Newsgroups: comp.lang.apl
Path: watmath!watserv2.uwaterloo.ca!watserv1!ljdickey@math.uwaterloo.ca
From: "L.J. Dickey" <ljdickey@math.uwaterloo.ca>
Subject: APL vs J
Message-ID: <9304030008.AA09782@math.uwaterloo.ca>
Originator: daemon@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca
Sender: news@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1993 00:08:45 GMT

In an article posted today, wsj writes:

 >Date:         Fri, 2 Apr 1993 15:30:30 -0800
 > From: "William S. Jewell" <wsj@EULER.BERKELEY.EDU>

 > After three months of wading through all of supposedly
 > APL-stuff on this net, I estimate that 98% is on J !!
 > Could you please separate this server into <J> and <APL> ?

First of all, the "server" he refers to is the LISTSERV server at UNB,
which forwards the contents of "comp.lang.apl" to about one hundred or
so people who receive e-mail, but who can not otherwise get the news
group.  The software at UNB simply does not support this kind of a
split.  How would one do it anyway?

I would suggest to wsj@euler.berkeley.edu, and anyone else who shares
his feelings:  post something about APL !  Share some code, pose some
questions.

On another note,

In the scheme of things, among the usenet news groups, the group
comp.lang.apl is a _very_ small one.  Once it was near extinction, and
it was only because one person spoke up that it was not eliminated
altogether.

I think it is generally difficult to start new usenet groups under the
"comp" heierarchy.  Any usenet user can pose the question, call for
discussion, and so on, in the right place.  And then there has to be a
vote.  I don't know the rules, but the practices are interesting in
themselves.  (I find it a curious mix of anarchy and democracy.)

If indeed the ratio is 98%, (not quite, I think) that might mean
that there is not enough volume to keep "comp.lang.apl" going.
Since October 1990, the most exciting developments in APL
have been those introduced into J.  Some readers are probably 
not aware that some of most interesting features in J have existed
previously in other APLs, and that most of the rest of the
interesting new stuff in J could be easily put into existing
APLs as extensions in a way that conforms to the ISO standard.

All APLers would do well to understand what these features are.

I do not want to start the debate as to whether or not J is a
dialect of APL.  Let us say only that J grew out of APL. 

Would you agree with me when I say:

	     The bigest news about APL is that now there
	     are three or four versions that run under windows.

I know that ISI, Manugistics, Dyalog all run under windows, and
it might be that a product that uses APL2 is on the verge of being
launched.  Are there others?  (yawn).

If you disagree with me, tell me please: in your opinion,
what exciting new language features have been introduced
into your favorite flavour of APL?


