so, it turns out most software for what Business People may describe as "inventory management" kind of sucks.
okay, weird take to start a post on, but it's mostly true. i mean, there's plenty of pricey enterprise solutions for managing a Commercial Warehouse kind of situation, and i'm sure that works just fine for that single intended purpose.
but generally speaking, if you're just a Common Person living a mundane non-business-related life, there's not many options if you're looking to catalogue and organize your Things. and unfortunately most of them are pretty bad, as they do not seem to understand how Real Humans actually "manage" their "inventory".
here's an example: i have a few shelves and a couple of cupboards i use to store all my Obsolete Tech, random knick-knacks, and the like. all of the above mostly contain boxes or similar Containers, but also some loose items. usually there's even more boxes inside of the first level of boxes, with perhaps yet another level of smaller containers inside.
we're already at the point where some of the available apps fail, either because they do not believe in the concept of mixing Containers and Things, or they do not allow for so many levels of nesting.
but here's where it gets more complicated: what is a Computer, if not a Vessel for components? i want to keep track of things like hard disks or memory cards, which may or may not be inside of a (likely obsolete) machine, which should be treated like a Container and a Thing at the same time. or perhaps i have more laptops than laptop batteries and i need to find a compatible one, which may either be in some random Container or in another laptop.
we are now reaching levels of abstraction unimaginable to an average Apps Developer.
here's where it really falls apart: whenever a Thing is removed from its storage location, it usually stays on my desk, or somewhere else in the room, for a Hot Minute. these Things should be treated as existing outside of the whole system, in some sort of a floating Buffer. moving Things between the Buffer and any point of the storage hierarchy should be a painless, one-click (or drag) operation. i don't want to spend an Average Eternity(tm) going through menus. i don't want to waste my time fighting a losing battle against a hostile interface.
the point:
i don't know, i just hate how non-intuitive, or dare i say useless, most of these apps are.
an optimal solution would probably be not too dissimilar to a videogame inventory system, in a way.
i guess i just have to code the damn program myself (yet another project i will likely forget about and/or abandon)