Glossary

The STEM Computing Glossary provides definitions and explanations for terms, acronyms, and concepts commonly used in STEM courses, documentation, and development practices.

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Term Name (ACRONYM, if applicable)

A concise, technically accurate definition of the term, preferably in one or two sentences.

Context: Optional explanation of how the term is used in GC-STEM courses, documentation, or development practices.

Example: Optional practical example illustrating the concept.

See also: Related Term

Reference: Authoritative Source

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Course Development Environment (CDE)

The combination of computing resources, software, tools, and configurations used by students to design, write, run, test, debug, and manage programs and other course development activities.

Context: In GC-STEM courses, the CDE provides the tools needed to complete software development activities. A CDE may run:

• Locally on a student's computer, either natively (bare metal) or through virtualization, such as a container or virtual machine (VM) or on an edge computing device, such as a Raspberry Pi.
• Institutionally, through a school-provided hosted environment, such as Codio or {{TBD}}.
• Independently, through a third-party cloud service, such as GitHub Codespaces or Kaggle.com.

Every GC-STEM course uses a common set of computing tools and settings called the STEM Computing Baseline (SCB). For some courses, such as IT-140, the SCB provides everything students need. Other courses, such as CS-210, require additional tools or settings. Any changes to the standard baseline are clearly identified.

Example: The {{TBD Course Code}} CDE includes... . Students can use a properly configured CDE on their own computer, in the institution-provided Codio environment, or through a compatible third-party cloud development service.

See also: STEM Computing Baseline (SCB), Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Virtual Machine (VM), Container.

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Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

A software application that combines programming tools into a single interface to help developers write, run, test, and debug software.

Context: An IDE brings together tools that developers would otherwise use separately, making software development more efficient. Common features include a source code editor, syntax highlighting, code completion, error detection, debugging tools, and integration with compilers, interpreters, testing tools, and version control systems.

In GC-STEM courses, an IDE is one component of the broader Course Development Environment (CDE). The CDE also includes the operating system, programming languages, libraries, configurations, and other tools required for the course.

Example: Visual Studio Code (VS Code), when configured with the appropriate extensions and tools, functions as an IDE for Python development in IT-140. Students can write and edit Python code, run programs, identify errors, debug their code, and access Git through the same interface.

See also: Course Development Environment (CDE), STEM Computing Baseline (SCB).

References:

• IEEE Computer Society. (2026). Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK Guide), Version 4.0a, Chapter 4, Section 5.1: Development Environments, p. 4-14.
• IEEE. Software Tools — Integrated Development Environments.

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STEM Computing Baseline (SCB)

The standard set of computing software, tools, and configurations used as the foundation for Course Development Environments (CDEs) across GC-STEM courses.

Context: The SCB establishes a common computing environment so students can use familiar tools as they progress through their STEM courses. Because IT-140 is required for most STEM degree programs, its CDE defines the SCB. Both have the same required software, tools, and configurations.

Other courses use the SCB as their starting point, adding software or changing settings only when needed to meet course-specific requirements. Any changes to the SCB are clearly identified.

The authoritative source for the SCB is the scb_manifest.json file in the GC-STEM GitHub repository.

Example: The IT-140 CDE and the SCB have identical software and configuration requirements, including Python, Visual Studio Code, Git, and supporting tools. A student who completes IT-140 can continue using the same environment in subsequent STEM courses, installing additional tools or adjusting settings only when required.

See also: Course Development Environment (CDE), Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

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