Newsgroups: comp.lang.apl
Path: watmath!watserv2.uwaterloo.ca!torn!cs.utexas.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!csi!sam
From: sam@csi.jpl.nasa.gov (Sam Sirlin)
Subject: Re: about the j pc implementation
Message-ID: <1993Feb4.000536.1152@csi.jpl.nasa.gov>
Originator: sam@kalessin
Keywords: j,pc
Sender: usenet@csi.jpl.nasa.gov (Network Noise Transfer Service)
Nntp-Posting-Host: kalessin
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
References: <1993Feb2.154538.17129@fnbc.com> <abalje47.728772147@uther>
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 00:05:36 GMT
Lines: 30


|> jja@fnbc.com (Joseph Alotta) writes:
|> 
|> >i have yet to figure out how to operate
|> >the j pc development environment.

This came from sharp apl. 

|> >can anyone describe a method to go about developing
|> >a large program?  seems to me that j is good for
|> >one-liners, but i can't seem to go further with it.

Have you read the documentation? Specifically programming in J? Most
of the documentation does discuss only one-liners, but explicit
definition (as opposed to tacit definition) of multi-line functions
with branching does exist (and I find it neccessary for "real" work).

While one can write functions "on the fly" and then save the ws etc as
in traditional APL, what I do is to use an external editor (emacs) to
write and edit script files that I load in when I want the functions.
On a multitasking machine (like the sun's I use) this is quite
convienient as one can edit in one window and then run J in another.
For pc's it's more cumbersome. I don't have windows at home so I'd
have to exit J and reenter etc. Needless to say I don't use J much at
home!

-- 
Sam Sirlin
Jet Propulsion Laboratory         sam@kalessin.jpl.nasa.gov

