"cpunks write code". the whole concept of writing code may fundamentally shift in the future to something that is far more visually oriented. I tend to think so and think that this idea will be particularly fruitfully explored relative to virtual reality. I believe that in the future, code will be written neither with "code" nor with "writing", so to speak. this is a blurb out of Xeroc Parc, the same organization that brought you the revolutionary wysiwyg GUI, the mouse, the file/folder analogy, etc. imagine that as a programmer, you could see an animated presentation of your code operation at all times. it would be an incredible development and debugging tool. it is quite a few years away, but I think it is inevitable. what is interesting is that visual programming is not necessarily a replacement for computer languages. it could be seen as just another layer of abstraction on top of source code, i.e. a means of generating source code, which could be in any language du-jour such as Java. in fact I think this is the way visual languages will first make their way into commercial environments-- by meshing with all the existing language baggage. ------- Forwarded Message Newsgroups: ba.seminars,comp.human-factors,comp.cog-eng,comp.groupware Subject: BayCHI (Aug 13) - Programming as a Video Game, plus Exploring the World of a Product Date: 6 Aug 1996 01:23:33 GMT Organization: Usability Adventures BayCHI, the San Francisco Bay Area ACM SIGCHI (Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction), announces its August meeting: Tuesday, August 13, 1996 7:30 - 9:30 pm Programming as a Video Game or ToonTalk -- A Video Game for Creating Programs Ken Kahn, Animated Programs + Exploring the World of a Product: the Light Switch Exploration Project Sam Hecht, IDEO Product Development Xerox PARC Auditorium 3333 Coyote Hill Road Palo Alto, CA 94304 <BayCHI meeting attendance is free & open to the public.> <BayCHI programs are not videotaped, and taping by attendees is not permitted.> Abstract of "Programming as a Video Game or ToonTalk -- A Video Game for Creating Programs": Seymour Papert once described the design of the Logo programming language as taking the best ideas in computer science about programming language design and "child engineering" them. Twenty-five years after Logo's birth, there has been tremendous progress in programming language research and in computer-human interfaces. Programming languages exist now that are very expressive and mathematically very elegant and yet are difficult to learn and master. We believe the time is now ripe to attempt to repeat the success of the designers of Logo by child engineering one of these modern languages. When Logo was first built, a critical aspect was taking the computational constructs of the Lisp programming language and designing a child friendly syntax for them. Lisp's "CAR" was replaced by "FIRST", "DEFUN" by "TO", parentheses were eliminated, and so on. Today there are totally visual languages in which programs exist as pictures and not as text. We believe this is a step in the right direction, but even better than visual programs are animated programs. Animation is much better suited for dealing with the dynamics of computer programs than static icons or diagrams. While there has been substantial progress in graphical user interfaces in the last twenty-five years, we chose to look not primarily at the desktop metaphor for ideas but instead at video games. Video games are typically more direct, more concrete, and easier to learn than other software. And more fun too. We have constructed a general-purpose concurrent programming system, ToonTalk (TM), in which the source code is animated and the programming environment is a video game. Every abstract computational aspect is mapped into a concrete metaphor. For example, a computation is a city, an active object or agent is a house, birds carry messages between houses, a method or clause is a robot trained by the user and so on. The programmer controls a "programmer persona" in this video world to construct, run, debug and modify programs. We believe that ToonTalk is especially well suited for giving children the opportunity to build real programs in a manner that is easy to learn and fun to do. A live demo of ToonTalk will be given. (See http://www.toontalk.com.) ----- o ----- Abstract of "Exploring the World of a Product: the Light Switch Exploration Project": Initiated by IDEO industrial designers in San Francisco, the Light Switch exploration is the first in a series of projects which explore the world of a product. The benefits, other than those which are delivered within each design, is to expand each designer's mind, but formulated within a group. The group deliberately chose the humblest of product interfaces for exploration, asking that the test was in the using. It was felt strongly that this type of project would be able to indirectly inspire some of the more complex products that IDEO usually works with, and which the layman eventually has to operate. The approach taken was rooted heavily in both a large vocabulary of materials and the appraisal of a light switch within its environment. The group started the project by examining the history and context of a light switch and discovered that it was praticularly easy to move away from preconceptions which seem to have plagued many earlier attempts by designers. This was further achieved by the group developing contextual platforms for particular scenarios based on the relationships between object and light; control and light; the manipulation of light; and the interaction with a switch. The root in material also inspired totally new ways of both manufacturing and operating a light switch. It would be wrong to suggest that these designs are anything more than concepts, but because they were created within an environment that is populated by Human Factors, Engineering, and Interaction Design, they hold many of the concerns which are evoked by these professions. The group extended the concept of "using" by creating working prototypes. These were exhibited as part of the "Mutant Materials in Design" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Here, the public were able to interact with each switch in its proper context; that being to turn a light bulb on and off. New surprises were observed - such as people stroking a switch that only required the slightest of contact. What was happening, of course, was that relationships were being created between object and user. The exploration was awarded the 1995 annual design award for concepts and the CHI'96 video award for design, and was part of the International Design Yearbook for 1996. Biographies: ToonTalk was designed and built by KEN KAHN <kahn@csli.stanford.edu> who, after earning a doctorate in computer science from MIT, spent more than 15 years as a researcher in programming languages, computer animation, and programming systems for children. He has been a faculty member at MIT, University of Stockholm, and Uppsala University. For over eight years he was a researcher at Xerox PARC. During the 1970s he made several animated films which were shown in film festivals, theaters, and cable TV. In 1992, Ken founded Animated Programs whose mission is to make computer programming child's play. His patent application covering the underlying technology of ToonTalk has recently been approved by the US Patent Office. David, Ken's 11 year-old son, will be running the demos during the talk. ----- o ----- SAM HECHT joined IDEO in 1994 after working in the areas of interior design, architecture, industrial design, and graphic design. He has worked in the studios of David Chipperfield in London, Studia design group in Tel-Aviv, IDEO product development in San Francisco, and now currently as a senior industrial designer at IDEO in Tokyo. In San Francisco, he created designs for large corporations in the fields of furniture for Steelcase America, computer monitors for NEC Japan, and recently telephones for AT&T of America. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in London, he started to investigate the border between object and environment, which he exercised in a number of interiors. This interest was furthered with the designs of the offices of IDEO in both San Francisco and Tokyo, which challenge our thinking of the office environment - layered with the philosophy of multi-disciplinary team working that IDEO employs. He is also responsible for curating the IDEO design explorations that occur each year. In Tokyo, he is currently focusing on the design of objects of a smaller scale. His work has won several awards; has been exhibited in Europe, America, and Asia; and has been published in leading journals throughout the world. ************************************************************************ ************************************************************************ NOTES OF SPONSORSHIP & THANKS BayCHI thanks Jock MacKinlay and Stu Card of Xerox PARC for sponsoring our use of the Xerox PARC auditorium for BayCHI monthly meetings. ************************************************************************ BayCHI's September meeting: September 10 location: Xerox PARC Auditorium, Palo Alto ************************************************************************ About BayCHI BayCHI, the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of ACM's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction, brings together systems designers, human factors engineers, computer scientists, psychologists, social scientists, users, software engineers, product managers, ... from throughout the Bay Area to hear and to exchange ideas about computer-human interaction and about the design and evaluation of user interfaces. To join BayCHI, which will get you added to the mailing list for the newsletter, enable your access to the jobbank, enable your listing in the consultants directory, get you a copy of the directory of BayCHI members, ..., send a note to cstreeter.chi@xerox.com or to BayCHI, PO Box 25, Menlo Park, CA 94026, and we will send you a printed membership form. Membership forms are also available at the BayCHI meetings; plus, a membership form is appended to this announcement. Additional information about BayCHI is available at BayCHI's evolving World Wide Web site: http://www.baychi.org/. For program updates and to leave messages, call 408-235-9244. ************************************************************************ BayCHI Steering Committee The BayCHI steering committee meetings are open to anyone who is interested in attending. The meetings are generally held the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. Please contact any member of the committee for directions to the meeting. Chair Bob Weissman weissman.chi@xerox.com Vice Chair Clark Streeter cstreeter.chi@xerox.com Treasurer Fred Jacobson jacobson.chi@xerox.com Program Chair Richard Anderson rianderson.chi@xerox.com Membership Chair Don Patterson patterson.chi@xerox.com Newsletter Editor Fred Jacobson jacobson.chi@xerox.com Dinner Coordinator Diane Cerra dcerra@mkp.com Webmistress Christina Gibbs cgibbs.chi@xerox.com Job Bank Mark Fernandes mark_fernandes.chi@xerox.com Publicity Chair Christina Gibbs cgibbs.chi@xerox.com Tutorial Chair David Rowley rowley.chi@xerox.com CHI Calendar Megan Eskey eskey.chi@xerox.com Consultants Directory Dave Salvator salvator.chi@xerox.com Strng Comm Mtg Host Ulrike Creach creach.chi@xerox.com Newsletter Distr. Joseph Jarosz jarosz.chi@xerox.com Volunteer Coordinator Clark Streeter cstreeter.chi@xerox.com Elections Chair (open position) SIGCHI Liaison Don Patterson patterson.chi@xerox.com International Liaison Susan Wolfe wolfe.chi@xerox.com BAHFES Liaison Robert Kaplan kaplan.chi@xerox.com Xerox PARC host Jock Mackinlay mackinlay.chi@xerox.com Past Chair ('95-'96) David Rowley rowley.chi@xerox.com Past Chair ('93-'95) Ellen Francik francik.chi@xerox.com Past Chair ('92-'93) Richard Anderson rianderson.chi@xerox.com At-large Allison Hansen ahansen.chi@xerox.com At-large Howard Tamler htamler.chi@xerox.com At-large Mike Van Riper vanriper.chi@xerox.com BayCHI -- P.O. Box 25 -- Menlo Park, CA -- 94026 ************************************************************************ DIRECTIONS TO XEROX PARC
From Highway 280, take the Page Mill Road exit. Go east one mile to Coyote Hill Road (no light) and turn right. Go 1/2 mile and PARC will be on your left. Follow the signs to the auditorium.
From 101, take the Oregon Expressway exit west 2 miles to El Camino Real. Oregon Expressway becomes Page Mill Road at El Camino Real. Follow Page Mill Road 1.7 miles to Coyote Hill Road (no light) and turn left. Coyote Hill Road is just past the intersection with Foothill Expressway. Go 1/2 mile and PARC will be on your left. Follow the signs to the auditorium.
For a map, see http://www.parc.xerox.com/images/maptoparc.gif. ************************************************************************ O / \ O -----------X------------ Cut Here ------------X----------- O \ / O BayCHI Membership Form (Version: 8 February 1996) - ---------------------- Name: ________________________ ____________ _____________________________ (First) (MI) (Last) Nickname (optional): _________________________ (for Membership Card/Badge name if other than above) Preferred Email:_________________________________________________________ Secondary Email:_________________________________________________________ Web Address (URL):_______________________________________________________ Home Contact Information Address: ___________________________________________________________ ____________________, _______ __________________ ________ City State Postal / City Code Country Phone: (_____)____________________ FAX: (_____)___________________ Business Contact Information Company / Affiliation: _____________________________________________ Department: _____________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________ ____________________, _______ __________________ ________ City State Postal / City Code Country Phone: (_____)____________________ FAX: (_____)___________________ Preferred Mailing Address (circle one): Home Business Email Only Newsletter delivery via (circle one): Email Surface Check if you DO NOT want to be included in the Membership Directory? ____ Check if you want to receive Job Bank postings: ____ Interests and Expertise (for Membership Directory listing - up to 90 char) Circle if member of: ACM SIGCHI ACM Member Number: _________________________________ Membership Fees: $15.00 for New Members $10.00 for Renewing Members Payment Enclosed : $_______ Date: __________ Payment by (circle one): Cash Personal Check Business Check Other Please mail this form, along with a check payable to BayCHI, to: Don Patterson, 757 Avalon Way, Livermore, CA 94550 ************************************************************************ ------- End of Forwarded Message