Literate Programming, UnTANGLEd

Literate programming, originally popularized by Donald Knuth's WEB system, is often viewed as a lost art due to modern programming practices that impose stricter code organization. Knuth's approach allowed programmers to write code in a narrative style, circumventing the rigid structure of Pascal, which required a specific order for program elements. This flexibility was essential for readability and understanding, as it enabled programmers to introduce code elements as needed rather than adhering to compiler constraints. In contrast, contemporary programming languages offer more freedom in code organization, allowing functions to be defined in any order without requiring a separate tool like TANGLE. As a result, modern literate programming focuses on enhancing code clarity through extensive comments rather than relying on specialized systems. Programmers can now integrate literate programming techniques into any part of their codebase, using simple tools to extract code from comments or Markdown files. This evolution means that while Knuth's WEB may be less relevant today, the principles of literate programming remain valuable for improving code readability and understanding. The practice can be applied flexibly, making it a useful tool for programmers regardless of the programming environment.

- Literate programming allows for narrative-style coding, enhancing readability.

- Modern programming languages provide more flexibility in code organization.

- Extensive comments are now the primary focus of literate programming.

- Simple tools can be used to extract code from comments or Markdown.

- The principles of literate programming remain relevant for improving code clarity.