                 APLASCII Transliteration Programs

                            July 3, 1995


This directory contains versions of the APLASCII transliteration
workspace for various APL systems.  The programs in these workspaces
translate APL symbols to ASCII phrases, allowing APL statements and
functions to be included in e-mail messages and netnews postings.  For
example, the APL symbol commonly entered as Shift-I is translated to
"{iota}".  Programs are also provided to reverse the process,
translating the ASCII phrases back to APL symbols.

   The transliteration is designed to be easily understood even by
APLers who have never seen it before, and the process is completely
reversible--a transliteration and restoration cycle recovers the
original input exactly.  The programs allow any number of alternative
keywords words to be specified for each APL symbol.  For example, the
symbol entered as Shift-R can be represented as either {rho}, {shape},
or {reshape}.  The programs automatically choose monadic or dyadic
keywords based on context.  Users can add their own keywords and specify
keyword preferences for individual symbols.

   Subroutines are provided to insert function listings into messages
and to extract listings from messages.  Additional subroutines are
provided for reading and writing messages to ASCII text files.

   Copyright to the software is held by the author, but permission is
granted to freely use, distribute, and modify the software provided you
leave the copyright notices intact.

   Files currently available include:

      aplplus1.zip   - APL*PLUS /PC version
      aplplus2.zip   - APL*PLUS II /386 version
      aplplus3.zip   - APL*PLUS III /Windows version
      apl2.zip       - APL2 version
      aplascii.atf   - APL2 version, uncompressed
      isiapl.zip     - Iverson ISI386, ISIWIN, ISI/PC
      dyalog.zip     - Dyalog APL version
      APLASCII.DXF   - Dyalog APL version, uncompressed
      mac68k         - Macintosh APL.68000 version

The .zip files must be uncompressed using software that is compatible
with pkunzip version 2.04g.  Here is how to load the workspaces once you
have moved the files to your computer and uncompressed them:

APL*PLUS   - use )LOAD APLASCII

APL2       - use )IN APLASCII

Dyalog     - NOTE!  On Unix, the APLASCII.DXF file name must be in
             uppercase letters.  (Use ls to confirm this.)

             First )LOAD the DWSIN workspace (supplied with the APL 
             system), then execute the statement:

                 'APLPLUS' {delta_}{delta_}DWSIN 'APLASCII' 

             (where {delta_} stands for the symbol delta-underscored).  

APL.68000  - put the mac68k file in the first-level directory on the 
             disk (not within a folder), and then execute )IN MAC68K 
             from within APL.  

             Note:  The )IN command is available in Level II of APL.68000, 
             but not in Level I.  Level I users will need to use a 
             workspace to read the file.  Contact jimw as directed below.

All but APL*PLUS users should execute ")SAVE APLASCII" after reading in
the workspace.  This will permit you to simply )LOAD the workspace in
subsequent sessions.

   See the DESCRIBE variable in the workspace for information on how to
use the programs.  Note that you must run an INSTALL program before
using the workspace.  INSTALL creates some necessary variables.

   If you want to port the workspace to another APL system, please
contact the author, who will guide you through the somewhat complicated
and none-too-well-documented process.

   Please send bug reports, comments, and suggestions to the author,
Jim Weigang, at:

                   jimw@math.umass.edu
or
                   68 Plateau Circle
                   West Springfield, MA  01089
                   U.S.A.

Note added by Dick Holt: Weigang has extended APLASCII to transfer
variables as well as fns.  This makes workspace interchange among
the full range of different APL interpreters more feasible than it
has ever been.
