I discovered the creative exhilaration of programming at a formative age. Yet all along I have also felt stifled by primitive, ill-suited languages and tools. We are still in the Stone Age of programming. My quest is to better understand the creative act of programming, and to help liberate it. Reflection upon my own practice of programming has led me to three general observations: <\/p>\n
From these observations I infer three corresponding propositions:<\/p>\n
What is the future of programming? I retain a romantic belief in the potential of scientific revolution. To recite one example, the invention of Calculus provided a revolutionary language for the development of Physics. I believe that there is a “Calculus of programming” waiting to be discovered, which will analogously revolutionize the way we program. Notation does matter.<\/p>\n
Our current choice of notation leaves much to be desired: ASCII strings encoding structure through grammars and names. We have automated many complex information artifacts, from documents to diagrams, and we have built many complex data models and user interfaces for them. From this perspective, it is absurd that programs are still just digitized card decks, and programming is done with simulations of keypunch machines. The move from keypunches to on-screen editing was a huge leap forward, but that was 30 years ago. We have not yet taken the next logical step, which is to represent programs with the complex information structures made possible by computers.<\/p>\n
The guiding goal I propose above is programmer usability. One way to discover how to make programming more usable is to look for clues in what currently feels the most difficult and unnatural when we program. Here are some of the clues I am investigating:<\/p>\n
These clues outline a long-term research program, in which I hope to collaborate with others of like mind. The first steps can be seen at subtext<\/a>. I can think of only one strategy to break this deadlock: lead by example. We need to get our hands dirty and build real code for real users, and do it better-faster-cheaper. Nothing succeeds like success. Thinking even further out, perhaps we could establish something like a teaching hospital: a non-profit organization that combines programming for real clients with a mission of education and research. In the meantime, the first job is the inventing.<\/p>\n —–<\/p>\n [Welcome Diggers. Before you comment on this old post, I suggest you take a look at what I have done in the meantime. The best summary is in my last OOPSLA paper<\/a>.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I discovered the creative exhilaration of programming at a formative age. Yet all along I have also felt stifled by primitive, ill-suited languages and tools. We are still in the Stone Age of programming. My quest is to better understand the creative act of programming, and to help liberate it. Reflection upon my own practice … <\/p>\n
\nLeaping ahead, let us suppose for the moment that we have invented a revolutionary new way to program. How can we get programmers to use it, academics to research it, and entrepreneurs to invest in it? As discussed earlier, there are deeply entrenched obstacles to change, both psychological and institutional. The endless cycle of hype and disappointment has hardened cynicism. I am afraid that we have reached the point where talking is useless.<\/p>\n