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arXiv · 2604.26967

Literate Execution

Joe Bond·Jacob Pake·Cristina David·Andrew McNutt·Trevor Sseguya Muwonge·Dominic Orchard·Roly Perera
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Abstract

\emph{Literate programming}, introduced by Knurth, interleaves code and prose so that a program can be read as both executable and explanatory text. We propose \emph{literate execution}, which inverts this relationship: rather than embedding code within a static narrative, we treat documentation -- and other expository elements such as visualisations -- as first-class artefacts that can be computed alongside a running program and then integrated into a view of its execution. We explore this idea through Fluid, a programming language with a provenance-tracking runtime that records fine-grained dependencies between inputs and outputs. These provenance relationships can be surfaced as interactions that allow readers to explore how intermediate values contribute to a result. By integrating visualisation, provenance, and exposition, literate execution aims to make programs more explorable and self-explanatory, and explorable explanations easier to program.

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Joe Bond, Jacob Pake, Cristina David, Andrew McNutt, Trevor Sseguya Muwonge, Dominic Orchard, Roly Perera. 2026-04-17. Literate Execution. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.26967

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