How Code Valley Cancels Technical Debt

Stop drowning in technical debt and start swimming in bitcoin

Code Valley’s unique ecosystem, Emergent Coding, upends conventional thought about software creation — in the process completely sidestepping much of the technical debt that plagues software developers across the world every day.

For a peek into the potential of Emergent Coding go here, or if you want to dive a bit deeper check out the Pilot and its User Guide. Some quick background: Code Valley is a bitcoin-fueled ecosystem allowing users to build software elements as well as whole programs from a browser GUI — all without any source code anywhere in the process, not even under the hood. These software elements are Agents in a decentralized swarm, primed and waiting to build programs.

When a user pays bitcoin into the ecosystem to build their custom software, those Agents pay each other small portions of that bitcoin behind the scenes, forming a spontaneous and temporary “hive compiler” that outputs the requested binary or other executable. The user now has the desired program in hand, and the developers have all been paid — every dev gets paid every time their Agents are used in a build, creating true passive income. We call the entire process “Emergent Coding.”

Hive compiler forming

In an Emergent Coding future, we expect less fist-shaking, cursing, and hair-pulling-out, as well as fewer cheeky comic strips specializing in the everyday ironic frustrations of today’s programmers.

How will developers benefit from the technical advantages offered by the Code Valley ecosystem?

“Technical debt” is what accumulates in (let’s be honest: nearly all) software projects as features come and go, bugs hide, various developers drink from (and backwash into) the cup, and scope bloats. It’s why the phrase “mature software” can make programmers antsy rather than assured.

As opposed to workarounds, hand-wringing, and avoidance, Code Valley cancels technical debt with the genuine solutions of Emergent Coding, freeing up developers to concentrate on making great software, rather than fixing things that should work right in the first place.

Putting the Complexity Werewolf Out to Pasture

Every dev loves a blank slate: a whole world of possibilities! As you flesh out version one, everything’s neat and tidy in the codebase. Time passes; bugs crop up; management demands more features. Maintaining that codebase through successive versions can be a tough job, even with modern source control and a great team. Every time a team member touches the source code, another set of problems gets the chance to cascade down the layers of abstraction, even with the cleanest of codebases.

Emergent Coding gives us the ability to work on every element of software in a totally self-contained way. If you want to add a new feature, you design it at the top (application) layer by contracting Agents custom-built to fulfill their individual requirements and “compile” those features. All layers of abstraction are encapsulated into a single scalable system. Since there are no codebases and thus far fewer unintended consequences, Code Valley neatly sidesteps the software complexity trap. We don’t need to search for silver bullets anymore — the Werewolf has been retired to a harmless cottage, no longer able to bother the were-proof residents of the Valley.

Emergent coding process

Square Peg, Meet Square Hole

Interoperability is a huge challenge on the web — and in software in general. Unless it’s custom-made to work in some existing system or architecture, codebases are blind silos, like laborers on the Tower of Babel. Ever missed the characteristics of a programming language or framework so much that you switched mid-stream, pushing back launch dates by months? What about APIs? Many projects spend more than half their time just building them so they can communicate back and forth with each other.

There’s never a language barrier with Code Valley, because incompatibilities have demonstrably disappeared by compile-time. Anything can be added to any project, since every project uses the same design system which can accommodate any logical operation in the universe. When you need to add features to your program, you’ll more than likely find the Agents for them already available — every design is interoperable from the ground up.

Interface to the network

Nobody Likes Maintenance, So Don’t Bother

QA is a tough job, especially for devs. There’s a reason companies hire separate employees to do bug testing: the less you know about how it’s supposed to work, the more objectively you can test it. Even dedicated QA testers can get it wrong sometimes, though — as a codebase grows, the knock-on effects from changes like bugfixes and new features multiply exponentially. There’s that unwanted complexity again.

Code Valley simplifies this process greatly, most importantly via specialization. Not only do you, the developer, not need to know everything under the sun about software, thereby allowing you to concentrate on a specialized type of software element, but the testing process becomes much more transparent too. Every Agent you contract into your build has already been tested individually — but on the off chance it doesn’t work as it should, simply swap it out for one of its competitors that satisfies the same requirements, just better.

Snapshot of Valley of agents

Running Away from Runtime

Dependencies — pre-made external elements on top of which to build your software — may quicken dev time, but eventually they wreak havoc. When your framework updates and you need that bugfix or new feature, you have to begin your testing process all over again as the changes reverberate through your entire project, cascading into flaws and vulnerabilities. Even if you manage to find a (bug-free) library that stays static forever, building your program atop it inherently limits your options for feature scope, ties you to a specific development approach, and introduces bloat via unused capabilities.

Code Valley has straight-up zero runtime dependencies — except for the OS the program is meant to run in after being outputted (which eventually could be integrated with Emergent Coding, too).

Application run-time

Every Emergent binary stands on its own feet as a self-contained unit functioning just as it should for as long as you need it. You’re not tied to a clunky codebase that defines your available options for feature additions, either: just add those new Agents, kick down a little bitcoin, and build.

The upshot: if you’re sick of plunging down waterfalls, getting crushed under the weight of scrums, and struggling to catch a breath during sprints, go ahead and check out Emergent Coding.

Learn all about how to become an Emergent Coder and take a tour of the Pilot here.