code debt 

Code debt refers to the code clutter and required system maintenance accumulated over time during software development, especially when done in haste. The time required to clean up clutter and perform maintenance accrues as the development progresses, like interest on a regular debt, and must be paid down at some point to keep the project healthy.

We've been developing this open source project for a year, but with all the TODOs and commented out code, we probably have another years worth work to pay down the code debt!

code debt by TheGremlyn May 28, 2011