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From: zhou@brazil.psych.purdue.edu (Albert Zhou)
Newsgroups: comp.compilers
Subject: MATRIX BASIC -- HOW BIG IS THE MARKET?
Keywords: design, question
Message-ID: <11651@j.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 4 Jan 91 19:49:36 GMT
Sender: compilers-sender@iecc.cambridge.ma.us
Reply-To: zhou@brazil.psych.purdue.edu (Albert Zhou)
Organization: Purdue University
Lines: 28
Approved: compilers@iecc.cambridge.ma.us

I am intending to expand the current matrix operation interface I've designed
into a full scale language on PC. Here is what I am considering:

    (1) I don't want it to become a special language like mathematica,
gauss, imsl and so on. Instead, I want it to be a clone of a popular
language on PC with full matrix operation capacity. Since it has to be
interpretive, the the ideal candidate would be BASIC. I would call it
MATRIX BASIC.

    (2) Besides matrix operations, it will contain also other frequently
used math functions like normal distribution.

    (3) Programs written in MATRIX will be made a stand-along .EXE files.
between interpretive BASIC and compiled BASIC. It is not a compiled
program; instead, it is a combination of the interpreter and the
preprocessed MATRIX BASIC code.

Any comments, suggestions or objections? I would especially want to know
how big the market for MATRIX BASIC will be. Also, if anyone would suggest
another language to clone, I am listening.
M
[I'd expect the market to be close to zero.  Matrix lovers have a wide variety
of inexpensive possibilities already ranging from MATLAB, both the old free
and newer cheap versions, low-priced versions of APL, and all sorts of C
and Fortran library packages. -John]
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