Insertion Live Templates: Better Bridging of Code and Block Diagram Representations in an Electronics HDL

DSLs can bring a lot of power to non-programming domains, notably with the ability to express generalized design processes instead of merely describing single instances, but the textual code interface presents a high learning curve compared to more discoverable GUIs. While our prior work explored a hybrid block diagram visualization and textual code interface for an electronics DSL, where edits on the visualization interface generate corresponding code, it focused on the overarching system and concept. In this work, we present a work-in-progress refinement on the editing interaction, where beyond just inserting code, we place a floating and movable block of code with fillable template fields to enable higher flexibility and capability. We additionally report on preliminary user observations and discuss open questions in making this interaction more robust and friendly to novice users.