A few of my favorite software documentaries
It seems like we're in a golden age of software documentaries. As a card-carrying computer history nerd I'm having the time of my life, so I figured I'd share some of my favorites.
If you're into programming languages, open-source software, or really computers in general, pull up a chair (and a cushion for your aching coccyx) and check these out.
The Story of Python and how it took over the world
Link: YouTube
I think this is the one that got me started on my docu-binge. Python is one of the first languages that CS students cut their teeth on. Unfortunately my freshman year professor had us working on sorting algorithms in C, which did a number on my self-confidence.
Early on in my career, I remember forgetting the exact syntax of a for loop in Python and just guessing at it.
fruits = ["apple", "orange", "banana"]
for fruit in fruits:
print(fruit)
The fact that the most intuitive way (for me) turned out to be correct is a testament to how good design can almost seem "invisible".
Anyway the documentary itself has many ingredients that make a compelling watch: humble beginnings (1980s Amsterdam), a painful setback (the v3 release), and a slightly eccentric author (Guido, the "Benevolent Dictator for Life").
It's clear that Python attracts so many folks who just love programming. It's not necessarily the fastest or lightest - instead it feels optimized for the human rather than the computer.
There's a reason people say that Python is the "second best language for every project."
The Story of C++
Link: YouTube
C++ gets a bad rap, I think. Based on a relatively "small" language, it's grown into a behemoth. Some would argue it's done so a little haphazardly, according to the documentary.
To tell the truth, I'm a little scared of C++. I cut my teeth in the web world with JavaScript and a little Python. I know Python can do a little of everything, but C++ really seems like an industrial scale nuclear-powered Swiss-army bazooka.
My fears were allayed just a tiny bit after seeing how humble (and kind of adorable) its creator is. Bjarn Stroustrup seems like everyone's favorite nerdy grandpa.
The documentary covers the rivalry between C++ and Java in the early 2000s, with Sun Microsystems positioning the latter as a simpler, more modern alternative. History shows that C++ had plenty of fight in it.
Two decades later and C++ is now holding its ground against the advent of Rust. Not bad for a language that's almost 50 years old.
How One Programmer's Pet Project Changed the Way We Think About Software
Link: YouTube
I spent some time with Scheme, a Lisp dialect, while I was self-studying my way through the wizard book. It really is quite different from anything else I've used.
Lisp and its descendants were never big in the industry, but they have this cult following that I think is owed to how malleable the language is. It's that meta-programming magic. Once you get your head around that aspect of it, you can kind of do anything.
Paul Graham is a notable fan of Lisp, and so is Rich Hickey, the inventor of Clojure. He was tired of port Lisp to other languages for his clients, so he wrote a version that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Hickey seems to be a coding superhuman. He's just an all-around brainy dude. It's fun to listen to him speak. He basically locked himself away for two years to create Clojure, so the story is very much about what makes him tick.
Don't be surprised if you come away from this one with an itch to try a Lisp!
The Story of VS Code
Link: YouTube
Microsoft is many things and its transgressions as a mega-corporation are legion. But ultimately it is made up of people, and sometimes those people get together to build cool shit.
VS Code is one those cool shits. Lately whether you feel it's closer to "cool" or "shit" might depend on your feelings about AI-assisted coding. But rewind the clock a bit.
Around 2010 the browser was becoming capable of powering complex applications that rivalled their desktop-native counterparts. This wasn't your cousin Ricky's Angelfire page anymore.
Microsoft wanted to stay hip with the new generation of developers, so they hired Swiss computer scientist Erich Gamma to imagine what web-based dev tools might look like.
This doc could have easily been a bunch of dudes in Redmond patting themselves on the back. But instead it follows Erich as he cruises back to his hometown of Zürich and hires a motley crew of friends and former colleagues.
Some of my favorite startup stories are those where some buddies pack into a room with their laptops and just hack it out. This was one of those.
KDE: The Documentary — The Story of Free Software Underdogs
Link: YouTube
This one's close to my heart because I use KDE Plasma every day. Linux desktop environments like Plasma, GNOME, and Xfce are some of the most complex software projects out there. And they all rely on volunteer contributions.
Those of you who used Windows in the mid-90s will remember the constant error pop-ups and blue screens. Unstable software was a fact of life. When Linux came around, people were blown away by how stable (relatively speaking) the experience was.
But there was one pesky problem: Linux had no unified graphical interface. Those who wanted some windows and taskbars would have to configure them from scratch; there was no cohesive set of GUI tools that were made to work together.
So, in 1996, the "Kool Desktop Environment" was born.
Even if you don't use Linux, this one's interesting from a UI design angle as well. It's pretty kool neat to watch KDE's look and feel evolve over the decades.
The Machine that Changed the World
Link: YouTube
Bonus retro pick. Programming languages are cool, but I'm a real sucker for doing binary arithmetic with vacuum tubes. There's something about those heady days where computers filled entire rooms with switchboards and flashing lights.
The sheer inventiveness of those early folks always floors me. The idea of the "general purpose machine" - now taken for granted - seems like such a profound advancement that it's almost alien.
This one's a docu-series, and it's especially good because it was produced in the 90s when many of those "early folks" were still alive to tell it first-hand. The series itself is also kind of a historical artifact, since what's described as "cutting edge" is now 35 years old.
Shout out to Kay Mauchly, friendly granny and former human computer who calculated firing table trajectories by hand for the US Army during WWII.
I'm always on the lookout for more of these. Send me an email with your recommendations and I'll add them to this post.