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it is and it is a neat trick
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
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Software Zen: delete this;
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and today. first time in awhile. I get it on time? hmmmmmm
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
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I'm struggling with one of my hobby projects at the moment - I keep going down rabbit holes. I'm not exactly sure what features I want in it yet, I first need to come up with a rough prototype, some sort of 'minimum viable product' and let it evolve from there. Suck it and see.
At the same time, in the back of my head I know there are requirements for it to be low latency, hugely scalable and fault tolerant, and this affects how it should be written. So I'll look at it and go, hmm 64bit references - too large, too much garbage collection overhead etc. So I'll remodel it all as unsafe structs in unmanaged memory. Then I'll think about memory mapped files - that could be a way of avoiding long loading and saving periods and good for fault tolerance etc. etc. Turning my C# into some mad C parody.
Such efforts are kind of irrelevant in a sense as I don't actually have anything to scale out yet and hugely time and thought-consuming and generally stalls the whole thing. In the end I'll probably just get disillusioned and abandon it, like so many other projects. I've written down on a piece of paper on my desk 'No Rabbit Holes!' but I really struggle writing stuff that I know isn't taking into account nasty things down the road. Rabbit holes - they're like magnets.
Trying to think too far ahead is perhaps a tendency that kills things dead. Does this ring bells with anyone?
Regards,
Rob Philpott.
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I can't even count the number or projects I've contemplated. Few if ever started. Its like winning the lottery for me, thinking about them is as far as I've ever gotten 
Hogan
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Rob Philpott wrote: Trying to think too far ahead is perhaps a tendency that kills things dead.
I often fall victim to this. That's why I also try to force myself to produce the smallest part of the project possible to give it a jump start.
I've been contemplating a project which would save some data for the user. I started thinking about how to save the data. I've thought about it for so long I've almost removed the energy from the project entirely.
So, I finally hit on an idea I wanted to do with the data where the each user will get his own copy of the remote database (sqlite). It's an odd idea & I've contemplated it so much that finally I started writing a super small prototype that
1. allows user to save one "journal" entry each day
2. saves the data to her own copy of remote sqlite db.
I started writing it up (it'll be an article here on CP).
But along the way I hit an odd thing with posting data to .NET Core WebAPI where the API method was using [FromBody] to bind data.
I literally stopped the other thing and investigated the challenges with .NET Core WebAPI databinding and wrote up an article on it[^]. I hope I didn't lose momentum on the original project.
I'll force myself to continue that one today and finish a "good enough" version of the code and write up the article.
Yes, it's a challenge to get started...and then to keep going. 
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I'm not alone!
Interesting idea about personalised databases. Where do you store the SQLite files, in a database? I guess the thing here is if you ever want to do a query that spans multiple users you are somewhat scuppered.
I've always been interested in the idea that a SQLite database file lends itself to the loading, saving and transmission of application data, rather than a database per se, but never tried it out.
Regards,
Rob Philpott.
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Rob Philpott wrote: Where do you store the SQLite files, in a database?
That's a funny thought. No, each user gets their own "user-space" (in the file system on the remote machine) where their sqlite db will be stored.
Rob Philpott wrote: I guess the thing here is if you ever want to do a query that spans multiple users you are somewhat scuppered.
Aha! You're thinking like a data-mining corp. This is my point too.
I'm saying each user owns their own data in their own sqlite db.
It's just literally a way to help them make their data remote (for the sole purpose of making it available to their own various devices).
I'm also suggesting that since it is their own data, they can delete it or whatever. They'll be able to download it so a "local" copy of my app will run against the data so if they want to go "offline" with the app they can.
And, I don't plan on doing a "multi-user" search or examining the user's data at all. It's theirs and it's just so the data in the app can be accessed for the user's purpose...not so some evil empire can examine their data to sell them products.
This is also why I'm interested in this. if it is possible (technology-wise) and it should be then it means that software could work great for the end-user without ever having to have some evil empire looking at the user's data.
of course, that means if the customer deletes or destroys the data then it is gone. My app offers no help with that beyond user doing their own download/ backup. Swim at your own risk. But also you own your data.
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Rob Philpott wrote: Trying to think too far ahead is perhaps a tendency that kills things dead. Does this ring bells with anyone?
It is so rare that it even got a name: "analysis paralysis". And an Wikipedia article to document it: Analysis paralysis - Wikipedia[^]
Mircea
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Ha! Wikipedia, has an answer for everything doesn't it. Know-it-alls. Had no idea it was a documented thing.
Interesting page, and I look forward to exploring the 'decision fatigue', 'existential crisis', 'information overload' and 'regret' links at the bottom! Right up my street.
Regards,
Rob Philpott.
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That might lead you to "meta analysis paralysis" where you get stuck analyzing the analysis paralysis. From there you can move to higher and higher degrees until you reach the pure nirvana of just "laziness". You'll find me there waiting for you
Mircea
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I struggle with that as well.
I have a few hobby projects that seems to go no-where.
One of my hobby projects has now been restarted 11 times.
Started on an Informix DB, converted it to Oracle, and now SQL Server. It started as a Delphi project, converted to C# / WinForms, and now WPF
Have been looking at WinUI, MAUI, Blazor, Aspire.
I know that it will go nowhere in the end, but it keeps me busy and I might learn a thing or two.
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I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said that premature optimization was the death of a more perfect union.
Or something...
But sometimes, you just have to nerd out because the nerding out is the drive to keep moving forward.
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My current side-project is made up entirely of rabbit holes! It's nice to know that I'm not alone.
Rob Philpott wrote: I'm struggling with one of my hobby projects at the moment - I keep going down rabbit holes. I'm not exactly sure what features I want in it yet, I first need to come up with a rough prototype, some sort of 'minimum viable product' and let it evolve from there. Suck it and see.
I feel like I'm going through a similar struggle as to what you're experiencing. It's been this way for a while, but I'm starting to get a grasp on how to deal with it. I find that when I plan ahead, I'm assigning myself work to be done. Since my project is just for fun, tasking things out ahead of time turns it into a job. That stifles my progress. I've found that the best way to go about working on my project is to experiment. If I play around, that's when I make tremendous progress. See what happens when you view working on your project as a perpetual game. If you can foster your curiosity, then it will drive you to experiment more, and plan less. You'll discover that when you push your limits in this way, you will achieve things you never thought were possible. That's what keeps me going. I've been working on the same project that I started over 8 years ago. I'm still going. 
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Premature optimisation is the root of all evil . . . said someone smarter than me (Donald Knuth).
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Please tell me that it's not more than four, and that Dij's new nest discovery is now empty? 'Cause them were BIG chicks and he's bringing me the corpses in pairs ... 
There are times when it's really good to have a cat around, and then there are other times.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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My four chickens used to lay one egg a day like clockwork.
Then it was 3 some days. One or more of them was slacking.
Now we're lucky to get an egg at all. The chooks are getting old.
Check out my IoT graphics library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx
And my IoT UI/User Experience library here:
https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix
modified 11-Jun-24 14:12pm.
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honey the codewitch wrote: They chooks are getting old.
Time for chicken soup? 
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Depending upon what birds they are, can even be 6 or more.
Sorry
Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have. -Anon
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. -Frederick Nietzsche
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Bugger.
These chicks had no feathers and they were all around 12cm long (ignoring the legs) so I'm guessing quite big birdies were involved. The only colour I could see was red and that came from the inside, so that doesn't count or aid identification ...
Dij isn't talking so I'm getting nothing there either.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Having seen the size of the eggs, I would hope for the bird's sake no more than one at a time! 
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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Nature taking it's course I guess.
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Yes, I agree, I missed my cat when he died but I've never missed what he used to bring home. I'd never have another one.
In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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The neighbor's cat keeps me entertained.
Whenever he walks by the tree in my yard, the bluejays fly down from their nest to greet him with a few good solid pecks on the head. He wanders around for a while wondering how he became the prey instead of the hunter.
Some day he'll learn that even pretty birds can protect their young.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr.PhD P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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Depends on the bird, but a friend of mine had a pair of blue tits in his nesting box that had a clutch of 11 eggs, which all hatched and fledged.
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