Toward a Theory of Programming Language and Reasoning Assistant Design: Minimizing Cognitive Load

Abstract: Current approaches to making programming languages and reasoning assistants more effective for people focus on leveraging feedback from users and on evaluating the success of particular techniques. These approaches, although helpful, may not result in systems that are as usable as possible, and may not lead to general design principles. This paper advocates for leveraging theories from cognitive science, focusing on cognitive load theory, to design more effective programming languages and reasoning assistants. Development of these theories may enable designers to create more effective programming languages and reasoning assistants at lower cost.