Terminology
In Juno, we use some terms that may be unfamiliar to some. This page provides a summary of the most commonly used terms.
Account Identifier
An "Account Identifier" is an address, serving as the textual representation of an account on the Internet Computer (ICP) ledger. It can represent an account owned by an individual or a smart contract.
Console
The "console" refers to Juno's administration application, located at https://console.juno.build.
Controller
Controllers are used to grant permissions to mission controls and satellites in Juno.
For more detailed information, please refer to the dedicated documentation.
Cycles
Cycles are used to pay for infrastructure usage. Your mission control or satellite consumes cycles while it's active.
The amount of cycles available determines whether a smart contract will be active, inactive, or eventually decommissioned (deleted).
This ensures that related costs cannot surpass the amount of cycles available.
Think of cycles like prepaid mobile data:
- Just like your mobile plan allows you to make calls and browse the internet, cycles enable your smart contracts to process computations and store data.
- When your data (cycles) runs out, your service (smart contract) becomes inactive.
- To keep your smart contract running smoothly, you need to top up your cycles regularly.
- If you don’t top it up, after some time, it will be decommissioned, similar to losing your prepaid number due to prolonged inactivity.
Learn more about computation and storage costs.
ICP
The ICP token is the cryptocurrency used to pay for transactions on Juno's infrastructure.
It can also be converted into cycles, which are used to pay for computation and storage. Unlike the market price of ICP, the price of cycles remains constant, ensuring predictable costs for infrastructure usage.