WIWillAdams·Mar 7, 2024
As a visual person (traditionally trained as a graphic artist), I've wanted this sort of thing for a long while, and I've been trying to use it for 3D.
Surprisingly, there are multiple specialized tools for this:
- https://www.blockscad3d.com --- an adaptation of Google's Blockly to OpenSCAD
- https://github.com/derkork/openscad-graph-editor --- wires and nodes, it has the advantage of exposing _all_ of OpenSCAD's commands (the above has a subset)
- https://github.com/Tanneguydv/Pythonocc-nodes-for-Ryven --- a module for using PythonOCC in Ryven --- when I finally succeeded, I found the language inscrutable, even when provided w/ quite nice examples (definitely a failing on my part, not that of the tool)
- https://github.com/graphscad/graphscad --- it took a long while for the source code for this to be made available, and for a while it
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had compatibility problems (why was "cube" redefined?) --- probably defunct for political reasons, it had some interesting ideas, in particular the ability to have custom icons for modules
- https://www.nodebox.net --- if memory serves I got hung up by not easily being able to do 3D, and when doing 2D having precision problems (or maybe that was Processing.org)
and I've been using these tools to make various things:
https://willadams.gitbook.io/design-into-3d/3d-project
(and maybe eventually I'll finish something)
The problem I've been running into is there doesn't seem to be an answer to the question:
"What does an algorithm look like?"
I recently had occasion to mention Herman Hesse's _The Glass Bead Game_ (also published as _Magister Ludi_) and I'll bring it up again --- what is a meaningful graphical representation of a program?
The Drakon folks argued that there should be one true path but that's not really communicative and I would note that if this was a simple thing it wouldn't be decades since I last saw a physical Flowcharting Template:
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/flo...
(and it's pretty rare to even see a well-done electronic drawing of a flowchart since Visio made its splash and vanished into the bowels of Microsoft)
The main problem seems to be one of expressiveness not scaling up well, hence:
https://blueprintsfromhell.tumblr.com/
https://scriptsofanotherdimension.tumblr.com/
Presumably, one doesn't want to define modules/variables unnecessarily --- but the question becomes where is that dividing line?
If you define too many, then you're back to the "wall of text" which one was trying to avoid (but wrapped up in nice boxes with some lines or shapes), and if one doesn't use them (well, look at the pretty/awful images in the links above).
Ideally, a well-coded visual program would have a pleasing aesthetic appearance which is expressive and communicates flow and function, and I've tried for that at:
https://willadams.gitbook.io/design-into-3d/programming
(though I wish that there was an easy way to export an SVG version of a program)
I believe that what is needed here is some graphical equivalent to Literate Programming: http://literateprogramming.com
Is there a nice tutorial for GUI toolkit integration which would allow easily making a graphical application with this? I have an idea I want to try it which might be a good fit.