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CODE REVIEW DEFINITIONS

^{git — a version control software for managing code, but ruined by Microsoft}

^{pull request — a formal (and agonizing) way to propose a change before merging with main code}

^{feature flag — a boolean-based business logic to gate potentially breaking set of changes from being released in a production environment.
Rollout techniques include:}

1. ^{randomized gating of users based on a % (corporate engineering)}

2. ^{trancegate (livecoding)}

^{metrics — for those who are unable to deduce the exact side effect of a single line of code change (since it has 10,000+ dependencies), this is a life-saver}

^{forking the upstream —}

• ^{(corporate engineering) a practice to import an open-source project internally in order to make modifications for closed-source internal use}

• ^{(livecoding) in order to propose code changes — but please do it in Codeberg. Due to ethical reasons please refrain from forking it into to Microsoft’s Github.}

^{prebake — in Strudel, it is the JavaScript code that runs before any code in the editor is run, ie: “prebaking your editor” means to setup your editor so you can access your own custom functions not in the original build}

CODE DEPLOYMENT DEFINITIONS

^{CI/CD — shorthand for continuous integration / continuous deployment, so that you don’t have to sit there and wait for 20 minutes for each deployment step to finish}

^{flakiness — a common slang to describe how a test case can flip-flop between passing or failing even with an identical setup, like being in a quantum superposition}

^{anonymous nudelfan — nickname to say that everyone is an admin including you! you may now push your code directly into the main branch of the nudel repository}

^{nudel — a Strudel alternative created by a group of people who call themselves the pastagang}

^{Strudel — mankind’s most innovative software to help tech nerds express their innate musical talents fully and unapologetically}

CODE QUALITY DEFINITIONS

^{DRY — also known as “Don’t Repeat Yourself”, which is a common practice in coding to reduce the duplicated expressions of codes by refactoring; it may or may not improve readability, so use caution}

^{Bad code only — a practice in livecoding to remind oneself that, just like crafting sand mandala where the artwork must be destroyed afterwards, all code must die in order to remove oneself from excessive attachment to code written in jamming sessions}

INCIDENT DEFINITIONS

^{Rollback — to reverse a change (usually in production setting), but more commonly used as an excuse to warn team members for not being extra careful when deploying changes}

^{ETA — Estimated Time of Arrival, an adult way of saying, “ARE WE THERE YET??” similar to an impatient kid feeling trapped in the backseat after hours of car ride}

^{Jira — the most evil anti-productivity tool ever created by mankind; creates extremely rigid expectations in “agile” software development practices and discourages flexibility, also a commonly used tool by admins to create endless trail of paperwork in order to justify progress}

^{gain(10) - a signature livecoder move to create extremely distressing and distorted sounds on livestream to check if you are actually paying attention}

^{FMLA — Family Medical Leave of Absence, usually the last (first) resort for tech companies to recommend to employees who are suffering from debilitating anxiety or depression, or unable to focus at work due to their ongoing neurodivergent conditions.}

_{Au-DHD — A neurodivergent condition combining both Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It’s more common than you think.}

ADVANCEMENT DEFINITIONS

^{leadership —}

• ^{a true quality in a person who leads without persuasion, cares and supports fellow members before being asked and listens more than they speak (livecoding and other community leaders)}

• ^{commonly used as an excuse to pressure freshly promoted software engineers so they can deliver more, whether or not they have the actual ability to lead members of their team (corporate tech)}

^{growth mindset —}

• ^{a mindset in which you never stop learning, experimenting and improving new skills, no matter how good you think you are (livecoding)}

• ^{commonly used as an excuse to guilt freshly promoted software engineers so that they understand they must work harder towards yet the next level (corporate software engineering)}

A Note About Working in Corporate Tech

If you are working in corporate tech, it can certainly feel like you’re in a corporate desert with little hope of things actually improving. Perhaps you might feel a bit discouraged and maybe wanted to leave.

This topic deserves another whole article so I won’t go into a detailed discussion here. Nonetheless I want to start shedding more light to this — peeling off the layers of corporate obscurity so you can make better choices for yourself, and making the best out of seemingly hopeless situations.

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