Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!polyof!kepler1!rjfrey
From: rjfrey@kepler1.UUCP (Robert J Frey)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.apl
Subject: Re: Is APL a dying language?
Message-ID: <20@kepler1.UUCP>
Date: 26 Nov 88 03:54:50 GMT
References: <264@blake.acs.washington.edu> <7082@claris.com>
Reply-To: rjfrey@kepler1.UUCP (Robert J Frey)
Organization: Kepler Financial Mgmt, Setauket, NY
Lines: 27

In article <7082@claris.com> max@claris.com (Max Rochlin) writes:
>..STSC was bought out a while ago and not very interested in the APL 
>end-user community...STSC isn't the same company it was years ago...
>
>I just hope that IP SHARPE comes out with a Macintosh APL.

We have been using a product called Dyalog APL developed by Dyadic Systems,
Ltd., a U.K. outfit.  It is an excellent implementation and, unlike alot
of other APL's, is well-integrated into its environment.  I've used IP 
Sharpe's and STSC's APLs for UNIX and Dyalog beats them hands down! I've also
used Sharpe, STSC and IBM's APL2 in an IBM MVS environment.  One nice feature
of APL2 is its quadNA facility which permits you to easily and transparently
link in external functions into your workspace. Although Sharpe and STSC
also have some provision for this it is neither easy nor transparent. Dyalog
APL has a quadSH facility which closely mirrors APL2's quadNA (probably the
implementation is quite different).  This means you mix APL and C in your
work with very little pain, and it gives you a natural path from proto-typing
to implementation. Alot of applications start out all APL and then have the 
appropriate functions re-implemented in C as they mature.

==============================================================================
|Dr. Robert J. Frey               | {icus, spl1, dasys1}!acsm!kepler1!rjfrey |
|Kepler Financial Management, Ltd.|------------------------------------------|
|100 North Country Rd., Bldg. B   | The views expressed are wholly my own and|
|Setauket, NY  11766              | and do not reflect those of the Indepen- |
|(516) 689-6300 x.16              | dent Republic of Latvia.                 |
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