Inkbase: Programmable Ink (2022)
Inkbase project merges pen-and-paper immediacy with digital programming, creating programmable sketchbooks for dynamic behaviors. It aims to blend traditional ideation advantages with digital programmability, envisioning a future of seamless sketching and programming synergy.
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Inkbase is a project exploring the concept of programmable ink, aiming to combine the flexibility and immediacy of pen and paper with the computational power of digital media. Inspired by the success of spreadsheets in enabling end-user programming, the project seeks to create programmable sketchbooks that allow users to add dynamic behaviors while sketching. By supporting programming in the moment, similar to how spreadsheets enable gradual enrichment, the goal is to empower users to explore new computational behaviors effortlessly. The project emphasizes the enduring value of pen and paper for ideation, noting their flexibility, immediacy, and intimate connection with human expression. Inkbase aims to bridge the gap between traditional pen and paper advantages and the benefits of digital mediums, such as programmability and dynamic interactions. Through research questions and use case examples, the project envisions a future where sketching and programming seamlessly intertwine, opening up new possibilities for creativity and problem-solving.
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- Several users mention related technologies and projects, such as Ken Perlin's ChalkTalk, Momenta, Go Corp.'s PenPoint, and others, noting their contributions to the field.
- There is a strong interest in integrating simple calculations and dynamic behaviors into digital sketching tools, with some users sharing their positive experiences with current digital tools like the iPad and Pencil.
- Users express a desire for more advanced features in digital sketching tools, such as freeform writing and drawing, capturing data structures, and programmability.
- Some comments highlight the importance of seamless transitions between different views and data structures, such as spreadsheets, notebooks, and pure code.
- There are mentions of prior art and existing tools that handle text and drawings in innovative ways, suggesting that the Inkbase project could benefit from these insights.
11 comments1. Spreadsheets with arbitrary calcs and display
2. Notebook style calcs, explanatory & UI controls
3. Pure code text
In spreadsheet mode, you can free form layout everything you need to prototype a solution. In notebook mode, you can create a literate refinement. In pure code mode you can tweak everything to a production device.
I fine notebooks are great, until you're trying to figure out connections between disparate code locations and I want pure code to fix an overview. When I'm trying to take an existing spreadsheet, I'd love to start by copying pasting and getting data in to then refine and regularize rather than figure out some importing issue that becomes a pin to code flow.
Overall, it seems doable but requires things like named ranges, what the ordinal placement is from one locale to the next.
1. https://mlajtos.mu/posts/new-kind-of-paper
2. https://mlajtos.mu/posts/new-kind-of-paper-2
3. https://mlajtos.mu/posts/new-kind-of-paper-3
4. https://mlajtos.mu/posts/new-kind-of-paper-4
I mention various tech (APL, Sketchpad, RAND tablet, Pascaline, VisiCalc, etc.) while showing of demos of calculator designed for iPad & Pencil. I hope writing about Apple Math Notes when I get my hands on it.
I've dipped my toe into the pen input tablet world a few times (often unimpressed), but recently committed to a new iPad Air with the latest Pencil Pro.
I write on paper and whiteboards every day for software design and todo lists and just general musing. But recently had an itch for the advantages of digital. And I'm really happy so far. A lot comes down to the app you choose and how convenient the UI/UX is, but the killer features I'm going to hate living without:
1. Infinite canvas. Never have to truncate a sentence or messily cross the spine or flip a page. So much context, I just pan and zoom to what I want to focus on.
2. Rearrange rather than rewrite. Long-press turns my pen tool into a lasso, then I drag however.
3. Very productive erasing. Using the new squeeze gesture, my pen is instantly an eraser and only takes one pass.
In my opinion, nothing beats a whiteboard for conversations about software. It's one of the biggest losses from the pivot to remote work. My ultimate goal is to bring convenient whiteboarding to zoom calls. But so far I'm really enjoying it in place of the pad of paper that's on my desk.
- Momenta
- Go Corp.'s PenPoint
- Aha! Inkwriter (which became the basis for Microsoft's Journal)
- Dan Bricklin's pen software
- the academic exercises Denim and Silk which were written in Java
or even extant tools such as:
- https://www.inftyproject.org/en/software.html
- or the facility to do math in text input fields drawing software such as Freehand or Illustrator
- or https://ryven.org where one can drag in programming elements and annotate with a pen
I've been a big believe in this sort of thing for a long while now, and would be glad of it becoming more workable and available and popular.
I'd love to have a piece of software which was:
- freeform, allowing both writing and drawing
- yet still allowed capturing data structures and referring to things by some meaningful handle
- programmable --- even just a formula pane such as Lotus Improv had would be great
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