Software which allows the use of visual expressions (such as graphics, drawings, animation or icons) in the process of programming. These visual expressions may be used as graphical interfaces for textual programming languages. They may be used to form the syntax of new visual programming languages leading to new paradigms such as {programming by demonstration} or they may be used in graphical presentations of the behaviour or structure of a program. (1995-02-23)

1. Writing programs in a language which manipulates visual information or supports visual interaction. 2. Writing programs in a visual programming language. 3. Writing programs in a visual programming environment.

In computing, a visual programming language (visual programming system, VPL, or, VPS) is any programming language that lets users create programs by manipulating program elements graphically rather than by specifying them textually. A VPL allows programming with visual expressions, spatial arrangements of text and graphic symbols, used either as elements of syntax or secondary notation.

<language> (VPL) Any programming language that allows the user to specify a program in a two-(or more)-dimensionsional way. Conventional textual languages are not considered two-dimensional since the compiler or interpreter processes them as one-dimensional streams of characters. A VPL allows programming with visual expressions - spatial arrangements of textual and graphical symbols. VPLs may be further classified, according to the type and extent of visual expression used, into icon-based languages, form-based languages and diagram languages. {Visual programming environments} provide graphical or iconic elements which can be manipulated by the user in an interactive way according to some specific spatial grammar for program construction. A visually transformed language is a non-visual language with a superimposed visual representation. Naturally visual languages have an inherent visual expression for which there is no obvious textual equivalent. Visual Basic, Visual C++ and the entire Microsoft Visual family are not, despite their names, visual programming languages. They are textual languages which use a graphical GUI builder to make programming interfaces easier. The user interface portion of the programming environment is visual, the languages are not. Because of the confusion caused by the multiple meanings of the term "visual programming", Fred Lakin has proposed the term "executable graphics" as an alternative to VPL. Some examples of visual programming languages are Prograph, Pict, Tinkertoy, Fabrik, CODE 2.0 and Hyperpascal. http://cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/ianr/vpl.html. http://cuiwww.unige.ch/eao/www/readme.html. Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.lang.visual (NOT for {Visual Basic} or Visual C++). (1995-02-10)

<programming, tool> (IDE, integrated development environment) A system for supporting the process of writing software. Such a system may include a syntax-directed editor, graphical tools for program entry, and integrated support for compiling and running the program and relating compilation errors back to the source. Such systems are typically both interactive and integrated, hence the ambiguous acronym. They are interactive in that the developer can view and alter the execution of the program at the level of statements and variables. They are integrated in that, partly to support the above interaction, the source code editor and the execution environment are tightly coupled, e.g. allowing the developer to see which line of source code is about to be executed and the current values of any variables it refers to. Examples include Visual C++ and Visual Basic. (2002-09-21)

The Unix Programming Environment, first published in 1984 by Prentice Hall, is a book written by Brian W. Kernighan and Rob Pike, both of Bell Labs and considered an important and early document of the Unix operating system.

A visual narrative (also visual storytelling)Tony C. Caputo, Visual Storytelling: The Art and Technique, Watson-Guptill Publications, 2003.

<language> (VBScript) Microsoft's scripting language which is an extension of their Visual Basic language. VBScript can be used with Microsoft Office applications and others. It can also be embedded in web pages but can only be understood by Internet Explorer. Visual Basic is a BASIC variant with object-oriented features. Objects include applications, windows and selections. [Relationship with ASP? VBA?] (1998-07-05)

Visual BASIC Script

Tweak is a graphical user interface (GUI) layer written by Andreas Raab for the Squeak development environment, which in turn is an integrated development environment based on the Smalltalk-80 computer programming language. Tweak is an alternative to an earlier graphic user interface layer called Morphic.