Google Blockly is a visual programming language that allows you to easily combine blocks of logic and functionally.
Look at the Maze Demo to get an impression how it works (Note: It currently runs in Google Chrome only):
Here is another example that generates code (JavaScript, Python etc.) from the visual building blocks.
This could be interesting when flexible control is need while still providing an easy to use interface.
In general for this kind of automation task there are different levels of abstractions possible
- GUI based: easy to use, limited flexibility
- GUI based Rule definition (e.g. Outlook Rules), for Power users
- Textual language or textual rules, most flexible, most difficult to learn, only expert users
Normally when it comes to level 3 engineers needs to have knowledge about the particular scripting language. With a technology like Google Blockly the learning curve can be reduced while still maintaining the a high level of flexibility.
Tags: programming, usability, visualization Related posts