Comment by vinceguidry

4 hours ago

TUIs can include these, see the kitty graphics protocol, implemented by most if not all modern terminals.

https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/graphics-protocol/

I was not very descriptive, but I was referring to the next layer up of building blocks. Instead of text, we could also express things in hybrid ways with text but also visual nodes that can carry more dense information. The usual response is that those things don't work with text-based tools, but that's my point. Text based tools needed invention and decades of refinement, and they're still not all that great.