Software engineering is a religion of acronyms. DRY this. KISS that. YAGNI everywhere. Knowing what they actually stand for separates juniors from seniors.
How to Play: Each question shows a programming/CS acronym. Pick its meaning from 4 options. 10 random per round.
Result
Top 13 Programming Acronyms
Software engineering has more 4-letter acronyms than any other discipline. They encode design principles, architectural patterns, and team practices. The terms are tossed around in code reviews, system design interviews, and stand-up meetings — often without anyone fully unpacking them.
| # | Acronym | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DRY | Don't Repeat Yourself |
| 2 | KISS | Keep It Simple, Stupid |
| 3 | YAGNI | You Aren't Gonna Need It |
| 4 | CRUD | Create, Read, Update, Delete |
| 5 | REST | Representational State Transfer |
| 6 | JSON | JavaScript Object Notation |
| 7 | API | Application Programming Interface |
| 8 | SQL | Structured Query Language |
| 9 | HTTP | Hypertext Transfer Protocol |
| 10 | OOP | Object-Oriented Programming |
| 11 | MVC | Model View Controller |
| 12 | CI/CD | Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment |
| 13 | MVP | Minimum Viable Product |
Why Programming Loves Acronyms
Programming acronyms are dense compression of design principles. DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) means duplicate code creates maintenance burden — every duplicate must be updated when requirements change. The principle was named by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas in The Pragmatic Programmer (1999).
KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) originated at Lockheed Skunk Works in the 1960s. Aerospace engineer Kelly Johnson coined it as a design rule for fighter aircraft — components should be simple enough that an average mechanic could repair them in the field with basic tools. It transferred easily to software design.
YAGNI (You Aren’t Gonna Need It) is the anti-speculative-design rule from Extreme Programming (XP, 1999). Don’t build features for hypothetical future needs. Almost all such features either get cut, get rewritten, or become technical debt.
SOLID is a 5-principle bundle for object-oriented design coined by Robert C. Martin: Single responsibility, Open-closed, Liskov substitution, Interface segregation, Dependency inversion. Each letter is a separate principle. SOLID code tends to be easier to test, extend, and refactor.
REST (Representational State Transfer) was Roy Fielding’s 2000 doctoral dissertation. It describes a stateless, resource-oriented architecture for web services. Modern APIs are mostly REST — using HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and URLs as resources. CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) describes the four basic database operations REST APIs typically support.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does DRY mean in programming?
Don’t Repeat Yourself. Coined by Hunt and Thomas in The Pragmatic Programmer (1999). Each piece of knowledge should have a single, unambiguous representation in your codebase.
Where did KISS originate?
Lockheed Skunk Works (1960s aerospace), coined by engineer Kelly Johnson. Originally a design principle for fighter aircraft, later borrowed by software engineering.
Why is REST so popular?
REST APIs use HTTP verbs and stateless requests, making them easy to cache, scale, and debug. Roy Fielding’s 2000 thesis formalized the architecture; it’s now the dominant API style on the web.
What's the difference between REST and CRUD?
CRUD describes four database operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete). REST is an architectural style for APIs that often maps HTTP verbs to CRUD operations (POST → Create, GET → Read, PUT/PATCH → Update, DELETE → Delete).
Is MVP about software or product?
Both. MVP (Minimum Viable Product) was popularized by Eric Ries in The Lean Startup (2011). It refers to building the smallest version of a product that delivers user value, then iterating based on feedback.
Note: Acronym definitions per standard software engineering references including Hunt & Thomas, Martin Fowler, Robert C. Martin.
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