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Code Tax

Everyone knows the aphorism "Nothing is certain, except death and taxes." It is with that certainty that I declare a CODE TAX! Can you afford the monthly payments? What is a code tax? It's a concept similar to technical debt. Let's say you have a code base that's in perfect shape, no major defects, no design issues, the perfect set of interfaces, abstractions, OO modeling. Perfect! Now you have a deadline, project management is breathing down your neck. You decided just this once that you'll take a few shortcuts. You'll write some code without tests, you'll just put in a few methods here, a few global variables there to solve the problem quickly without properly handling various situations. You just accumulated some technical debt, and pretty soon, you're going to have to pay some code tax (yes, i know you don't usually pay tax on debt, but just roll with me here for a minute).


So the next set of requirements come down the pipe, and you are short on time again. You haven't had time to go back and refactor those changes, and so they are just hanging out there. In fact, you have to cut some corners again. You've just increased your tax. The more you take (shortcuts, technical laxity, etc), the more tax you owe! Wouldn't you like to reduce your liability?I know what you need, you need a few deductions! TDD - test driven development. Write some tests, or write a LOT of tests, and you can reduce your taxable code income.

Nobody likes the tax man, so please do your best to avoid him.

What does it all mean?

Yes, I know, equilibreal is a misspelling. Those who know me know I would never leave a misspelling on my website or blog if I could avoid it, and I would proof something as important as the start of my blog. Also, right now, the red squiggly is taunting me. I don't have OCD, except when it comes to spelling. Now that the internet has been 'live' for years, naturally most single word URLs are going to be taken, so I knew that to satisfy my need for simplicity, I would have to compromise by utilizing a made up word.


I love the word equilibrium, because that perfectly sums up my feelings on life. I strive for balance, for the static state, the equality, the balance equation. I'm not an extremist in anything, and if I am, then it's only for a while until i can return to an equilibrial state. I believe in the yin and yang, the dark and the light. As Sinatra would say, you can't have one without the other. Don't we as a culture like that dichotomy? We like the hero juxtaposed with the evildoer, the calm before the storm, the sunset and dawn which is that perfect balance of light and dark. Equilibreal is putting the "balance in reality" because that's what I'm about.

I'm interested in technology. I have a computer science degree and have been interested in technology since as far back as I can remember. These days I'm a coder, programmer, hacker - pick your favorite term. I work with an elite group of developers who are as passionate about technology as I am, something I had been missing for a few years before that as I transitioned through some jobs in the industry. Now that I have found a good home again, it has rekindled that passion in my heart and I want to write about it. I'm as likely to write about cell phones and laptops as code and hacking, so hopefully you'll find something you like here. I'll be putting my particular spin on things, which is to find the balance in everything.