📘 Glossary

Action

Actions can be assigned to components, screens, and elements and are responsible for transforming actions in an application into an application. Without Actions, you wouldn't be able to do anything in your application! Some types of actions include opening a new page, closing a page, or switching to another.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API (application programming interface) is a web service that uses links (called endpoints) on a computer server to perform various actions programmatically rather than through a GUI (graphical user interface). All applications use APIs in some form or another. The interface we see and interact with in apps is just a means to easily tell an API what we would like it to do for us. In Adalo, you can use APIs to pull in data from other sources, create data elsewhere, or perform actions like send emails, SMS messages, or crop photos.

API Key

An API Key "is a code that gets passed in by computer applications. The program or application then calls the API or application programming interface to identify its user, developer or calling program to a website. Application programming keys are normally used to assist in tracking and controlling how the interface is being utilized. An API key can act as a secret authentication token as well as a unique identifier. Typically, the key will come with a set of access rights for the API that it is associated with."

Bug (and Debug)

A bug is another word for an error in the code of a computer program that causes it to produce unexpected results or behave in unexpected ways. A bug may also cause the program to fail to run altogether.

Debugging is the process of locating and removing errors (or bugs) from a computer program.

Canvas

In the Sizze Editor, the canvas is the location in which you'll find your app's screens. You can drag and drop screens onto the canvas to start editing them. When you drag an unwanted component from a screen onto the canvas, it'll disappear.

Component

Components are the building blocks of your app. All of the elements that appear on your screen – lists, buttons, text, etc. – are components.

Home Screen

A home screen is the first screen a user encounters on an app. Most of the core functions of the app live on the home screen, and all subsequent navigation stems from the home screen. In your app, you can choose which screen will be your home screen and customize it accordingly.

Native

Native simply means that an application software has been built in a specific programming language so that it's compatible with certain devices. Your Sizze apps are both iOS and Android native, meaning they're built on both operating systems and do not necessarily need internet connectivity to run on Apple and Android devices.