Conal Elliott on Tangible Functional Programming
By "composability" Conal Elliott means the ability of computing systems to be a combination of functional elements and ways of structuring that allow for abstraction, such that an enviornment lends itself to expressiveness. However, being very flexible can also be quite complex, and likely not very usable by most people - such as most artists. He discusses these issues in a Google Talk on YouTube where he explores programming paradigms and how they might support creativity and expressivity. He suggests that computing environments should loosely couple the interface and the content, such that the structure of processes is maleable but the details of data are hidden. He calls this approach tangible functional programming. He demonstrates a system that embodies his ideas called Eros, which is a visual-oriented programming environment which, he suggests, could be the basis for a new environment for artists to make their own tools.