QCE Digital Solutions Unit 4 Definitions Worksheet: Digital Methods for Exchanging Data (Modules 89–125)
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Key terms
Write what each term means, in your own words.
1
timely delivery
2
FTP
3
streaming
4
broadcast
5
REST
6
GET, POST, PUT, DELETE
7
JSON object and array
8
JSON vs XML
9
front-end
10
back-end
Answer Key
QCE Digital Solutions Unit 4 · Modules 89–125 · Student wording will vary for definitions
1timely delivery — Data arrives quickly enough to be useful, even if some packets are lost. Live calls and games favour speed over guaranteed delivery, so late or missing packets are skipped, not resent.
2FTP — File Transfer Protocol: moves files between a client and a server (upload/download) on port 21. It sends data and logins as plain text, so use SFTP or FTPS for security.
3streaming — Sending packets continuously from a server to one viewer, who plays them as they arrive instead of waiting for the whole file to download.
4broadcast — Sending the same data packets from one source to many receivers at once, instead of a separate unicast copy for each, which saves network bandwidth.
5REST — A web API style where data is treated as resources, each with its own URL, accessed using standard HTTP requests. Each request is stateless, so the server remembers nothing between requests.
6GET, POST, PUT, DELETE — HTTP methods in a REST API: GET reads a resource, POST creates one, PUT updates one and DELETE removes one. The server replies with a status code such as 200 OK or 404 Not Found.
7JSON object and array — JSON stores data as key-value pairs inside {} objects and as ordered lists of values inside [] arrays. Keys are double-quoted strings. Values can be nested.
8JSON vs XML — JSON is shorter and easier to read. XML uses tags and can carry attributes and schemas. Both are self-describing text formats for exchanging data between systems.
9front-end — The part of a system the user sees and uses. It runs on the user's device, collects input through the interface, checks it, sends requests to the back-end and shows the output.
10back-end — The server side of a system that processes requests, applies business rules and stores data in databases, hidden from the user. The front-end displays results.