Software Engineering 101

[Intro]
(Is my cake ready yet?)

[Verse 1]
Phone buzzing on the counter: "Is my cake ready yet?"
Maya checks her messages, "three o'clock," they said
Then the spreadsheet says four, and the notebook says five
Three places, three answers, and a customer outside

[Pre-Chorus]
When every copy's talking, nobody's right
So pick one place and hold it tight

[Chorus]
Where does the truth live? In one place, just one
One System of Record, when the arguing's done
Screens can come and go, they can change their clothes
But the record is what lasts, and everybody knows

[Verse 2]
Every order is a row: who, what, and when
And a status moving forward, never back again
Placed, then baking, ready, picked up out the door
Only during opening hours, that's what rules are for
There's one door to the data, call it the A-P-I
Every change has to knock, break a rule? Goodbye

[Pre-Chorus]
When every copy's talking, nobody's right
So pick one place and hold it tight

[Chorus]
Where does the truth live? In one place, just one
One System of Record, when the arguing's done
Screens can come and go, they can change their clothes
But the record is what lasts, and everybody knows

[Verse 3]
The order form writes it, and a new row takes its place
The kitchen screen reads it, there's flour on Maya's face
She taps "ready," the status flips, a phone lights up across town
Three different interfaces, one record holding it down

[Bridge]
Here's the trap that almost everybody falls in first:
Let the kitchen keep its own copy, and it only makes it worse
Sam moves pickup four to six, the record knows it's true
But the kitchen's copy still says four, now you've got two
(Two answers again)
Don't own the data, just show what's real
Reload when it changes, that's the deal

[Verse 4]
Screens are cheap to change, so redesign the kitchen board
Add a weekly sales report, leave the rest like before
But the record is expensive, everything is built on top
So when Maya needs allergy notes, she doesn't hack and chop
She writes a migration, just a little saved script
Adds a brand new column, then updates every screen that needs it

[Final Chorus]
Where does the truth live? In one place, just one
One System of Record, when the arguing's done
Screens can come and go, they can change their clothes
But the record is what lasts, and everybody knows

[Outro]
One: decide where the truth lives
Two: guard it with rules behind one door
Three: build your screens through that door
Four: change the record with care
Interfaces come and go
The record is what lasts

[Intro]
(Oh-oh-oh) Save points!
(Oh-oh-oh)

[Verse 1]
Eleven o'clock and my app was running fine
Typed "make the button blue," just one tiny line
Poured myself a coffee, came back, what did it do?
Now nobody can log in, but hey, the button's blue
I said "Please fix it!" ... "You're absolutely right!"
Then it broke two more things, and we fought half the night

[Pre-Chorus]
If I could just go back to when it worked
Back before the blue, back before it hurt

[Chorus]
Save points! (Save points!)
Commit when it works!
Lock it in, lock it in, before it gets worse
Ask! Test! Review! Commit! (Hey!)
When it all falls apart, don't you fight, don't you quit
Roll back to your save point, ask! test! review! commit!

[Verse 2]
One little change at a time, nice and slow
Then I test it myself, "should work" don't make it so
I look at what changed before I let it stay
Asked for one button, twenty files changed? No way!
And I don't need to learn every git command
Just say "Commit this," and my A.I. understands

[Pre-Chorus]
Don't fight it for hours (No!)
Don't plead and don't curse (No!)
Just go back to the save from when it worked
And ask again, but smaller, small steps don't hurt

[Chorus]
Save points! (Save points!)
Commit when it works!
Lock it in, lock it in, before it gets worse
Ask! Test! Review! Commit! (Hey!)
When it all falls apart, don't you fight, don't you quit
Roll back to your save point, ask! test! review! commit!

[Bridge]
Push it to GitHub, keep a copy off-site
'Cause coffee finds laptops in the middle of the night
And your secret keys? Keep 'em out of every commit
Delete 'em later? History still keeps every bit
[Spoken]
Seriously. Not even once.

[Break]
[Gang vocals]
Did you ask? (I asked!)
Did you test? (I tested!)
Did you look? (I looked!)
Then commit! (Commit!)

[Final Chorus]
[Gang vocals]
Save points! (Save points!)
Commit when it works!
Lock it in, lock it in, before it gets worse
Ask! Test! Review! Commit! (Hey!)
When it all falls apart, don't you fight, don't you quit
Roll back to your save point, ask! test! review! commit!

[Outro]
Eleven o'clock, the button's blue, and everyone gets in
Save points! (Save points!)
Commit when it works
(Commit when it works!)
Save points!
Commit when it works!