Show HN: Powerful Visual Programming Language (Book)

[toplinesoftsys]

Throughout my 30+ software development career, after spending many sleepless nights digging up through enormous codebases to understand logic or fix a bug, I was thinking: "There must be a better, visual way to represent program rather than text". However, no usable visual programming language popped up on horizon for the whole duration of 30+ years of my career. Therefore, I decided to take matters in my own hands, creating new visual programming language called "Pipe". A book about this language was published recently. The book is available for free on Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks.

Language Pipe has a level of sophistication and power comparable to existing most powerful textual languages and therefore, it has a very high chances to successfully compete with text-based programming. The book provides full and comprehensive language specification. On top of that, the book contains many features and ideas planned for future versions of the language.

Pipe implements many novel concepts and unique features. As a result, multiple patent applications have already been filed and pending. The published book contains complete language specification, including graphical notation of all its elements and full API specification for code integration. Pipe has the following features:

* General-purpose visual language.

* Compact but powerful language.

* Complete and detailed language specification.

* Practical visual language.

* API specification for integration with non-visual languages.

* Statically-typed language.

* Long-term plans for future versions.

* Augmentation of AI code generation.

* Language for the next generation of low-code systems.

The problem of AI code generation is that it is very difficult to prepare complete and precise input specifications, especially in case of a large project. The solution is generating code only for base-level components easily explainable to AI, completing the rest of application via manual coding. That, however, undermines the goal of leveraging AI to remove the need for human programming. Pipe provides an alternative to textual coding by encapsulating AI-generated components within visual blocks for building the rest of application as graphical workflows via an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. As a next level of Pipe evolution, AI will be generating complete visual workflows directly, making it much easier to understand and modify generated logic.

Usage of a general-purpose visual programming language Pipe to connect blocks containing AI-generated code can inspire the next generation of extremely versatile low-code platforms, as AI code generation followed by visual integration of generated components is a very powerful low-code framework. Users will be able to generate new components using AI and that solves the problem of limited customization in existing low-code platforms where components are mostly predefined. On top of that, common visual programming language Pipe will ensure portability of low-code projects between different platforms.

Please find PDF with book preview here: https://www.pipelang.com/sample/sample.pdf

[conartist6]

Feels like a thick layer of AI-generated glaze on what's basically just another no-code platform... except this one with the innovation that it's actually a book that you buy?

While the copy sounds like complete fluff-n-puff, I honestly believe almost all of it is right, both about what's coming for the future of coding and the role that visual "lego" programming will play in it.

There's just one really major thing the author got wrong: the reason visual programming hasn't (yet) seen broader adoption. The reason is that each visual programming tool consists of one language married to one editor. Who wants to re-learn a whole new editor each time they need to work in a different language?

[analog31]

Coupled languages and programming tools had OK adoption back in the day: Turbo Pascal, Visual Basic, HyperCard. But times have changed, perhaps in no small part thanks to the open source movement.

I used LabVIEW heavily for a few years in the mid 90s. What killed it for me was the sheer physical labor of programming in a graphical environment. All of that detailed mouse work gave me severe eyestrain headaches and wrist fatigue. When I'm typing text, I'm barely looking at the screen. Granted, this may be a personal physical limitation, so I can't offer it as a general argument against graphical programming.

Another issue is that decoupling the tools and the language lets you experiment with new languages and features with a bare minimum of effort. I've even tried out my own toy languages. But building a graphical editor, even a general purpose one that could serve multiple graphical languages, seems like a boatload of work.

[toplinesoftsys]

The core principle of Pipe is that it is not trying to replace text-based languages. There will always be areas where text is better. What Pipe is doing is visualizing structures on top of textual languages. It means that mouse manipulations in Pipe are going to be significantly less intensive because Pipe does not try to implement x=x+1 visually (I think it is the key mistake in majority of existing VPLs including LabVIEW and hence physical fatigue). What Pipe does is encapsulating non-visual code that does x=x+1 into a reusable visual element.

Also, AI can generate textual code calculating x=x+1. It means we mostly do not even need to touch textual code - AI will do it for us perfectly. All we need to do is converting AI-generated code into visual components for composing visual workflows.

To sum up, AI and visual programming create a perfect synergy: AI generates code and visual programming composes generated fragments into visual components. This should minimize physical efforts needed to manipulate visual workflows as devs are going to work only on high (visual) level of abstractions while AI will be providing low (text-based) abstractions.

[khatkhati]

Is this some kind of a hoax? Or social experiment? Is the whole thing AI-generated with no human supervision?

[gtoast]

This 100% feels like a scam. Can't view a snippet of code on the website. Not even a "Hello World" not even a screenshot. There's no documentation available to look at. The website is entirely focused on getting you to download the Amazon "book". Which, if the "blog" is any indications, is filled with AI generated slop. There's incomplete sentencesin there, nonsense phrasing... I dare any human to read this horrendous post: https://medium.com/techtrends-digest/new-language-pipe-makes... I makes zero sense.

I think the only way to prove that the responses here aren't AI would be for the developers add the sum of the first 30 even integers, then the next 30 odd integers, and the next 30 even integers after that...17 times.

[toplinesoftsys]

Sorry to hear you are disappointed.

The book itself IS the documentation. In fact, there is a "Hello world!" example of Pipe diagram in the book, which can be downloaded for FREE from Amazon Kindle or Apple iBooks.

Regarding the non-readable language of our article - we will fix the problem by polishing the language. Sorry about that. However, I would like to note the fact that article is hard to read is evidence contrary to AI generation which would definitely generate a pretty polished text.

For your convenience, we just added a link with a PDF of a book preview - please find it at the end of the posting.

[bytebach]

Sadly the amazon kindle version is not readable by their kindle web reader - tells me to download android or ios version of kindle :(

[toplinesoftsys]

Thank you for the question and let me assure you this is not a hoax and not a social experiment. The language is absolutely real: you can download the book for free from Amazon Kindle or Apple iBooks to see that everything stated in the posting is real, not AI-generated.

[pfg_]

How is it real if it only exists as a spec in a book? Is there a compiler? Is there an editor?

[toplinesoftsys]

It is real in terms of the language design. However, this is a pretty complex and sophisticated visual languages so it will take time to implement it.

[dtagames]

So, not real then. PS: You can't get a patent unless you can show how to make it real. Not how it "would" work but how it does work.

But TBH, I'm with the rest that say this kind of visual programming is DOA for most applications.

[392]

I like the idea, and am excited to see an experimental implementation. You will have to ignore many haters who don't realize that Excel is the most popular programming language in the world. "Stop writing dead programs."

[replwoacause]

So there’s nothing to actual use here? I honestly don’t understand the point of this. Is it just to collect email addresses or something? Even the video on the main page is AI generated. Same goes for the blog post.

I feel like my time was wasted.

[toplinesoftsys]

The product here is the book, not software (yet). You can download and read it.

[replwoacause]

Huh. Does this make any sense to anyone but you though? Why would someone read a book about something that doesn’t exist when they can choose to read any one of millions of books about things that do?

Have you heard the expression “putting the cart before the horse”? I just don’t see the logic here.

[toplinesoftsys]

For us, the goal is getting early feedback and potentially get into discussions to see where the idea stands. Benefits for others depend on their specific areas of interest. For example, people who work in areas of visual programming, low-code and AI code generation will be interested to know what new ideas impacting their domain come to light.

There is nothing preventing release of an idea before finalizing implementation. We are not the first going this route and I am sure there will be more after us. Like everything else, it has its cons and pros.