Pan bagnat, originally from Nice, demonstrates that Mediterranean cuisine knows how to combine simple ingredients with powerful results. Tuna in oil, olives, hard-boiled egg, anchovies, peppers, and olive oil are housed in a round bread that is pressed so the flavors meld together. It's not just any sandwich; it's a lesson in how basic things can be very effective without artifice.
Compression as a technique: the pan bagnat algorithm 🍞
In software development, data compression seeks efficiency without losing information. Pan bagnat applies a similar logic: by pressing the bread for hours, the volume is reduced and interaction between ingredients is forced. Olive oil acts as a binding agent, similar to middleware that integrates disparate modules. The result is a stable system where each component maintains its identity but contributes to the whole.
When your code has more layers than a poorly made pan bagnat 🥪
Some projects accumulate dependencies like a pan bagnat trying to fit a whole salmon, a baguette, and half a garden. The result is a monolith that not even a hydraulic press can hold together. In the end, you end up with code that, when deployed, crumbles just like that sandwich you put too much olive oil on. Less is more, even if hunger says otherwise.