Xref: utzoo comp.sources.wanted:4202 comp.lang.apl:147 comp.org.decus:264
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!ljdickey
From: ljdickey@water.waterloo.edu (Lee Dickey)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.wanted,comp.lang.apl,comp.org.decus
Subject: Re: looking for apl
Keywords: apl
Message-ID: <1571@water.waterloo.edu>
Date: 19 May 88 23:35:52 GMT
References: <677@cunixc.columbia.edu>
Reply-To: ljdickey@water.waterloo.edu (Lee Dickey)
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 48

In article <677@cunixc.columbia.edu> dsm@cunixc.columbia.edu (David Millman) writes:
>
>Does anyone know of (or have) a decent unix APL system?
>Any comments on those you may have anyway (but, I assume, don't like)?
>

(1) There is the Reeves-Bruner version of APL that is distributed with
4.3 BSD.  I think that an early version of this was years ago a decus
distribution.  There are known bugs with this and the BSD version.  The
problem here is that many people have done fixes, but I think that the
source, BSD, does not incorporate them, and still distributes the bad
stuff.  But, if you have a UNIX license, you should check with Ken Yap,
ken@rochester.uucp, for a debugged version which I think may be the
current best.  If anyone knows otherwise, I would like to hear about
it.

(2) STSC offers a version for UNIX.  It is compatible with their full
line of splendid APL products.  They can be reached in Rockville, MD.
This product is highly recommended.

(3) I.P.Sharp Associates offers a version for UNIX.  It is the APL that
is closest to Dictionary APL. (See the article called "The APL
Dictionary", by K.E. Iverson in the September, 1987 issue of APL Quote
Quad).  Contact the Palo Alto, California, office of I.P.Sharp
Associates for more information.  This product is highly recommended.

(4) Dyalog APL offers an innovative and advanced version of APL.  My
recollection is that they have followed the lead of APL2 in the
introduction of Nested Arrays and (gasp) strand notation.  I do not
have their address (in the UK) at hand.  If you ask, I will find it.
This product is highly recommended.

(5) NIAL and Q'NIAL are implementations of an APL-like Nested
Interactive Array Language.  These come from NIAL in Kingston, Ontario,
and Queens University in Kingston, Ontario.  NIAL, in addition to the
APL-like handling of arrays, has structured programming statements, and
no special APL graphic characters.  I do not have a lot of expeience
with this myself, but if you want an independent evaluation, you might
check with Professor Smiley (Statistics) in Alberta.


I hope that helps...
APL is alive and well, and growing.

   Prof. L. J. Dickey, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Waterloo.
	ljdickey@WATDCS.UWaterloo.ca	ljdickey@water.BITNET
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	ljdickey@water.waterloo.edu