# gaearon/whatthefuck.is

An opinionated glossary of computer science terms for front-end developers. Written by Dan Abramov.

Repository: https://github.com/gaearon/whatthefuck.is
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/whatthefuckis
Homepage: https://whatthefuck.is
Language: CSS
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: javascript, glossary
Last push: 2022-12-13T06:41:09+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2245, "days_push": 1359, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3037, forks 111 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:39.169980+00:00)

## What it is
An opinionated online glossary of computer science terms written for front-end developers by Dan Abramov. It is a static website (built with CSS) that publishes plain-language explanations of concepts like closures, composition, dynamic dispatch, and memoization.

## Use cases
- understand what a JavaScript closure actually is
- look up a plain-English definition of memoization
- learn computer science terminology as a front-end developer
- find an opinionated explanation of composition
- request or vote on definitions for confusing CS terms
- share a clear reference link when explaining a concept to a colleague

## When to choose
- you are a front-end or JavaScript developer wanting concise, opinionated explanations of CS concepts
- you prefer short, human-written definitions over long textbook chapters
- you want a shareable link that explains a single term clearly

## When to avoid
- you need an exhaustive or neutral reference like MDN or Wikipedia
- you want a structured course with exercises rather than a glossary
- you need definitions for backend, systems, or non-JavaScript-specific topics

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: maintenance
- function: documentation
- domain: education, programming-languages, web-development, tutorials
- platform: -
- tags: glossary, computer-science, front-end, javascript, definitions, educational-website, dan-abramov, web-server

## Member repositories
- gaearon/whatthefuck.is (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:39.169980+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:29:17.793084+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/gaearon/whatthefuck.is (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:39.169980+00:00, sha cb077a5e2593)
  - homepage: https://whatthefuck.is (fetched 2026-08-29T09:44:26.841594+00:00, sha 6b1a611c4cbd)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.