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I think they are already. I don't see a file with code as linear text but as a shape. And several files are the other dimension. And I think not everybody is

I think they are already. I don't see a file with code as linear text but as a shape. And several files are the other dimension. And I think not everybody is like this, though! I think there's a difference between "visual programmers" and "text programmers", and this is what causes the flamewars between people who want to "remove noise" by getting rid of parens, braces and semicolons, and people like me who use them as a sort of "signage". The real problem is that I bet the "text programmers" also write more, well, normal text, and are overrepresented in blogs, articles, and whatnot. (Even though they're wrong XD)

hansvm 5y ago
> between people who want to "remove noise" by getting rid of parens, braces and semicolons, and people like me who use them as a sort of "signage" I'm not sure this characterization appropriately divides "text" from "visual" programmers. The argument I usually see for removing symbols is that the general shape and flow of your program should be able to stand on its own and that minutiae like a misplaced semicolon shouldn't be allowed to play tricks on your eyes -- it's not that the visuals are unimportant, but that they _are_ important and that too many extra symbols lead to hard-to-parse visual clutter and more easily facilitate deceptive control flow. Whether that argument has any merit or not is its own debate of course.