While block based programing environments like this make programming look easier at first glance, I'm unconvinced they actually make things easier. For instance, I don't really see how the example screen is different than something like the following:
when Button1.Click
do
TinyDB.StoreValue(tag: SearchQueries, valueToStore: TextBox1.text)
Label1.text = TextBox1.text
Text also has the advantage that you can manipulate it in standard ways - such as copying and pasting it.
The difficulty in programing is understanding the abstraction, and thinking algorithmically. Displaying programs in a nice GUI won't make that easier.
A GUI won’t make programming easier in the long run, but it will probably make it look less intimidating to newbies. Ideally, Google would offer a “text mode” with an API equivalent to the block mode so that users could upgrade after they have been “suckered in” by the easygoing look of blocks and learned a bit more about abstractions and algorithms.
I think the main advantage might be that you have a palette of operations your program could perform next and clues (from the shape and colors) about which operations make sense in a given context, which makes it easier to explore. Text is much more open-ended and doesn't suggest anything (although I guess that intelligent completion in the editor can provide similar benefits).
Good points. Text also allows for version control; although AppInventor is targeted towards newbies, a graphical-based IDE is going to be challenging when you're trying to diff between two seemingly-identical versions.
The difficulty in programing is understanding the abstraction, and thinking algorithmically. Displaying programs in a nice GUI won't make that easier.