PWCT is designed to be a general-purpose visual programming language that can be used for applications and systems development.[9][10][11] PWCT can also be used for introducing programming concepts.
The environment supports a time dimension where the programmer can play programs as a movie to learn how to create them step-by-step and get better understanding of the program logic. Changing time is done using a
timeline slider which allows the programmer to select a specific point in time to view.[12]
History
PWCT 1.9 Environment - Data Entry Forms
PWCT was registered on SourceForge in December 2005
PWCT 1.0 was released on 18 October 2008
PWCT 1.1 was released on 20 February 2009
PWCT 1.2 was released on 4 May 2009
PWCT 1.3 was released on 30 May 2009
PWCT 1.4 was released on 28 August 2009
PWCT 1.5 was released on 27 March 2010
PWCT 1.6 was released on 16 May 2010
PWCT 1.7 was released on 15 September 2010
PWCT 1.8 was released on 18 October 2011 (Last update: 22 April 2013)
PWCT 1.9 was released on 7 May 2013 (Latest update: 20 November 2024)
PWCT 2.0 was released on Steam on 1 March 2023 (Latest update: 1 January 2025)
PWCT 2.0 source code was made available on GitHub in January 2025
The PWCT architecture contains three main layers:[16][17]
The VPL Layer that provides functionality to perform a specific task.
The Middle Layer that provides interface between the User view and the System Layer.
The System Layer that generates executable code in different languages.
The visual source inside PWCT is designed using the Goal Designer where the programmer can generate the steps tree through the interaction with the visual language components.
Inside PWCT, the visual source is a collection of goals, each goal contains tree of steps and each step/node inside the steps tree may contain one or more of data entry forms. Steps tree uses colors that tell the programmer about the step type. Some steps allow containing sub steps, other steps do not allow this, also some steps are not more than comments for the programmer. The steps tree gives the programmer two dimensions where the relationship between the node and another node could be "next to" or "contains" where the programmer can go depth-first or breadth-first when he/she interacts with the steps tree.
The programmer can use the "contains" dimension to perform operations on a group of steps/nodes simultaneously (move up/move down/cut/copy/delete), utilize the form designer to create the user interface, and employ the time dimension to track when each step is created (Date & Time) and navigate through the time dimension to view only the steps at any point during the development process.
Inside the Goal Designer, the user can use the mouse or the keyboard to select the visual components and generate new steps in the steps tree. Using the mouse we can explore the environment to see the components that are ready for use. Using the Keyboard by typing the component name, the programmer can quickly get any component and start using it.[18]
The PWCT software still requires that the user have a familiarity of programming structures such as the While-Loop and the If-Then. Syntax errors are decreased but the logic and analysis of the program solution are still created, developed and judged by the user.[11]
PWCT tries to innovate and provide a new way of viewing software design; however, such innovation comes at a cost. PWCT focuses on the visualization of code blocks in a structure that they describe as a "Steps Tree", which mirrors the nested structure seen in regular textual programming languages. Also PWCT does not have strong inherent support for visualizing code as diagrams and no strong support for Abstraction Layered Architecture (ALA) applications.[29]
^Phalake, V.S. and Joshi, S.D. Low Code Development Platform for Digital Transformation. In Information and Communication Technology for Competitive Strategies (ICTCS 2020) (pp. 689-697). Springer, Singapore.
^da Silva, A.M.O.P., Orchestration for Automatic Decentralization in Visually-defined IoT, 2020.
^Patel, S. and Jena, S.R., 2022. Internet of Things (IoT): Theory and Applications. Scholars' Press.
^Dhanaraj, R.K., Jena, S.R., Yadav, A.K. and Rajasekar, V., 2021. Mastering Disruptive Technologies: Applications of Cloud Computing, IoT, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Techniques. HP Hamilton Limited, UK.
^Alohali, Y.A. et al, A machine learning model to predict citation counts of scientific papers in otology field. BioMed Research International, 2022.
^Alohali, Y.A. et al, 2023. Machine Learning and Cochlear Implantation: Predicting the Post-Operative Electrode Impedances. Electronics, 12(12), p.2720.
^Fayed, Mahmoud Samir, and Yousef A. Alohali. "Ring: A Lightweight and Versatile Cross-Platform Dynamic Programming Language Developed Using Visual Programming." Electronics 13, no. 23 (2024): 4627.
^Ayouni, M., 2020. Beginning Ring programming (Vol. 978, No. 1, pp. 4842-5832). Apress.
^Sen, Arnab. GALADE: A Round-Trip Graphical Modelling Tool for Abstraction Layered Architecture Applications. Diss. Auckland University of Technology, 2021.
