AI app-building glossary

An AI app builder is a tool that turns a plain-language description into a working, full-stack software application.

Vibe coding is building software by describing what you want to an AI in natural language and steering by results, rather than writing code by hand.

A full-stack app is a complete application with both a user-facing front-end and a server-side backend, including its database and business logic.

An API backend is the server-side part of an app that stores data and exposes endpoints the front-end calls to read and write it.

Managed hosting is a service that runs your app's servers, database, scaling, and uptime for you, so you don't operate any infrastructure.

A custom domain is your own web address, like yourbusiness.com, that your app runs on instead of a shared platform subdomain.

No-code is a way to build software through visual tools and configuration instead of writing any programming code.

Low-code is a development approach that builds most of an app visually while allowing custom code for the parts that need it.

Prompt-to-app is the process of turning a written description — a prompt — directly into a working software application.

SaaS (software as a service) is software you access online by subscription, hosted and maintained by the provider instead of installed on your own machine.

A CRUD app is an application built around four basic data operations: create, read, update, and delete records.

A database schema is the structure of a database — the tables, fields, and relationships that define how an app's data is organized.

Authentication is the process of verifying who a user is, typically through login, so an app knows which account someone is using.

Deployment is the process of taking an app from development and making it live and accessible to users on the internet.

A web app is software you use through a browser over the internet, with no installation, working across desktop and mobile.