Visual Logic

[Janus Jakaterina]

Richard, Greg, et alia

Most visual languages use flow charts or tiles. Some
are good, some bad, and some ugly. Examples:

http://sigchi.org/chi97/proceedings/demo/ar-fg1.gif

http://datapixel.net/software/adjuvant/images/helixtiles490x390.gif

Frankly, I’ve seen much better. Consider the following
in a textual language: 

int sum = 0; 
for (i=0; i<cards.length(); i++) { 
    if (cards[i].containsValue("flower")) { 
        sum += cards[i].nectar; 
    } 
} 
return sum; 

Here is how it might appear in a natural language.

    Sum the nectar of all the flowers 

That’s what I mean by visual logic (not the same as
graphical programming). 

In fact “Sum the nectar of all the flowers” is actual
code in HANDS.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pane/HANDSOverview.jpg

HANDS has collision detection and OOP classes (Tulip
is a flower; Rose is a flower). Sample code:

    Set the nectar of all flowers to 0

It has a built in visual parser with prompts to aid
rapid coding. The result is very simple, astonishingly
powerful logic.

When any bee collides into any flower
    Subtract 1 from the flower’s nectar
    Add 1 to the bee’s nectar
    Beep
End when
	
Please take a look at John Pane’s thesis 
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pane/ftp/PaneThesis.pdf

Now picture this development environment powered with
Transcript. The Revolution goes visual.

In my experience as a teacher, kids grasp clear speech
as well or better than a picture if that speech is
familiar and descriptive.

---

Janus: (pronounced JAY nus), not Janice; god of gates
and doorways; two faces viewing opposite directions;
root of the word “January”; sixth of Saturn’s
satellites.



		
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