SCIL-VP: a multi-purpose visual programming environment

Abstract

This paper presents a multi purpose visual programming environment called SCIL-VP. In SCIL-VP programs are specified as data flow graphs consisting of arbitrary functions operating on arbitrary data objects. The environment enables a mixture of visual and textual programming. The visual programming interface is generated at runtime from information in a command description file. As a consequence the library of functions is easy to extend, even by laymen. The data objects are also extensible but this requires elementary programming skills. The setup of extensibility makes the environment independent of an application domain. It also opens the way to the combination of different application domains.