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KEDBYTE
How Computers Work
Part GVolume 4Chapters 35–44

Building and Shipping Software

The web, APIs, version control, automation, the cloud and keeping all of it safe.

10 chapters246,579 wordsabout 18 hours reading
Part G chapters
35

Web and App Development

You will be able to draw the line between frontend and backend, say exactly what runs on the user's device and what runs on a server you control, and…

30,848 words/134 min read
36

APIs - What They Are and Where They Came From

You will be able to say what an API actually is in one sentence, and to defend that sentence: it is a published agreement, not a technology.

28,273 words/123 min read
37

Git - Why It Works With No Network

You will be able to say what version control is for, and name the six real problems it solves, rather than repeating that it "saves your work".

19,006 words/83 min read
38

What a Commit Actually Is

You will be able to say what content-addressed storage is: the name of a thing is worked out from the thing itself, so equal content always gets equal…

19,332 words/84 min read
39

The Index, Push, Fetch, Merge and Rebase

You will be able to name the three places a file can live in git, working directory, index and object database, and say which command moves content…

19,776 words/86 min read
40

Your Own Git Server, and What GitHub Adds

You will be able to say, in one sentence, what a git server is, and prove it by building one in an empty folder in under a second.

24,460 words/106 min read
41

CI/CD and What a "Run" Really Is

You will be able to explain what continuous integration is as a practice, and say clearly why it is not the same thing as a tool that runs tests.

26,072 words/113 min read
42

SSH, HTTPS, Keys, Tokens and Scopes

You will be able to explain the two ways git talks to a server, SSH and HTTPS, and say exactly what is different and what is identical.

23,130 words/101 min read
43

Cloud Computing, the Bezos Mandate, AWS and Azure

You will be able to say what "the cloud" actually is in one plain sentence, without any mystery, and say exactly what it changed and what it did not.

30,016 words/131 min read
44

Security

You will be able to say what security actually means, using the five properties professionals name, and build a threat model in plain words.

25,666 words/112 min read