Textual programs as views of ASTs.

rendering.clj

;; I write
(ns foo)

(defn adds-one [x]
  (+ x 1))

(def another-adds-one
  (partial + 1))

;; SYMBOL TABLE (name -> UUID)
;;
;; These mappings come with the namespace/library clojure.core and are shared
;;
;; clojure.core/ns      -> d7b971fa-d2a2-ecd4-c6c3-ffc6097fcd47
;; clojure.core/def     -> 575aedb3-b82e-2604-3aab-a1ebc592f2dc
;; clojure.core/defn    -> b43c2c0d-50f1-f7f4-f503-9a1fb64726d8
;; clojure.core/partial -> 1679597c-c7bd-c5a4-2de3-56eddfaa5fc4
;; clojure.core/ns      -> ff51ae7a-85c2-3b14-b1eb-e80b9624f8f9
;; clojure.core/+       -> b91d5b29-295e-a204-efab-e1417fd72d5d
;;
;; These mappings are generated for the new symbols I've created
;;
;; foo/adds-one         -> 86d975b5-c6f0-d1a4-389b-fb499b421587
;; foo/another-adds-one -> 2e69905a-8e71-f5c4-bd53-d84f8663ff50
;; x                    -> 9c5d94bd-bcd0-9484-b113-8ce229f49c5e
;; foo                  -> efd34525-ea47-f394-5133-dea55831a3d9

;; editor serializes this in some non-textual binary encoding of lists / vectors / maps / sets /
;; symbols / numbers etc.

(#id "d7b971fa-d2a2-ecd4-c6c3-ffc6097fcd47"
 #id "efd34525-ea47-f394-5133-dea55831a3d9")

(#id "b43c2c0d-50f1-f7f4-f503-9a1fb64726d8"
 [#id "9c5d94bd-bcd0-9484-b113-8ce229f49c5e"]
 (#id "b91d5b29-295e-a204-efab-e1417fd72d5d"
  #id "9c5d94bd-bcd0-9484-b113-8ce229f49c5e"
  1))

(#id "575aedb3-b82e-2604-3aab-a1ebc592f2dc"
 (#id "1679597c-c7bd-c5a4-2de3-56eddfaa5fc4"
  #id "b91d5b29-295e-a204-efab-e1417fd72d5d"
  1))

;; A dictionary with the above mappings for the new foo namespace is also saved in parallel with the
;; file containing the ASTs in the foo namespace. When another editor loads this namespace, it loads
;; the ASTs, rendering them back to text using whatever dictionaries and formatting options the
;; rendering user may specify. For instance the user may have specified that single form function
;; definitions under some length should occur on the same line as the arguments.

...

(defn adds-one [x] (+ x 1))

...

;; or that the argument list always gets its own line

...

(defn adds-one
  [x]
  (+ x 1))

...

;; The idea is that while the user continues to read and write textual code, that code can be mapped
;; back to a binary form at the same level of abstraction which has legitimate alternate renderings
;; on which experts may disagree.