Quote:

If all the people in these books didn't just assume I already know how to code shaders, then I may just learn something from them..

That's why I recommended the other book. It also has a glossary in the back. Shader X2/3 is for advanced shader programmers.

detail map: texture to be added or multiplied with base olor texture. Often scaled down so that multiple detail texels are combined with one color texel.