CHIPS: An icon based visual programming system to introduce programming concepts to non-programmers

Advances in user interfaces for computers and ever decreasing costs in computer hardware have allowed more people to own and/or have access to a computer than ever before. This contact has allowed people without a technical background to have an opportunity to program a computer. High resolution graphics and mouse based interfaces provide a means for people to communicate with a computer through devices other than an alphanumeric keyboard and a textual oriented output device like a terminal or a printer. These devices give a more natural feel to the human/computer communication by providing the sensation of physically manipulating an object that is represented graphically by the computer on a video screen. This sophisticated communication technique is applied to programming through visual programming languages and visual programming systems. This paper describes the design and implementation of CHIPS, an icon based visual programming system.Ope