Programming breakthroughs we need
Everytime someone proposes a non-textual representation of code I cringe.<p>There&#x27;s a reason no one single alternative has triumphed over text. And many have been proposed!<p>Standards are hard. Proprietary tools lock you in. Text is universal (OK, restricted to plain ASCII, which is a big deal but has already happened). You can open and modify a text file with whatever editor of your choice, the simplest possible editing tool. Some weirdos (joking) even print source code.<p>That <i>reading</i>, not modifying, is the primary operation to be done on source code is an unchangeable fact of life. You won&#x27;t be able to change anything without inspecting it first, and no representation is going to save you from that -- and it&#x27;s undesirable to wish for this, in fact.