bridge
A bridge is a structure that carries people or vehicles over a gap like a river or a road. People also use it to mean a connection between two things, like building a bridge between cultures. It can mean a card game, or a dental piece that fills a gap between teeth.
What a model may hear
- network bridge networking and IT infrastructure
- connect two network segments at the data link layer, forwarding traffic based on MAC addresses
- smart contract bridge blockchain and DeFi
- move assets or data between two different blockchains, often involving locked funds and minted representations
- API bridge software integration
- translate calls between two incompatible interfaces or protocols
- Docker bridge container networking
- the default virtual network that lets containers communicate on a single host
- bridge pattern software design patterns
- separate an abstraction from its implementation so both can vary independently
Where people and models part ways
“Build a bridge between our app and theirs”
Meant: make our systems work together somehow
May be taken as: deploy a low-level network bridge or blockchain bridge with security assumptions the user never intended
Say instead: “Connect our app to theirs so they can share user data through a secure API”
“Set up a bridge for the containers”
Meant: let the containers talk to each other
May be taken as: create a Docker bridge network with specific IP ranges and isolation rules that block external access
Say instead: “Let the containers reach each other on this machine, and also reach the internet”
“Bridge these two databases”
Meant: keep data in sync between them
May be taken as: build a real-time replication bridge with eventual consistency guarantees the user did not ask for
Say instead: “Copy new records from database A to database B every hour, and flag any conflicts for manual review”
Tips
- Say what kind of connection you need: data sync, API calls, user access, or network linking
- Mention if both sides are on the same machine, same network, or different clouds
- Say whether you need real-time, scheduled, or one-time transfer
- Specify if security or isolation matters more than convenience
- If you mean the card game, say 'the card game bridge' to avoid software answers
Often confused with
- gateway
- a gateway translates protocols; a bridge keeps the same protocol
- proxy
- a proxy acts on behalf of one side; a bridge connects two peers
- tunnel
- a tunnel wraps traffic inside another protocol; a bridge forwards at the same layer
- adapter
- an adapter changes interfaces for one component; a bridge links two whole systems
- router
- a router uses network addresses; a bridge uses physical device addresses
- relay
- a relay passes messages unchanged; a bridge may transform or hold state