Developer Glossary

This glossary provides definitions for terms and concepts relevant to building on HyperBEAM.

AO-Core Protocol

The underlying protocol that HyperBEAM implements, enabling decentralized computing and communication between nodes. AO-Core provides a framework into which any number of different computational models, encapsulated as primitive devices, can be attached.

Asynchronous Message Passing

A communication paradigm where senders don't wait for receivers to be ready, allowing for non-blocking operations and better scalability.

Compute Unit (CU)

The NodeJS component of HyperBEAM that executes WebAssembly modules and handles computational tasks.

Device

A functional unit in HyperBEAM that provides specific capabilities to the system, such as storage, networking, or computational resources.

Hashpaths

A mechanism for referencing locations in a program's state-space prior to execution. These state-space links are represented as Merklized lists of programs inputs and initial states.

Message

A data structure used for communication between processes in the HyperBEAM system. Messages can be interpreted as a binary term or as a collection of named functions (a Map of functions).

Module

A unit of code that can be loaded and executed by the Compute Unit, typically in WebAssembly format.

Process

An independent unit of computation in HyperBEAM with its own state and execution context.

Process ID

A unique identifier assigned to a process within the HyperBEAM system.

WebAssembly (WASM)

A binary instruction format that serves as a portable compilation target for programming languages, enabling deployment on the web and other environments.

Permaweb Glossary

For a more comprehensive glossary of terms used in the permaweb, try the Permaweb Glossary. Or use it below: