Added a glossary for Iris docs.

docs/src/userguide/glossary.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+.. _glossary:
+
+Glossary
+=============
+
+.. glossary::
+
+   Cartopy
+        A python package for producing maps, and other geospatial data.
+        Allows plotting on these maps, over a range of projections.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`MatPlotLib`
+        | **More information:** `CartoPy Site <https://scitools.org.uk/cartopy/docs/latest/>`_
+        |
+
+   Coordinates
+        A container for data points, comes in three main flavours.
+
+        - Dimensional Coordinates -
+            A coordinate that represents a singular data dimension.
+            These are organised in ascending order of dimension. Can only
+            contain numerical data.
+        - Auxiliary Coordinates -
+            A coordinate that can map to multiple data dimensions. Can
+            contain any type of data.
+        - Scalar Coordinates -
+                A coordinate that is not mapped to any data dimension, instead
+                representing the cube as a whole.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Cubes`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`iris_cubes`
+        |
+
+   Cubes
+        Cubes are the main method of storing data in Iris. A cube consists of:
+
+        - :term:`Coordinates`
+        - Array of :term:`Phenomenon` Data
+        - :term:`Standard Name`
+        - :term:`Long Name`
+        - :term:`Units`
+        - List of :term:`Cell Method`
+        - List of :term:`Coordinate Factory`
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`NumPy`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`iris_cubes`
+        |
+
+   Cell Method
+        A cell method represent past operations on a cube's data, such as a
+        MEAN or SUM operation
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Cubes`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`iris_cubes`
+        |
+
+   Coordinate Factory
+        A coordinate factory derives coordinates from the values of existing
+        coordinates.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Cubes`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`iris_cubes`
+        |
+
+   Dask
+        A collection of NumPy-esque arrays, stored in hard disk. When needed,
+        the data is temporarily loaded into RAM, and operated on, in batches.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Lazy Data` **//** :term:`NumPy`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`real_and_lazy_data`
+        |
+
+   Lazy Data
+        Data stored in hard drive, and then temporarily loaded into RAM in
+        batches when needed. Allows of less memory usage and faster performance,
+        thanks to parallel processing.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Dask` // :term:`Real Data`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`real_and_lazy_data`
+        |
+
+   Long Name
+        A name describing a :term:`phenomenon`, not limited to the
+        the same restraints as :term:`standard name`.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Standard Name` **||** :term:`Cubes`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`iris_cubes`
+        |
+
+   MatPlotLib
+        A python package for plotting and projecting data in a wide variety
+        of formats.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`CartoPy` || :term:`NumPy`
+        | **More information:** `MatPlotLib <https://scitools.org.uk/cartopy/docs/latest/>`_
+        |
+
+   Meta Data
+        The data which is used to describe phenomenon data e.g. longitude.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Phenomenon` **//** :term:`Cubes`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`../further_topics/metadata`
+        |
+
+   NumPy
+        A mathematical Python library, predominantly based around
+        multi-dimensional arrays.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Dask`  **//** :term:`Cubes`
+        | **More information:** `NumPy.org <https://numpy.org/>`_
+        |
+
+   Phenomenon
+        The primary data which is measured, usually within a cube, e.g.
+        air temperature.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Meta Data` **//** :term:`Cubes`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`iris_cubes`
+        |
+
+   Real Data
+        Data that has been loaded into RAM, as opposed to sitting
+        on the hard drive.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Lazy Data`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`real_and_lazy_data`
+        |
+
+   Standard Name
+        A name describing a :term:`phenomenon`, keeping within
+        bounds of `CF Standardisation <http://cfconventions.org/standard-names.html>`_.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Long Name` **//** :term:`Cubes`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`iris_cubes`
+        |
+
+   Units
+        The unit with which the phenomenon is measured.
+
+        | **Related:** :term:`Cubes`
+        | **More information:** :doc:`iris_cubes`
+        |
+
+    ----
+
+
+   `To top <glossary_>`_
+

docs/src/userguide/index.rst

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ they may serve as a useful reference for future exploration.
    cube_maths
    citation
    code_maintenance
+   glossary
 
 
 .. toctree::