Server
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
A server is just a computer that waits around all day answering questions. When you open a website, your computer asks the server 'hey, give me that page' and the server hands it over. It's like a waiter who never goes home.
Real Talk
A server is a computer or software program that provides resources, data, services, or programs to other computers (clients) over a network. Servers are typically optimized for high availability, processing power, and concurrent connections.
When You'll Hear This
"The server is down, nobody can log in." / "We need to scale the server to handle more traffic."
Related Terms
API (Application Programming Interface)
An API is like a menu at a restaurant. The kitchen (server) can do a bunch of things, but you can only order what's on the menu.
Client
The client is YOU — or more specifically, your browser or app. It's the thing that makes requests to the server. The client asks, the server answers.
Request
A request is what your browser (or app) sends to a server when it wants something. 'Give me the homepage.' 'Give me that image.
Response
A response is what the server sends back after receiving a request.
Serverless
Serverless doesn't mean there are no servers — it means YOU don't have to think about servers. Someone else manages them, scales them, and patches them.