Glossary

This glossary defines key terms used throughout Gigantics documentation in simple, accessible language.

Core Concepts

Term	Definition	More Information
Organization	Your personal workspace that contains Projects. Think of it like a folder where you can organize all your work.	Organizations
Project	A workspace where you can create models, work with databases, and invite other users to collaborate. Each project can have multiple database connections.	Projects
Model	A framework where you work with data from a specific database (called a "tap"). Each model is connected to only one database source.	Models
Tap	An input connection to a database. This is where Gigantics reads data from. You can only have one model per tap.	Taps
Sink	An output connection to a database. This is where Gigantics writes data to after processing.	Sinks
Environment	A way to group and organize your database connections (taps and sinks). Helps keep your development, testing, and production databases separate.	Environments

Data Operations

Term	Definition	More Information
Discover	The process of analyzing your database to identify sensitive information (PII) and classify fields with labels. This helps determine what data needs protection.	Discover
Anonymize	The process of protecting sensitive data by replacing original values with fake but realistic data. Used to maintain privacy while keeping data useful for testing.	Anonymize
Operation	A specific action or transformation that can be applied to data within a Rule. Multiple operations can be combined in a rule to create complex data processing workflows.	Operations
Synthesize	Creating completely new, realistic data based on your database schema rather than modifying existing data. Useful for generating test datasets from scratch.	Synthesize
Select	An operation that allows you to choose which tables and fields to include in your dataset. Acts like a filter to narrow down your data.	Select
Include/Exclude	Operations that let you specify which entities (tables) or fields should be included in or excluded from your dataset processing.	Include/Exclude
Transform	An operation that allows you to modify data using custom JavaScript functions during the data processing pipeline.	Transform
Function	A snippet of code that transforms, anonymizes, or synthesizes data. Functions can be custom JavaScript code or predefined operations used within Transform operations.	Functions

Data Management

Term	Definition	More Information
Dataset	A collection of data extracted from your database that can be downloaded, shared, or loaded into another database (sink). Think of it as a packaged set of your data.	Datasets
PII (Personally Identifiable Information)	Any data that can be used to identify a specific person, such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, etc.	Discover
Label	A classification tag applied to fields to identify their type of data (e.g., "name", "email", "phone"). Labels help determine how to process the data.	Labels
Rule	A set of operations that define how to transform data from your tap. Rules are used to create datasets with specific processing requirements.	Rules
Job	A task that executes operations within a model, such as scanning a database, anonymizing data, or creating a dataset. Jobs run in the background and show progress.	Jobs
Pipeline	A scheduled process that automatically runs jobs periodically or through public links, helping automate data processing workflows.	Pipelines
Audit	A security report that documents the current state of your database, including identified risks and PII elements. Can be signed and downloaded as PDF.	Audit

Technical Terms

Term	Definition	More Information
DDL (Data Definition Language)	Database language used to define and modify database structure, including tables, columns, and relationships. Gigantics reads this to understand your database.	Schema
Schema	The structure of your database, including tables, columns, data types, and relationships. Gigantics scans your schema to understand your data.	Schema
Dictionary	A mapping system that ensures consistent anonymization. For example, if "John Smith" is replaced with "Jane Doe" in one record, it will be replaced with the same "Jane Doe" in all other records. Dictionaries can be used across multiple taps and sinks within the same project.	Dictionaries
Debaser	The underlying engine that handles database scanning, discovery, anonymization, and synthesis operations. It connects to taps and sinks to do the data processing work.	Debaser
Gigantics	The main application platform for database analysis, risk assessment, and data anonymization/synthesis.	What is Gigantics

License and Administration

Term	Definition	More Information
License	A key that determines which features and database types you can access in Gigantics. Different licenses provide access to different database drivers.	Admin documentation
Master License	The top-level license that enables all features and database types for an organization.	Admin documentation

This glossary covers the main terminology used in Gigantics documentation. For more detailed information about any term, follow the provided links to the relevant documentation pages.