> ...since interactive graphical tools are always categorized as being for novices.
Tools aimed at novices tend to ignore some of the fundamentals of solid software development, such as automated testing. In my space, GIS, there are lots of visual modeling tools, and these inevitably grow to a certain size, then get ported over to a textual programming language when maintenance becomes a nightmare.
There is a place for visual programming like there is a place for picture books (graphic novels even push into some pretty serious territory), but at the end of the day text wins with both prose and code, since it is far more expressive where it comes to expressing reasoning and logic. Doubly so perhaps, because unlike stories or art, code is typically not up for subtle interpretation.
Tools aimed at novices tend to ignore some of the fundamentals of solid software development, such as automated testing. In my space, GIS, there are lots of visual modeling tools, and these inevitably grow to a certain size, then get ported over to a textual programming language when maintenance becomes a nightmare.
There is a place for visual programming like there is a place for picture books (graphic novels even push into some pretty serious territory), but at the end of the day text wins with both prose and code, since it is far more expressive where it comes to expressing reasoning and logic. Doubly so perhaps, because unlike stories or art, code is typically not up for subtle interpretation.