One of the other problems is that people keep trying to find the one perfect tool or solution that will work for all cases. This is the wrong attitude. When m

One of the other problems is that people keep trying to find the one perfect tool or solution that will work for all cases. This is the wrong attitude. When manipulating any kind of object in the real world there are a series of tools. Each has their own feel, way you interact with it, and is used for a specific purpose. A hammer, saw, sander, file, router, nail, all do different things. The interface to them is unique. Programming needs to follow this model. Each scenario is different so they need to be handled separately. Allow for a comprehensive general framework and then people create tools for each scenario. The tools can be general purpose or very specific. Work with the general purpose AST with tons of annotations (comments, 2D coordinates for visual layout tools like NoFlow style, etc). Also, depending on what you are focusing on at the time you may want a different view of the code. Think how architecture is different. Framers have their own annotation. Then there are plumbing and electrical overlays. There are also wireframes and fully rendered views. Top, bottom, orthogonal, perspective, etc. You get the idea. Start with model, view, controller. Each is unique. It can be visualized and written differently. Right now we use the same text based language to describe each and to read each. When you have a general purpose AST then the code can be "read" in different modes (each with their own strengths and weaknesses). Also, sometimes is is easier to write in one form and read in another. For example, writing math using post-fix is really easy but reading it requires too much managing of the stack state in your head (cognitive overload). For reading, mathematical notation would work better.