I'm definitely in the "prefer to read" camp. A lot of these, especially the more graphical ones (that aren't just fancy syntax highlighting) seem way too disjoi

I'm definitely in the "prefer to read" camp. A lot of these, especially the more graphical ones (that aren't just fancy syntax highlighting) seem way too disjointed for me. I don't want my code floating around in separate bubbles/windows, I want to see it in-context, and I want to be able to see a lot of it at once. I do think that visual representations of code can be very helpful for analysis, especially if you can see the code running in the visual representation while you're debugging it. But for editing, I want the text view. The other thing that looks really handy is the ability to use proper mathematical symbols, when that's appropriate for what you're doing. The point of those symbols, afterall, is to be a concise textual representation of the concepts. The problem is our input tools; a keyboard and mouse are really not suitable for a written language developed for hand-held pens and paper. That might change soon; the latest touch screens might make it possible to have a notebook-sized pad with very-high-precision pen input as a common third input device, next to our keyboards and mice. If that becomes common, languages and IDEs that make use of it might become common as well.