Obsolete Your Idols

A very long time ago I heard about a program which sounded like it would be perfect for the way I wanted to deal with all of my personally important information.  It was named Chandler and I itched to use it.  Then I got distracted with other things, and forgot all about it.

I’d recently started hearing people talking about a book about a software project in Python, named Dreaming in Code.  It took an unexpectedly long time for me to realize that this was the same Chandler project I’d heard about six years ago.  In fact it was being pointed at this blog post by someone who had just read the book which made me realize, yes, the same Chandler and that I should probably read the book.

So I did.  It’s a fast read and is incredibly accessible to people with only the most minor nerdy tendencies.  It does what seems to me a stellar job of presenting the frustrating and wonderful world of software development to readers who don’t necessarily know anything about it.  It tells stories about people and how they act when they care about something.  As a side-effect, it shows what goes into software development.  There are a few chapters at the end where the focus drifts off of the people into more abstract realms and I’d probably have enjoyed this book more without them as they were redundant for me and I suspect they’ll be boring for people who aren’t interested in the history of software development, ie, almost everybody.

What I liked about this book

• The focus on people
• The look inside of a project I wish now I’d paid more attention to all along
• The writer’s ability to make the particular generally applicable

What I didn’t like

• The book falls apart at the end
• No actual code shown.  Hey, even Cryptonomicon showed us the code

Who might like this book

• People who must work with software developers
• People who are otherwise close to software developers
• People who are still wondering what the big deal about open source is
• People who are not software developers or who can grapple the feelings of futility this book will remind you of

After reading this book I was inspired to go take a look at the OSAFoundation and the state of Chandler and I was pleasantly surprised to see much recent activity around it.  Perhaps the publication of this book sparked new interest and vitality.  I sure hope so.  Now that I remember it exists, I kind of wish it were already done so I could use Chandler.  What the hell, I’ll give the preview a try.