Re: Syntax trees, macros, and reflexive Lua evolution

["Dr. Rich Artym" <rartym@...>]

On Tue, Nov 09, 2004 at 03:50:00PM -0600, Shannon Stewman wrote:
 
> What about flow charts, class diagrams, and the various other ways to
> visualize and communicate the structure of code?
> ...
> Graphs, pictures, icons, etc. are often far more expressive of the
> author's direct thought than the written word.  Similarly, actually
> drawing a decision tree could be a more expressive way of coding.

I agree.

Don't the cognitive scientists say that people tend to favour either
the literate or the spatial sides of their brains, but not both?  Or
is that just accepted but inaccurate "common knowledge"?

Whichever it is, I know that even after a long career of grammar-based
programming, I still think of programs and systems spatially, so the 1D
textual form (even when nicely presented in 2D) requires mental analysis
before it makes immediate structural sense to me.

While I'm only guessing, Minority Report-style structural manipulation
of a logic graph would probably be a far more expressive programming
mechanism for me than today's 1D textual composition.

Rich Artym.
-- 
Existing media are so disconnected from reality that our policy debates
spin around a fantasy world in which the future looks far too much like
the past.   http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/MITtecRvwSmlWrld/article.html