I like Tony's idea as well, but if you do end up having to create most of the text files yourself, that will be a lot of files to generate and possibly keep track of.

Another solution is to have a single text file where you enter the name of each program and then a description or series of tags for it on the same line. When you're looking for something you need only first search that file to find out what the specific program name is.

On a similar note, the suggestion for an SQLITE database is also a good one, if you don't have to create the DB yourself. You might want to search for a cataloging type program which can be run off the drive. This might be in the form of a note-taking program, list manager, todo or appointment program or even a password tracker. You just need the ability to store the application name and a notes field of some kind that can (also) be searched. Ideally it would also store the location of the application which would save you a filesystem search.

You can probably start with a plain text file for now and if you find a program to handle the data later, you can likely modify the text and use it as a base for importing the data.