I was watching Wall-E again recently. It’s a wonderful film and I’m astonished that something that well made was a mainstream success. I really like the bit when Wall-E is sorting through the day’s interesting items. He finds a spork and goes to put it into his little cutlery collection. At first he goes to put it with the spoons, then the forks, then the spoons again. Eventually he gives up and puts it in the middle by itself. I thought that was sweet and I recognised myself in that.
I’m of the opinion that that sort of thing makes a good developer. The urge or compulsion to sort and categorise things. Is it a spoon? Does it have spoon-like qualities? Could I perform standard spoon operations on it? Or for that matter, where do I file the latest Circus Devils album in my CD collection? C for Circus? P for Pollard, Robert (it’s one of his many bands)? G for Guided By Voices (it is / was his main project band)? Or just bung it in wherever it fits on the shelf like a normal person?