This time of year, we’re all very busy honoring traditions. This post is no exception (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).

Today was probably the first time this year that I took some time to study my blog’s Google Analytics metrics. If I keep last year’s black swan posts out of the equation, traffic seems to be comparable to last year’s. The most meaningful metrics to me are the number of subscriptions and the average time spent reading. Both of them increased - happy about that!

The actor model has been gaining in popularity more and more. Next to addressing more infrastructural concerns, it can also be used as a framework for modeling and reasoning about complex systems. Working with a team of mainframe programmers over the last year, I observed a few similarities in how they have been designing their systems. Actor Model in COBOL is the third most read post of 2013.

The second most read post was Not handling edge cases, making them explicit instead. Inspired by a talk with Greg Young at DDDX, I tried to create a narrative that uncovered an edge case in a green field project. Instead of handling the edge case, we use an event to make it explicit, allowing a human to intervene. This way we can go to market more quickly, with less code, and we might even end up with happier customers.

Number one is But I already wrote it. In this post I shared my motivation having an argument with a colleague about whether to dump some code that did too much. Don’t cherish your code. It’s nothing but a means to an end; the side product of creating a solution. Aim for simple and lean solutions; nobody likes bulky software, nobody likes fighting complexity all day. Don’t neglect the hidden cost of that extra small feature you’re throwing in.

Thank you for reading!