The future of programming

[manhobby]

Maybe the future of the programming is the human-language-level programming.

Maybe it will take a lot of iterations. For example (limiting myself to standard CSS button options only):

USER: Make a button

AGI: Background color of the button?

(USER clicks on his choice)

AGI: Button size?

(USER clicks on his choice)

AGI: Button padding?

(USER clicks on his choice)

AGI: Radius of button edge?

(USER clicks on his choice)

AGI: Button border color?

(USER clicks on his choice)

AGI: Does the button color change when you move the mouse?

USER: No.

AGI: Does the button have a permanent shadow, or does the shadow appear only when the mouse is over the button?

(USER clicks on his choice)

AGI: Can the button be disabled? Under what conditions?

(USER clicks on his choice and somehow describes the conditions affecting this property)

AGI: Do you want to specify a non-default width for this button?

(USER clicks on his choice, or enters a specific value)

AGI: Is this button part of a group of horizontal or vertical buttons, with or without borders?

(USER clicks on his choice, or enters a specific value)

What are the opinions of the programmers about the future of programming?

[manhobby]

AGI: Radius of button edge?

button radius.jpg (20.52 KiB) Viewed 10582 times

(USER clicks on his choice)

AGI: Button border color?

(USER clicks on his choice)

AGI: Does the button color change when you move the mouse?

USER: No.

AGI: Does the button have a permanent shadow, or does the shadow appear only when the mouse is over the button?

(USER clicks on his choice)

[iansjack]

Sounds pretty long-winded just to create a button. This is a much easier process in conventional programming environments.

[manhobby]

AGI: Can the button be disabled? Under what conditions?

button disabled.jpg (17.88 KiB) Viewed 10581 times

(USER clicks on his choice and somehow describes the conditions affecting this property)

[manhobby]

AGI: Do you want to specify a non-default width for this button?

(USER clicks on his choice, or enters a specific value)

[manhobby]

AGI: Is this button part of a group of horizontal or vertical buttons, with or without borders?

(USER clicks on his choice, or enters a specific value)

What are the opinions of the programmers about the future of programming?

[manhobby]

It is impossible to put all images in a message

[xenos]

Even reading this thread takes me longer than just writing the CSS for the button I want. After the second or third question I would already be annoyed, tell "AGI" to just give me that darn button and return to my text editor, which lets me type that stuff in seconds thanks to syntax completion (and even without, it would still be faster).

[Octacone]

I think the tile is wrong, it mentions "programming" but I don't see any. I can only see some button clicking creation application.

[DavidCooper]

That is not how the conversation would go. The AGI system will give you what you most likely want and will then adjust any aspects of it which you aren't happy with. It will not drag you through a menu of all possible options item by item, but will wait instead until you ask for the button to behave in a particular way. The aim is to use artificial general intelligence and not artificial general stupidity.

User: Make a button for that.

[Button appears.]

User: A bit bigger, and make it green.

[Button grows bigger and turns green.]

User: Put it here.

[Button moves to the correct location.]

...

(Some time later):-

User: When the cursor's on this button, turn it blue.

[Button turns blue. (AGI system knows that that's more likely what's wanted than turning the cursor blue.)]

User: Make its corners rounded.

[Button changes shape (and retains new shape even when cursor is moved away).]

Etc.

[iansjack]

... and, still, all you are doing is designing an interface in a pretty inefficient way. There are already excellent interface-design programs that will do this in an efficient, flexible manner using WYSIWYG techniques. What better way to design an interface than visually. For the experts there will be a text file behind the design which can be edited to produce the design precisely and quickly.

But none of this could be described as "programming" any more than a typographer or a cover artist authors a book.

[manhobby]

... and, still, all you are doing is designing an interface in a pretty inefficient way. There are already excellent interface-design programs that will do this in an efficient, flexible manner using WYSIWYG techniques. What better way to design an interface than visually. For the experts there will be a text file behind the design which can be edited to produce the design precisely and quickly.

But none of this could be described as "programming" any more than a typographer or a cover artist authors a book.

DavidCooper,

Please quote programming examples that show how AGI will work.

[azblue]

(limiting myself to standard CSS button options only):

I know you said you're limiting your examples to button options for now, but whenever people suggest the future of programming is something along these lines I can't help but wonder how, for example, one would write a FAT driver using this style of programming.

[Solar]

...or an event handler for those buttons, so that they actually do something useful...

[iansjack]

how, for example, one would write a FAT driver using this style of programming.

That's easy. You just say "write me a FAT driver" and - magically - it does so.