# Function coloring

Concept · [Technical basics](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/technical)

Also called: function colouring, colored functions, what color is your function

A nickname for a problem in many [programming languages](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/tech-stack): functions that wait on slow work (async) and functions that do not cannot be mixed freely, so one async function can force changes across a [codebase](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/code).

**For example:** A [developer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/software-engineer) makes one small function async, and every function that calls it has to change too.

## Connects to (3)

- [Promise chain](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/promise-chain): A way of writing code for steps that take time, such as network requests, so each step starts when the one before it finishes.
- [Code](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/code): Exact written instructions that tell a computer what to do, step by step.
- [Technical debt](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/technical-debt): Shortcuts taken while building software that save time now but make later changes slower and riskier until someone cleans them up.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/function-coloring