A Principled Design for an Integrate Computational Environment
Name
MIT-LCS-TM-223.pdf
Size
17.35 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
5c5c661ef54d5e3b7d72c1afd7a3ba9f
Author(s)
diSessa, Andrea A.
Date Issued
July 1982
Series/Report no.
MIT-LCS-TM-223
Abstract
Boxer is a computer language designed to be the base of an integrated computational environment providing a broad array of functionality -- from text editing to programming -- for naïve and novice users. It stands in the line of Lisp inspired languages (Lisp, Logo, Scheme), but differs from these in achieveing much of its understandability from pervasive use of a spatial metaphor reinforced through suitable graphics. This paper describes a set of learnability and understandability issues first and then uses them to motivate design decisions made concerning Boxer and the environment in which it is embedded.
Persistent DSpace Link