FLARE v2: A Recursive Framework for Program Comprehension Across Languages and Levels of Abstraction

Abstract: Building on the classroom framework reported in Heath et al. (2025), this paper proposes FLARE v2 as a recursive, semiotically informed account of how program meaning is constructed. It reinterprets the descriptive tiers of FLARE v1 as instances of a single generative operation: identify elements (characterised by the four properties Receives, Sends, Effects, Shares); analyse their bindings along two dimensions (Causal-Temporal and Communicative); and recognise the new element that emerges. The Causal-Temporal dimension encompasses three subtypes - Sequential, Branch, and Event - that together account for control flow in both procedural and event-driven environments. A Compositional Ladder provides a visual parallel between literacy progressions and programming structures, illustrating how recursive composition operates from blocks and statements through segments, systems, and services. The framework aims to address conceptual and cognitive-load limitations reported in FLARE v1 and is situated within semiotic and program-comprehension theory. FLARE v2 is presented as a conceptual lens with potential implications for pedagogy and curriculum design; implementation and empirical evaluation are left for future work.