On: The brain maps out ideas and memories like spaces

[pugio]

I would love to beta test such a thing. My number one current frustration with programming languages is my inability to represent core language concepts / objects in a 2D space. There's constant overhead mapping from my internal spatial representation of a program to the linear 1D that text provides.

EDIT: Ahh, I see another comments that this is more of a block based no code kind of thing. I'm not looking to replace my program with purely visual constructs, I'm more interested in representing the file, object, and function layout on a 2D space. Nested folders of files seems so limiting when I want to put particular functions next to each other, and grouped over _here_, while another set of functions should be placed over _there_.

I don't think the greatest power comes from doing away with textual code, I would just prefer that the units which compose a program can be organized, described, and related to each other in a richer way.

[nexuist → pugio]

For what it's worth, I do plan to support code blocks where you can drop in arbitrary code where you need it, and you can integrate it with the rest of the diagram by defining the input and output types itself. The goal isn't to replace textual programming entirely, but to build an integrated environment where you reach for visual constructs first and drop down into text when necessary.

For your file example, you could have a "File Open" block that takes a filename as input and outputs a "File Reference" datatype, and then wire that reference to various file blocks (File Read / File Seek / File Write / etc) to perform operations on the file. When needed you could wire a reference to an arbitrary code block, perform whatever operations you want on the file using textural programming, and then output the reference to continue putting it through other blocks. Objects (as in JSON objects) could be represented in the same way, twisting and turning throughout your program as they are manipulated. Ditto for databases, file storage (like S3 or hard drives), sensors and their values, etc. As for functions, you'd be able to build your own blocks from existing ones, so you could take a textual function and turn it into a visual block that integrates with the rest of your code.

You could group blocks together in the editor so that they are literally next to each other as you said, but one feature I'm particularly excited about that was inspired by SmallTalk is the Block Search: instead of searching by name, you describe the input and output types of the block, and the editor will search through the global database for any kind of block that matches your description. For example, you could describe a block that takes two strings and outputs one, and you could get a block back like "String Append." For our hypothetical file example, you would just search for blocks that take in File References, and you'd be able to find every block that does anything to a file, including your own.

I know it's hard to imagine, which is why I'm working on building a demo ASAP so I can show and not tell. I saw from your bio that you're interested in STEM edutech so if this doesn't scratch your itch it may still be helpful for students to get started with software a la Scratch! Let me know if you're still interested - no worries if not though!