[squeak-dev] smalltalk evolution

Darius Clarke socinian at gmail.com
Tue May 31 22:58:34 UTC 2011


Maybe it's time to throw out syntax and "text" based programming all
together...

The punctuation is just there to trigger the parser to perform ... and
trigger the memory of those "in the know" about: what "did", or "does", or
"will" happen.
What if we use spreadsheet cells, or colors, or fonts, or little icons
superimposed on the labels (text labels/names for code, data, or other
memory artifacts or equipment) to more clearly express visually what is more
often hidden in meaning.

Each cell/label can expand to explicitly visually express its connection to
time, persistence, mutability, scope, nesting, linking, precedence,
execution order, namespace, importance to the individual programmer or
importance to society at large, implications of change, and other
properties.

Why? For the same reason syntax coloring helps the memory. There's just too
little information visually expressed in syntax, a holdover from the early
dark days of computing, when every bit & byte was expensive. It's why we
vocally speak to each other with much intonation to carry extra meaning and
not just speak in monotones. We're in the GUI age now. And I don't mean
graphical drag and drop programming or APL special symbols! I mean code
entry by typing ... but translated, and stored, with its visual
representation of meaning. For example, in such an IDE, one could change the
English word with one in another language with the same meaning, but the
references and context remain the same, independent of the text of the
label, like a spreadsheet cell does.

Simplicity ... through multi-level, collapsable, visual explicitly.

- Darius
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