> Well, SQL queries are still written in code as text. > But I think you must be referring to the visualizers that many db tools have No no, I really mean SQL

> Well, SQL queries are still written in code as text. > But I think you must be referring to the visualizers that many db tools have No no, I really mean SQL text, writing SQL is fine and writing source code, too - I don't have problem with using text to manipulate the program. The problem is when the program is defined by source text. Let's say a program would just be a single file SQLite database and I'd use text editor and some query console to edit it - that's a rough idea. I can write a function by hand like I do now, but the function is not saved as the literal text, it's saved as few rows in the database. Refactoring is then just running some SQL against that. IDEs already maintain such a database in memory but they are limited by the textual sources quite a lot (especially when metaprogramming is involved). If you drop textual sources and define the program by the database directly, many IDE features become much simpler to do and accessible to the programmer directly. I think a really good idea of the direction is the Dion demo somebody posted here. They don't have any scriptability built in, but the idea is very similar. https://media.handmade-seattle.com/dion-systems/ https://media.handmade-seattle.com/dion-systems/