
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 36

Routers and Routing: How Packets Find the Next Hop

Learn how routers use destination prefixes, routing tables, longest-prefix matching, default routes, dynamic protocols, metrics, and hop-by-hop forwarding.

#technology#computer-science#routing#networking
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 35

IPv4 and IPv6: Why the Internet Uses Two Address Families

Learn how IPv4 and IPv6 addresses differ, why IPv4 exhaustion led to NAT, how IPv6 notation and configuration work, and why migration requires coexistence.

#technology#computer-science#ipv6#networking
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 34

IP Addresses: Locations for Routing, Not Permanent Identities

Learn what IP addresses identify, how prefixes divide networks and hosts, how private, public, static, dynamic, loopback, and link-local addresses differ.

#technology#computer-science#ip-addresses#networking
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 33

Packets: How Data Travels in Manageable Pieces

Learn why networks split data into packets, what headers and payloads contain, how packets share links, take routes, encounter loss, and are reassembled.

#technology#computer-science#packets#networking
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 32

LAN, WAN, and the Internet: Networks at Different Scales

Learn how local and wide-area networks differ, how private networks connect through providers, and why the internet is a federation of independently operated networks.

#technology#computer-science#networking#internet
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 31

What Is a Computer Network? Connected Devices Plus Shared Rules

Learn what makes a computer network, how links and protocols let devices exchange data, and how switches, routers, clients, servers, and layered communication fit together.

#technology#computer-science#networking#internet
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 30

Updates, Patches, and Versions: Why Software Keeps Changing

Learn why software updates fix security and compatibility issues, how versions and release channels work, and how to update safely without confusing backups or upgrades.

#technology#computer-science#updates#operating-systems
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 29

Drivers: Translating for Hardware Through Standard Interfaces

Learn how device drivers connect operating systems to hardware, handle commands and interrupts, expose standard APIs, and why driver compatibility and privilege matter.

#technology#computer-science#drivers#operating-systems
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 28

Installing and Uninstalling Software: What Changes on Your Computer

Learn what installers copy and configure, how package managers track software, why privileges and signatures matter, and what uninstallers intentionally leave behind.

#technology#computer-science#software-installation#operating-systems
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 27

What a File Extension Means: A Hint, Not the File Itself

Learn how file extensions relate to formats and applications, why renaming does not convert data, how magic bytes and MIME types identify content, and why mismatches matter.

#technology#computer-science#file-formats#operating-systems
6 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 26

Files, Folders, and Paths: How Computers Organize Stored Information

Learn how file systems name and locate data, how absolute and relative paths work, and why directories, metadata, permissions, links, and case sensitivity matter.

#technology#computer-science#files#operating-systems
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 25

Virtual Memory: Private Address Spaces Built on Physical RAM

Learn how virtual addresses map to physical memory, why pages and page tables exist, how isolation and demand paging work, and why swapping is slower than RAM.

#technology#computer-science#virtual-memory#operating-systems
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 24

Multitasking and Scheduling: How Programs Share the CPU

Learn how operating-system schedulers choose runnable threads, use time slices and priorities, perform context switches, and balance responsiveness, fairness, and throughput.

#technology#computer-science#scheduling#operating-systems
7 min readSeries: Tech Explained Simply · Part 23

Processes and Threads: How Running Programs Are Organized

Learn the difference between programs, processes, and threads, how address spaces isolate applications, how threads share state, and why browsers use both.

#technology#computer-science#processes#operating-systems