Editing Helix (database) (section)

==Limitations of Helix Visual Programming==

In Helix, one must compose all code graphically – thus, an if...then...else construct is built using flowchart-type widgets such as decision diamonds, and loops are implemented using connectors.

While Helix's visual programming is possibly easier for novices to learn (because it uses a flowcharting paradigm that is intuitively understood by non-technical individuals), it can become tedious when the amount of code to be written becomes significant, especially for an individual who can write code much more easily and conveniently than if forced to drag icons from a palette.

To this end, when Helix RADE was updated to run natively on Intel Macs, an "abacus expression language" was added to provide this capability for those who needed it.