Maybe visual programming is the answer, maybe not

Re:Maybe visual programming is the answer, maybe not by scoopertrooper on Saturday April 25, 2020 @11:27PM (#22984125)

Visual programming languages are commonly used for the creation of chatbots in frameworks such as IBM Watson Assistant. They end up being an absolute complete mess. The reliance on global variables and go-to statements for control flow makes them extremely bug prone and unintelligible.

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Re:Maybe visual programming is the answer, maybe not by ken on Sunday April 26, 2020 @01:46PM (#22988741)

What does that have to do with visual programming? Any program written with a "reliance on global variables and go-to statements" is going to be "extremely bug prone and unintelligible" -- visual or otherwise. There are certainly VPLs with scope and flow control constructs.

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Re:Maybe visual programming is the answer, maybe not by keymone on Sunday April 26, 2020 @03:01AM (#22985166)

But who’s using them? From the symptoms you describe I would guess it’s people very far removed from software development.

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Re:Maybe visual programming is the answer, maybe not by DonHopkins on Sunday April 26, 2020 @10:36AM (#22987435)

The Sims uses a visual programming language called "SimAntics" for scripting behaviors and "AI" of people and objects.

The Sims, Pie Menus, Edith Editing, and SimAntics Visual Programming Demo. This is a demonstration of the pie menus, architectural editing tools, and Edith visual programming tools that I developed for The Sims with Will Wright at Maxis and Electronic Arts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-exdu4ETscs

https://medium.com/@donhopkins/the-sims-pie-menus-49ca02a74d...

The Sims Steering Committee - June 4 1998. A demo of an early pre-release version of The Sims for The Sims Steering Committee at EA, developed June 4 1998.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC52jE60KjY

https://medium.com/@donhopkins/the-sims-pie-menus-49ca02a74d...

Mod The Sims Wiki: SimAntics:

https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=SimAntics

Simantics Wiki:

http://simantics.wikidot.com/

SimsTek Wiki: SimAntics

https://simstek.fandom.com/wiki/SimAntics

From Ken Forbus's game design course:

Under the hood of The Sims:

http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~forbus/c95-gd/lectures/

Programming Objects in The Sims:

http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/papers/Files/Programming_Obj...

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Re:Maybe visual programming is the answer, maybe not by scoopertrooper on Sunday April 26, 2020 @12:02PM (#22988067)

Thanks for taking the time to write this up!

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Re:Maybe visual programming is the answer, maybe not by scoopertrooper on Sunday April 26, 2020 @11:48AM (#22987964)

A bunch of disgruntled computer science grads questioning their life choices, at the large telecommunications provider for which I was working.

The Watson language just doesn't provide any other way to do anything. It's a common problem amongst visual programming languages as mentioned in the article.

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