Re: simple vs complex languages

Basile STARYNKEVITCH wrote:


[...]


> I really think it is a pity that no language offers a fancier
> interface than plain textual files, typed thru an editor. The syntax
> directed editors of the late 1980's are gone. [...]


I used to take an interest in what at one time were called "visual
languages" (before Microsoft so brutishly usurped the term). There were
a few novel ones, but more common were applications that allowed user
customization by way of a graphical representation of modules and wires.
The earliest I am aware of was the "language" for programming the Evans
& Sutherland PS 300 graphics workstation.


Inspired by what I was learning at the time about functional programming
languages and type systems, I convinced myself that the language of
modules-and-wires could be extended with just a few choice visual
metaphors to gain all the expressiveness of a textual programming language.


Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to fully persue the idea.


-thant

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