As execution occurs, icons representing methods in various states of completion are added and deleted from the stack window. This is especially helpful in understanding a method that uses the stack a lot (such as the above recursive factorial method). Another plus, Prograph is the first programming environment that actually makes indispensable use of color. It will run on black and white machines, but it uses color to show what is happening at a glance. As an example, Prograph colors the next operation to run red. Operations that have run are blue and operations that have yet to run are green. At a glance I can tell the whole state of the method. A non-obtrusive but effective way to show what is going on.
I do have a small complaint of the debugging environment. I would like to
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have a visual change occur when I set a break point. I find myself setting break points and then not being able to find them later (until the program hits one and grinds to a halt). A visual indication would further extend the visual programming metaphor that Prograph develops. The correction, though minor, would really help.
Predicting the Future
I predict that TGS Systems will come out with a compiler very soon. It’s out you say? I told you so. Seriously though, the compiler (Prograph v2.0) has been out since August. It is supposed to compile Prograph programs into double-clickable, stand alone
