MIT researchers have taken several stabs at creating programming languages that "auto-complete".
One example is a programming language called Sketch, developed by Armando Solar-Lezama, an associate professor in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Sketch automatically fills in some programming gaps when programmers omit parts of their code.
On Wednesday, another MIT researcher unveiled a somewhat different approach. Professor of software technology Adam Chlipala has described a new programming language called Ur/Web, which allows web applications to be developed as executable programs.
Ur/Web's language compiler then generates the required XML, style-sheet specifications, JavaScript, and database code, taking the pain out of keeping track of how these elements interact and exchange data.
Chlipala said Ur/Web not only makes web applications easier to write, it also makes them more secure.