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Salesforce Apex

Salesforce Apex is an object-oriented programming language specifically designed for the Salesforce platform. It is similar to Java and is primarily used to implement custom business logic, automation, and integrations within Salesforce.

Key Features of Apex:

  • Cloud-based: Runs exclusively on Salesforce servers.

  • Java-like Syntax: If you know Java, you can learn Apex quickly.

  • Tightly Integrated with Salesforce Database (SOQL & SOSL): Enables direct data queries and manipulations.

  • Event-driven: Often executed through Salesforce triggers (e.g., record changes).

  • Governor Limits: Salesforce imposes limits (e.g., maximum SOQL queries per transaction) to maintain platform performance.

Uses of Apex:

  • Triggers: Automate actions when records change.

  • Batch Processing: Handle large data sets in background jobs.

  • Web Services & API Integrations: Communicate with external systems.

  • Custom Controllers for Visualforce & Lightning: Control user interfaces.

 


Rate Limit

A rate limit is a restriction on the number of requests a user or system can send to a server or API within a given time frame. It helps prevent overload, ensures fair resource distribution, and mitigates abuse (e.g., DDoS attacks or spam).

Common Rate-Limiting Methods:

  1. Fixed Window – A set number of requests within a fixed time window (e.g., max 100 requests per minute).

  2. Sliding Window – A dynamic limit based on recent requests.

  3. Token Bucket – Users get a certain number of "tokens" for requests, which regenerate over time.

  4. Leaky Bucket – Requests are placed in a queue and processed at a controlled rate.

Examples of Rate Limits:

  • An API allows a maximum of 60 requests per minute per user.

  • A website blocks an IP after 10 failed logins within 5 minutes.

If you need to implement rate limits in web development, various techniques and tools are available, such as Redis, NGINX rate limiting, or middleware in frameworks like Laravel or Express.js.

 


Memcached

Memcached is a distributed in-memory caching system commonly used to speed up web applications. It temporarily stores frequently requested data in RAM to avoid expensive database queries or API calls.

Key Features of Memcached:

  • Key-Value Store: Data is stored as key-value pairs.

  • In-Memory: Runs entirely in RAM, making it extremely fast.

  • Distributed: Supports multiple servers (clusters) to distribute load.

  • Simple API: Provides basic operations like set, get, and delete.

  • Eviction Policy: Uses LRU (Least Recently Used) to remove old data when memory is full.

Common Use Cases:

  • Caching Database Queries: Reduces load on databases like MySQL or PostgreSQL.

  • Session Management: Stores user sessions in scalable web applications.

  • Temporary Data Storage: Useful for API rate limiting or short-lived data caching.

Memcached vs. Redis:

  • Memcached: Faster for simple key-value caching, scales well horizontally.

  • Redis: Offers more features like persistence, lists, hashes, sets, and pub/sub messaging.

Installation & Usage (Example for Linux):

sudo apt update && sudo apt install memcached
sudo systemctl start memcached

It can be used with PHP or Python via appropriate libraries.

 


Spider

A spider (also called a web crawler or bot) is an automated program that browses the internet to index web pages. These programs are often used by search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo to discover and update content in their search index.

How a Spider Works:

  1. Starting Point: The spider begins with a list of URLs to crawl.

  2. Analysis: It fetches the HTML code of a webpage and analyzes its content, links, and metadata.

  3. Following Links: It follows the links found on the page to discover new pages.

  4. Storage: The collected data is sent to the search engine’s database for indexing.

  5. Repetition: The process is repeated regularly to keep the index up to date.

Uses of Spiders:

  • Search engine optimization (SEO)

  • Price comparison websites

  • Web archiving (e.g., Wayback Machine)

  • Automated content analysis for AI models

Some websites use a robots.txt file to specify which areas can or cannot be crawled by a spider.

 


Crawler

A crawler (also known as a web crawler, spider, or bot) is an automated program that browses the internet and analyzes web pages. It follows links from page to page and collects information.

Uses of Crawlers:

  1. Search Engines (e.g., Google's Googlebot) – Index web pages so they appear in search engine results.

  2. Price Comparison Websites – Scan online stores for the latest prices and products.

  3. SEO Tools – Analyze websites for technical errors or optimization potential.

  4. Data Analysis & Monitoring – Track website content for market research or competitor analysis.

  5. Archiving – Save web pages for future reference (e.g., Internet Archive).

How a Crawler Works:

  1. Starts with a list of URLs.

  2. Fetches web pages and stores content (text, metadata, links).

  3. Follows links on the page and repeats the process.

  4. Saves or processes the collected data depending on its purpose.

Many websites use a robots.txt file to control which content crawlers can visit or ignore.

 


Internationalized Resource Identifier - IRI

An Internationalized Resource Identifier (IRI) is an extended version of a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that supports Unicode characters beyond the ASCII character set. This allows non-Latin scripts (e.g., Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic) and special characters to be used in web addresses and other identifiers.

Key Features of IRIs:

  1. Unicode Support: While URIs are limited to ASCII characters (A-Z, 0-9, -, ., _), IRIs allow characters from the entire Unicode character set.
  2. Backward Compatibility: Every IRI can be converted into a URI by encoding non-ASCII characters into Punycode or percent-encoded format.
  3. Use in Web Technologies: IRIs enable internationalized domain names (IDNs), paths, and query parameters in URLs, making the web more accessible for non-English languages.

Example:

  • IRI: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Überblick
  • Equivalent URI: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Cberblick
    (Here, Ü is encoded as %C3%9C)

Standardization:

IRIs are defined in RFC 3987 and are supported in modern web technologies like HTML5, XML, and RDF.

Conclusion:

IRIs make the internet more linguistically inclusive by allowing websites and resources to be referenced using non-Latin characters, improving accessibility worldwide.

 


System Under Test - SUT

A SUT (System Under Test) is the system or component being tested in a testing process. The term is commonly used in software development and quality assurance.

Meaning and Application:

  • In software testing, the SUT refers to the entire program, a single module, or a specific function being tested.
  • In hardware testing, the SUT could be an electronic device or a machine under examination.
  • In automated testing, the SUT is often tested using frameworks and tools to identify errors or unexpected behavior.

A typical testing process includes:

  1. Defining test cases based on requirements.
  2. Executing tests on the SUT.
  3. Reviewing test results and comparing them with expected outcomes.

 


Whoops

The Whoops PHP library is a powerful and user-friendly error handling tool for PHP applications. It provides clear and well-structured error pages, making it easier to debug and fix issues.

Key Features of Whoops

Beautiful, interactive error pages
Detailed stack traces with code previews
Easy integration into existing PHP projects
Support for various frameworks (Laravel, Symfony, Slim, etc.)
Customizable with custom handlers and loggers


Installation

You can install Whoops using Composer:

composer require filp/whoops

Basic Usage

Here's a simple example of how to enable Whoops in your PHP project:

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use Whoops\Run;
use Whoops\Handler\PrettyPageHandler;

$whoops = new Run();
$whoops->pushHandler(new PrettyPageHandler());
$whoops->register();

// Trigger an error (e.g., calling an undefined variable)
echo $undefinedVariable;

If an error occurs, Whoops will display a clear and visually appealing debug page.


Customization & Extensions

You can extend Whoops by adding custom error handling, for example:

use Whoops\Handler\CallbackHandler;

$whoops->pushHandler(new CallbackHandler(function ($exception, $inspector, $run) {
    error_log($exception->getMessage());
}));

This version logs errors to a file instead of displaying them.


Use Cases

Whoops is mainly used in development environments to quickly detect and fix errors. However, in production environments, it should be disabled or replaced with a custom error page.


Secure Shell - SSH

SSH (Secure Shell) is a network protocol that establishes an encrypted connection between two computers. It is mainly used for securely logging into remote systems (e.g., servers) and executing commands.

Key Features of SSH

  • Security: Data is transmitted in an encrypted form, protecting against eavesdropping and manipulation.
  • Authentication: Access can be granted via passwords or SSH keys.
  • Tunneling Capability: Can be used to securely forward network traffic.
  • File Transfer: Allows file transfers between systems using SCP or SFTP.

Basic SSH Commands

  • Connect to a remote server:
ssh username@server-ip
  • Transfer files using SCP:
scp file.txt username@server-ip:/destination-folder/
  • Add your public SSH key (for passwordless login):
ssh-copy-id username@server-ip

SSH is commonly used by developers and system administrators to manage servers or establish secure connections for other applications.

 


Swift

Swift is a powerful and user-friendly programming language developed by Apple for building apps on iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. It was introduced in 2014 as a modern alternative to Objective-C, designed for speed, safety, and simplicity.

Key Features of Swift:

  • Safety: Prevents common programming errors like null pointer dereferencing.
  • Readability & Maintainability: Clear, intuitive syntax makes code easier to write and understand.
  • Performance: Optimized for high-speed execution, comparable to C++.
  • Interactivity: Playgrounds allow developers to test code and see results in real-time.
  • Open Source: Since 2015, Swift has been an open-source project, continuously evolving with community contributions.

Swift is primarily used for Apple platforms but can also be utilized for server-side applications and even Android or Windows apps in some cases.