> The only nonlinear programming environments that have really worked are the spreadsheet (which is still linear within each cell) and Labview. Possible shoutou

> The only nonlinear programming environments that have really worked are the spreadsheet (which is still linear within each cell) and Labview. Possible shoutout to Unity blueprints, but when those get too complicated sphagetti .. people rewrite them in linear text code. Not 100% sure what you mean by 'nonlinear' here (flow control?) but almost all industrial and mining equipment is programmed in visual languages on PLCs. Ladder Logic looks like, well, a stylized electrical drawing of a bunch of relays wired up to perform logical operations. Function Block Diagram looks like a PCB layout, but the 'integrated circuits' are function blocks (basically functors) and the 'traces' are copying data between between the function blocks. Not great for implementing hardcore algorithms but you can do a surprising amount with them (once you get used to coding with both hands tied behind your back) and they sure are accessible to people who otherwise wouldn't be programming. Of course, as you say, when things get genuinely complicated, it's much nicer to use a 'real' programming language (or even just Structured Text, which is pretty much just Pascal). Then again, even with electronics, once things get complex enough don't we start using text (eg. VHDL)? Expressing designs is always a tradeoff between simplicity and 'obviousness' on the one hand, and representational efficiency on the other. Structured text sits right in the sweet spot between the two.