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Software Engineering vocabulary · Architecture, Design Patterns and Graphics

Dependency

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/dɪˈpendənsi/nounCore term

In software engineering, dependency means: A library, service or other piece of software that your code needs in order to work, so a change or failure in it can affect your project.

In Turkish: bağımlılık

How it is used

Teams add, install, update, pin and remove dependencies, often listed in files such as package.json or requirements.txt. It is also used for tasks: 'This ticket has a dependency on the API work.'

Example sentences

  1. Before adding a new dependency, check how well it is maintained.

  2. The build broke because one of our dependencies released a new major version.

Common collocations

  • add a dependency
  • update dependencies
  • external dependency
  • dependency on
  • pin a dependency
  • libraryA collection of ready-made code that other programs can use, so that developers don't have to write common things like date handling or HTTP requests themselves.
  • third-partyMade or provided by an outside company or developer, not by your own team, such as a payment service, library or analytics tool.
  • breaking changeA change to an API, library or file format that makes existing code that uses it stop working unless that code is updated too.
  • buildThe process of turning source code into a program or package that can run, or the result of that process. Also a verb: to build the project.
  • frameworkA ready-made structure for building applications that gives you rules, tools and common parts, so you only write the code that is specific to your product.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Architecture, Design Patterns and Graphics

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