A Principled Design for an Integrate Computational Environment

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.