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Exploration and Complexity Management in Graph-Based Programming Environments

Authors Max Boksem , L. Thomas van Binsbergen

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Subject Classification

ACM Subject Classification
  • Software and its engineering → Integrated and visual development environments
  • Software and its engineering → Software development techniques
Keywords
  • Graph-based Programming Environments
  • Exploratory Programming
  • Complexity Management
  • Incremental Graph Code (IGC)
  • Projectional Views

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Abstract

Programmers often rely on different environments depending on the nature of their tasks. For large-scale software projects, IDEs help manage complexity through structured abstractions like files, modules, and classes, and provide tools for code visualization and navigation. In contrast, exploratory programming tasks - such as data analysis, rapid prototyping, and design space exploration - are better served by interactive environments like REPLs and Notebooks, which support incremental development and immediate feedback. However, these tools tend to prioritize either complexity management or exploration, limiting their effectiveness across contexts.
This paper investigates a hybrid graph-based programming environment that bridges these two modes by building on Incremental Graph Code (IGC), a graph-based system for structuring, visualizing, and interacting with source code. We explore how IGC can support both complexity management and exploratory programming through three key features: projectional views for aggregating and navigating interrelated code and documentation, graph-type nodes for encapsulating subgraphs to manage structural complexity, and an exploratory programming view for managing branching executions and promoting experimentation. Together, these features suggest that graph-based environments like IGC can offer a unified platform for both systematic software engineering and dynamic, exploratory development.

Cite As Get BibTex

Max Boksem and L. Thomas van Binsbergen. Exploration and Complexity Management in Graph-Based Programming Environments. In Companion Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on the Art, Science, and Engineering of Programming (Programming 2025). Open Access Series in Informatics (OASIcs), Volume 134, pp. 6:1-6:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025) https://doi.org/10.4230/OASIcs.Programming.2025.6

Author Details

Max Boksem
  • University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
L. Thomas van Binsbergen
  • University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Supplementary Materials

References

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