unit
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unit | scratch-www | |
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12 | 803 | |
2,435 | 1,555 | |
- | 0.8% | |
9.7 | 9.9 | |
14 days ago | 7 days ago | |
TypeScript | JavaScript | |
MIT License | BSD 3-clause "New" or "Revised" License |
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unit
- Unit – Next Generation Visual Programming System
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Visual Node Graph with ImGui
https://github.com/samuelmtimbo/unit recently, which at least uses some kind of hinted auto-layout (besides the more propriety fancy)
I really want to see more graphical coding for years, but node/graph-based and blockly seem to be the only approaches that got sone traction so far. So I like this thread and it seems at the right place.
I'd wish to see
- Next Generation Visual Programming System
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Unit (Visual Programming System) [video]
Interesting, and clearly a lot of work's gone into this (60,000 lines of Typescript), particularly the UI, which is impressive (if, sometimes, over the top). I've been developing a similar system (http://www.fmjlang.co.uk/fmj/tutorials/TOC.html) and it's interesting to note the similarities and differences.
Similarities: code as directed graphs (less obvious in FMJ); can only connect outputs to units of compatible type; if and wait (looping is handled differently); sticky values; sliders. These design decisions are practically forced on you, but are often absent in earlier visual dataflow languages (e.g. Prograph, LabVIEW).
Differences: (1) inputs are named in Unit, ordered in FMJ (though they're named in formulas and edges can be labelled). (2) I experimented with automatic code layout but found this was too slow and not always what I wanted. Well done for getting this to work. (3) FMJ is now fully homoiconic - this maybe isn't a priority for Unit.
The Unit design philosophy is explained in https://github.com/samuelmtimbo/unit/blob/main/src/docs/conc... . This doesn't mention earlier approaches (e.g. the Manchester Dataflow Computer, Prograph) and it seems to be based on vaguely similar ideas developed more recently (Morrison's Flow Based programming; possibly React and similar systems for web development - I'm unfamiliar with these).
I have a number of questions:
(1) How does the type system work? Is it Dependently typed, Hindley-Milner, or something more basic? (FMJ is Hindley-Milner, with dependent typing partially implemented). How are new types be defined?
(2) How is the visual representation stored? One criticism I faced was that people wanted a readable textual representation which would work well with existing version control systems, a problem I have now largely solved.
(3) How are runtime errors handled?
(4) Is recursion supported? (I assume yes, but I didn't see any examples.) What about macros?
(5) What does Unit compile to? (FMJ has an experimental compiler where programs are compiled by running their source without evaluating their inputs, output is Lisp.)
- Unit.land
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A personal history of visual programming environments (2021)
I enjoyed reading this. I knew of quartz composer but I never did anything with it.
I love visual tools and I think they are underutilized today. I cut my teeth in ~2005 with Houdini[0] and Fusion[1] which are both heavily graph / node based (and procedural).
Most recently I have been rekindling my love for visual programming and flow based programming and plan to spend some time in January and February doing more research around flow based programming for infrastructure management.
I plan to get this sort of info published on my website which I have neglected for half a decade or more but if you are interested in visual programming you might enjoy checking these out:
Unit from Samuel Timbó:
https://github.com/samuelmtimbo/unit
A video of me exploring what I figured out about it (while also learning to stream) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwknTfGVDq8
Behave-Graph from Ben Houston:
https://github.com/bhouston/behave-graph
And the products I learned so long ago
[0] Houdini https://www.sidefx.com/products/houdini/
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Ask HN: More “experimental“ UIs for editing/writing code?
https://github.com/samuelmtimbo/unit
- A code drawn in unit is simply a Directed Graph.
- Programming can be partially performed by Gesture and by Voice.
- Unit: Next Generation Visual Programming Platform
scratch-www
- Scratch is the largest free coding community for kids
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Screen-free coding for children: the xylophone maze
and https://codecombat.com, which has been around for a while now.
I think this paradigm (navigating a character using "move" function invocations) is good but kind of exhausts its usefulness after a while. I question whether my daughter learns coding this way or just is playing a turn based top down platformer. The most code like thing is when you use 'loops' to have characters repeat sequences of moves. I think when kids grok these things these apps become just types of glofiried education flavoured video games. There are a lot of things in kodable for instance that I feel are just basic web games with coding terms slapped on it.
https://scratch.mit.edu/ is more like 'programming' imo, even at the level of the objective -- having a blank canvas to create something. It seems a little advanced for my kids right now though.
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Ask HN: Yo wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do?
+1 Scratch! My son started with it, then expanded into Roblox/Lua.
Children can download other people's games and experiment there. Scratch also has pre-made art, sounds, music.
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Ask HN: Platform for kids to learn how to code
Scratch.mit.edu is a highly-recommended place to start [1] https://scratch.mit.edu/
> Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children and a coding language with a simple visual interface that allows young people to create digital stories, games, and animations. Scratch is designed, developed, and moderated by the Scratch Foundation, a nonprofit organization. [2]
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Eligiendo un computador para desarrollo
https://scratch.mit.edu/ (Scratch version 2)
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i swear to god if i keep seeing projects abt these 4 franchises every single day i'm gonna break someone's kneecaps
Someone who uses scratch.mit.edu (like me)
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How to learn coding without a degree
Now that I think of it, I did start game development on scratch before going right into java (because of minecraft).
- Copii si programarea
- Teen school project
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Ask HN: Best tools for 4/5 year old to learn programming?
I'm looking for the best systems to help a 4/5 year old get the basics of programming. My daughter has shown interest in what I do, and loves puzzles and building things. Looking for something visual and fun that can start her down the path of logic and creating with computers.
I have a passing familiarity with Scratch [1], which I'm now looking into more, but am hoping others can share their knowledge and experience in this area.
[1] https://scratch.mit.edu/
What are some alternatives?
vue-flow - A highly customizable Flowchart component for Vue 3. Features seamless zoom & pan 🔎, additional components like a Minimap 🗺 and utilities to interact with state and graph.
Node RED - Low-code programming for event-driven applications
lisperanto - Lisperanto is a spatial canvas for programming; Lisperanto is a spatial canvas for knowledge; Lisperanto is a spatial canvas for ideas;
GDevelop - :video_game: Open-source, cross-platform game engine designed to be used by everyone.
impulse - Impossible Dev Tools for React and Tailwind
blockly - The web-based visual programming editor.
metadesk
Godot - Godot Engine – Multi-platform 2D and 3D game engine
awesome-structure-editors - A list of projectional and structural editors
processing - Source code for the Processing Core and Development Environment (PDE)
nodezator - A multi-purpose visual node editor for the Python programming language
stencyl-engine - Create Flash, HTML5, iOS, Android, and desktop games with no code with Stencyl. This is the source to Stencyl's Haxe-based engine.