HI-VISUAL as a User-Customizable Visual Programming Environment

Many visual programming languages and environments designed for non-experts have been proposed in recent years. However, most systems lack the ability for users to integrate applications required in their line of work into the system, and the ability to create meaningful data structures that facilitate the organizing and processing of their tasks. This paper describes extensions to the HI-VISUAL iconic programming system developed at Hiroshima University that addresses these problems. Features that support customization are described, and the merits and hazards of enabling end-user tailorability are discussed.