Glossary

The “wait, what does that mean?” page

This is the quick-reference page for the terms that keep showing up just often enough to be important and just vaguely enough to be annoying.

Core setup terms

  • Terminal: a text-based interface for running commands.
  • Shell: the program that reads and executes the commands you type.
  • PATH: the list of folders the shell searches when you enter a command.
  • Interpreter: the program that reads and runs Python code.
  • Environment: an isolated Python workspace for one project or task.

Programming terms

  • Variable: a name that refers to a value.
  • String: a text value.
  • Integer: a whole number.
  • Float: a number with a decimal point.
  • Boolean: a true or false value.
  • List: an ordered collection of values.
  • Dictionary: a collection of labelled values.
  • Loop: a way to repeat an action over multiple values.
  • Function: a reusable block of code with a name.

Notebook and image-analysis terms

  • Cell: a code block or markdown block in a notebook.
  • Kernel: the Python process that executes notebook code.
  • Layer: one visual element in napari, such as an image or labels.
  • Plugin: an add-on package that extends another application.
  • Reproducibility: the ability to rerun an analysis and obtain the same result with the same setup.