A system and method for programmatically generating and modifying graphical programs, in response to receiving program information. The program information may specify functionality of the graphical program or graphical program portion. During execution of a graphical program generation (GPG) program, the GPG program may be operable to receive the program information. In response to the program information, the GPG program may programmatically generate a graphical program (or graphical program portion) that implements the specified functionality. Thus, the GPG program may generate different graphical programs, depending on the program information received. The GPG program may have any of various purposes or applications. In some embodiments, the GPG program may be a program or application which a user utilizes to construct or characterize a computational process. In response to the specified computational process, the GPG program may programmatically generate a graphical program to implement the computational process. In other embodiments, the GPG program may be a program or application that directly aids the user in creating a graphical program. In addition to these examples, a GPG program may receive any other type of information and programmatically generate a graphical program based on the received information. After programmatically generating the graphical program, the GPG program may receive subsequent program information specifying a modification to the graphical program and may programmatically modify the graphical program based on the program information.