Can program code be presented in a more aesthetically pleasing fashion?

摘要

Computer programmers spend hours looking at program code on monitors both during the development and maintenance stages of programming. Basic guidelines for formatting code trace back to the 1970s and have remained virtually unchanged. Research has shown that web-sites and alphanumeric-displays developed to be aesthetically pleasing generate significant positive, and ultimately economic, benefits. Can computer code be manipulated to create a more aesthetically pleasing appearance and thus generating similar positive benefits? This thesis addressed the feasibility of aesthetically enhancing the appearance of computer code through a user preference survey. The computer code was modified using logic-based formatting principles based on Gestalt rules. The survey's main result provided directional evidence that computer code can indeed be reformatted to have a more aesthetically pleasing appearance.