There is also the possibility of ditching entirely the approach of text based programming, for a more visual approach. This will not work for many people, but f

There is also the possibility of ditching entirely the approach of text based programming, for a more visual approach. This will not work for many people, but for those that it does work, it could improve productivity. Text is a good way to represent sequences of information. So it fits programs well, to some extent. But programs contains various kinds of information, that doesn't fit well with a textual representation: Hierarchical data, scope, branching flow, loops, dependencies, etc. These can be enhanced by a visual representational that goes beyond just text. Besides the Visual representation, there is also the UI. Things like Vim for example, can be awesomely productive, in the hands of someone that has mastered it. But I would claim, that there is still space for improvement. With a visual interface, there are lots of things that can be done. Touch interfaces have lots of possibilities. Special inputs devices, would also be a great opportunity. But that would be harder, for obvious reasons. Maybe 3D printing would open opportunities there soon. The key for a visual UI to succeed, is to allow to do more with less effort. Visual programming has not succeed so far. I would argue that it is because it has not been done right yet. I am currently working on these ideas, with one of my weekend's side projects. Since my time is limited, It is still going to take some time.