I have the feeling there aren't any strong budget constraints? I'll base my recommendations on that.
You don't tell why you want the Superdrive, and if you could do without.
Also no mention of if you considered using external screen. If you used one you could get by with a 12" PB, which is easier to transport and costs less. Same size as the 12" iBook but with external display, who cares what the computer is like.
If the 12" iBook is too small, then the 14" iBook is also too small, just bigger.
Same resolution, you'll fit the same amount on the screen and still have the poor external display support.
It definitely sounds like you want the 15" PB which by the way is an *amazing* machine after the recent bump. I had the last model and that was already perfect, I'm surprised they found so many things to improve on it.
edit: just realized you program OpenGL. The 15":s GPU is Mobility Radeon 9700, head and shoulders above the Geforce FX5200 in 12" PB, and might have features that you want to use. Dig up the feature lists, or just go with the 15" to be safe.