https://web.eecs.utk.edu/~azh/blog/makinguselessstuff.html

Austin Z. Henley

Assistant Professor

azh@utk.edu
@austinzhenley
github/AZHenley

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Why I prefer making useless stuff

5/22/2021


"I think the #1 project every programmer should try is a project that
has customers." - jfoster on HN

"Don't waste your time on homework problems." - anonytrary on HN

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Update 5/24: See the discussion of this post on Hacker News and 
Reddit.

I get a lot of responses like this about spending time on useless
projects. But you know what?

There is nothing I find more liberating than to spend a Saturday
afternoon coding on some toy project.

There is no expectation or obligation to ever become more. It is just
for fun, learning, and curiousity. I can add whatever features I
want. I can use whatever technologies I want. I can throw it all away
if I want. These are the projects I yearn for and look forward to
when I'm busy with work.

Perhaps George Bernard Shaw was on to something: "We don't stop
playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

Funny enough, Titus Barik published a paper that contributes a
qualitative analysis on the sentiment of programming and play on
Hacker News. The themes he found include play as artistry, catalyst,
fun, playgrounds, spontaneity, tinkering, and anti-work. There is a
quote that I particularly like, "The joy of programming for
programming's sake is something you do in your own time."


[uselesspro]

It all makes sense to me, because I have spent a lot of time building
useless stuff. Mostly compilers and game engines. To name a few
projects:

  * Nash, a low-resolution HTML5 game engine with no dependencies
  * Wiggleface, a very low-resolution game engine using Pygame
  * HarvestMemory, a game where you code a bot in an assembly-like
    language
  * Knox, a compiler for my own language that overemphasizes
    "explicitness"
  * cosine, an implementation of cosine from scratch
  * SirDrCaptain, yet another static website generator that no one
    uses
  * goforth, a bad implementation of the Forth language
  * CHIP-8 virtual machines, I think I have made a dozen of them
  * Darkest Days, a remake of my favorite Flash game

And if those aren't enough, I have several more useless projects
planned! I can't wait to get started on them:

  * A typed Lisp compiler with a focus on performance
  * An interpreter for my own language that feels like old-school PHP
    plus dataflow programming
  * A "better" CHIP-8 that supports networking and sound
  * Two different todo list apps for iOS

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Do you need ideas for useless projects? Check out my two lists:

  * Challenging projects every programmer should try
  * More challenging projects every programmer should try

Whatever you do, don't forget Bob Dylan's wise words about the things
you enjoy doing: "you're gonna have to serve somebody".