The first programming by demonstration research was David Smith’s Pygmalion, which was inspired by the question: “Can a programming environment be constructed to stimulate creative thought?” He identified various aspects of creative thought and concluded that programming systems should support visual and analogical aspects of creative thought and that programming should be less tedious. The design of Pygmalion was inspired by the ease of use of text editors, especially in comparison with programming languages. Pygmalion became that system. Unlike later systems which tried to add programming to otherwise typical user interfaces, Smith constructed a special user interface which contained the typical operations of a programming language. This user interface was the first to make use of icons, which he used to subsume the notions of variable, reference, data structure, function, and picture. Icons have since become Smith’s most well known contribution to computer science.

This urge to create something living is common among artists. Artists have consistently reported an exhilaration during the act of creation, followed by depression when the work is completed. “For it is then that the painter realizes that it is only a picture he is painting. Until then he had almost dared to hope that the picture might spring to life.” This is also the lure of programming, except that unlike other forms of art, computer programs do “come to life” in a sense.

*To learn about this icon based program, check out Pygmalion, An Executable Electronic Blackboard.