What is software?
Instructions and components that help a computer perform useful work.
Begin with what you want to understand.
Explore 24 connected ideas—from files and APIs to automation and AI agents. Open a short concept or settle into a full visual guide.
A compass, not a course
Start anywhere.
Digital basics explain the pieces. Automation shows how work moves. AI agents show how systems choose actions. Digital work connects them to everyday organizations.
24 concepts
What is a file?
A named package of information stored so it can be opened, moved or used again.
What is a database?
Organized information designed to be found, connected and updated reliably.
What is the cloud?
Computing and storage reached over a network instead of kept only on your device.
What is an API?
A defined way for software systems to request data or actions from one another.
What is JSON?
A readable text format for arranging information as names, values and lists.
How do applications communicate?
Applications exchange signals through agreed formats, identities and secure connections.
What is automation?
A repeatable process carried out by technology under defined rules and controls.
What is a workflow?
A sequence of steps that moves work from a starting event to an outcome.
What is RPA?
Software that performs repeatable actions through the interfaces of existing applications.
What is OCR?
Technology that turns text in images and scans into machine-readable characters.
What is an integration?
A maintained connection that lets systems exchange data or actions.
What is a trigger?
An event or condition that tells a workflow when to begin.
What is an action?
A specific step a workflow or agent is allowed to perform.
What is human approval?
A checkpoint where a person reviews information and decides whether work may continue.
What should never be automated?
Work whose rules, oversight or consequences are too unclear for safe delegation.
What is artificial intelligence?
Systems that produce useful outputs by detecting and applying patterns in data.
What is an LLM?
A large language model trained to predict and generate sequences of language.
What is a prompt?
Instructions and context given to an AI system to shape its response.
What is an AI agent?
A system that pursues a goal by choosing tools and actions within boundaries.
What is AI memory?
Information an AI system can retrieve and use beyond the immediate instruction.
Why does AI make mistakes?
AI generates likely outputs; it does not automatically verify that they are true.
What is a digital document?
A file structured for people to read and systems to store, share or process.
What is a business process?
A repeatable set of activities that turns an input into a useful business outcome.