GABAnode Lab
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Glossary
In short: this page explains the abbreviations and specialist words used on this website, in plain language.
- Accessible name
- The name a screen reader announces for a link, button, or form field.
- ADA
- Americans with Disabilities Act. A United States civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. Title II of the ADA covers state and local governments.
- API
- Application Programming Interface. A defined way for one piece of software to request data or services from another.
- Assistive technology
- Hardware or software that people with disabilities use to operate a computer, such as a screen reader, screen magnifier, switch device, or speech input.
- CO
- Colorado. The US state where GABAnode Lab is based.
- Conformance
- Meeting every requirement of a standard at a stated level. A conformance report records what was tested and the result.
- CSS
- Cascading Style Sheets. The language that controls how a web page looks: colours, fonts, spacing, and layout.
- CSV
- Comma-Separated Values. A plain-text spreadsheet format in which each value is separated by a comma.
- DOM
- Document Object Model. The browser's internal, structured version of a web page, which scripts and assistive technology read.
- Dragon
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking, speech-recognition software that lets people control a computer by voice.
- Forced colours
- A Windows setting, also called high contrast mode, that replaces a site's colours with a small set the user has chosen.
- HB 21-1110
- Colorado House Bill 21-1110. A Colorado law requiring state and local government services, including websites and documents, to be accessible to people with disabilities.
- HTML
- HyperText Markup Language. The language used to structure the content of web pages.
- HTTP / HTTPS
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol (Secure). The rules browsers use to request web pages. HTTPS is the encrypted version.
- JavaScript
- A programming language that runs in the browser and makes web pages interactive.
- JAWS
- Job Access With Speech. A screen reader for Windows.
- JSON
- JavaScript Object Notation. A plain-text format for storing and exchanging structured data.
- Landmark
- A labelled region of a page, such as header, navigation, main content, or footer, that screen reader users can jump between.
- Language access
- Making public information and services usable by people who speak languages other than English, including through translation and interpretation.
- LLC
- Limited Liability Company. A type of business structure in the United States.
- NVDA
- NonVisual Desktop Access. A free screen reader for Windows.
- Portable Document Format. A file format that preserves a document's layout across devices.
- PDF/UA
- PDF Universal Accessibility. An international standard (ISO 14289) describing how to make PDF files accessible to people using assistive technology.
- Reflow
- Content rearranging itself to fit a narrow screen or high zoom, so that you never need to scroll sideways to read it.
- Remediation
- Repairing a document or web page so that it becomes accessible.
- Screen reader
- Software that reads what is on the screen aloud, or sends it to a braille display, for people who are blind or have low vision.
- Section 508
- Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. A US federal law requiring federal agencies' electronic and information technology to be accessible.
- Title II
- Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The part of the ADA that applies to state and local governments. Its 2024 web rule requires WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
- Title VI
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A US law prohibiting discrimination based on race, colour, or national origin in federally funded programs. It is the basis for language access obligations.
- URL
- Uniform Resource Locator. A web address, such as https://www.gabanodelab.com.
- VoiceOver
- The screen reader built into Apple devices.
- WAI-ARIA
- Web Accessibility Initiative – Accessible Rich Internet Applications. A W3C specification for adding accessibility information to web pages where HTML alone is not enough.
- WCAG
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The international standard for web accessibility, published by the W3C. Its success criteria are graded at three levels: A, AA, and AAA.
- WCAG levels: A, AA, AAA
- The three conformance levels in WCAG. Level A is the minimum, AAA is the highest, and AA is the level referenced by the ADA Title II web rule.
- WebAssembly
- A compact format for running compiled programs in a web browser.