Editing Visual programming language (section)

{{Short description|Programming language written graphically by a user}}
{{Distinguish|Design language}}
[[File:Add all numbers block.png|thumb|upright=1.3|A simple custom block in the [[Snap! (programming language)|Snap!]] visual programming language, which is based on [[Scratch (programming language)|Scratch]], calculating the sum of all numbers with values between ''a'' and ''b'']]

In [[computing]], a '''visual programming language''' ('''visual programming system''', '''VPL''', or, '''VPS'''), also known as '''diagrammatic programming''',<ref>{{cite book|doi=10.1109/AUTEST.1994.381508|chapter=Diagrammatic-graphical programming languages and DoD-STD-2167A|title=Proceedings of AUTOTESTCON '94|pages=211–220|year=1994|last1=Bragg|first1=S.D.|last2=Driskill|first2=C.G.|isbn=0-7803-1910-9|s2cid=62509261 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3051043|title=Characterizing Visual Programming Approaches for End-User Developers: A Systematic Review|journal=IEEE Access|volume=9|pages=14181–14202|year=2021|last1=Kuhail|first1=M. A. |last2=Farooq|first2=S. |last3=Hammad |first3=R. |last4=Bahja |first4=M.|doi-access=free|bibcode=2021IEEEA...914181K }}</ref> '''graphical programming''' or '''block coding''', is a [[programming language]] that lets users create [[computer program|programs]] by manipulating program elements {{em|graphically}} rather than by specifying them {{em|textually}}.<ref>{{cite book|doi=10.1109/ISM.2014.24|chapter=Graphical Programming Environments for Educational Robots: Open Roberta - Yet Another One?|title=2014 IEEE International Symposium on Multimedia|pages=381–386|year=2014|last1=Jost|first1=Beate|last2=Ketterl|first2=Markus|last3=Budde|first3=Reinhard|last4=Leimbach|first4=Thorsten|isbn=978-1-4799-4311-1|s2cid=8272806 }}</ref> A VPL allows programming with visual expressions, spatial arrangements of text and graphic symbols, used either as elements of [[syntax]] or [[secondary notation]]. For example, many VPLs are based on the idea of "boxes and arrows", where boxes or other screen objects are treated as entities, connected by arrows, lines or arcs which represent relations. VPLs are generally the basis of [[low-code development platform]]s.