Chapter 18 - Programming by Analogous Examples

Abstract

In programming by example (PBE), the representation that the user sees at the graphical user interface (GUI) level may be vastly different from the representation a user is faced with at the program level. In PBE systems, special representations are often used to make the transition between the two levels easier for an end user. These representational features enable programming by analogous examples, which in turn simplify program reuse. Analogies are powerful cognitive mechanisms that people use to construct new knowledge from knowledge already acquired and understood. The combination of some semantic information with structural information has allowed reuse of complex behaviors in the context of interactive simulations. When analogies are used with programming by example (PBE), the result is a new end-user programming paradigm combining the elegance of PBE to create programs with the power of analogies to reuse programs. The combination of PBE with analogies is called programming by analogous examples (PBAE).