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APL95: Call for Participation

Vector 11:2, page 7

conference reports APL community

Transcribed from the printed issue; not yet reviewed. Read it in the PDF of the issue, page 7

“APL Does It Today”

SIGAPL’s annual international conference for 1995 will take place between June 4 and June 8 in San Antonio, Texas. The technical theme of the conference is meant to emphasize practical use of APL. This breaks down into two sub-themes:

  • APL95 as a showcase for highly-successful use of APL in the real world
  • APL95 as a source of practical education in modern computing techniques using APL.

Of course, our technical program will be open to all forms of APL, J, and related languages, and to all the traditional topics and formats of presentation — but we will be placing special emphasis on material which relates to practical application.

The key to a successful conference is effective publicity, and to make the publicity effective we need to include details of what will happen at APL95. That’s why you’ll see target dates included in all the sections below. Some dates are very firm (paper review, for example, is a serious business that has to adhere to a schedule) — others are more relaxed. But the message about dates is this: We can do more to get a good audience for you if you let us know what you want to do at APL95 in plenty of time.

The conference language is English; there will be no translation facilities at the conference and we request that all technical material be in English. However, we are more than happy to cooperate with prospective presenters who are not English speakers and will work with you on pre-conference translation of presentations.

We invite proposals from all APL practitioners for a presentation in any of the following formats:

Tutorials and Workshops

It’s relatively easy for people to begin using APL; there are several companies who offer introductory courses, and there are textbooks. But, once the initial skills are achieved there are fewer resources for people to advance onto the next rung on the ladder and become contributors of major value to their employers and clients.

The annual APL conference is a great concentrator of APL skills; indeed it’s the one event of the year where nearly all the major players of APL will meet under one roof. At APL95 we want to use them to their best advantage for practical, up-to-date and relevant training — in the form of tutorials and workshops.

One way that you can help us with this is to offer to lead a tutorial or workshop session on the topic of your choice. Some of the things that we have in mind are:

  • Event-driven applications programming
  • Object-oriented programming
  • Large APL applications (high code volume or high data volume)

You will certainly be able to think of others.

Another way you can help us is by telling us the tutorial and workshop topics which would make APL95 irresistible to you as a delegate. If enough people say they would attend a session on a particular subject, we’ll do everything we can to get the best possible presenters. Please let us have your tutorial and workshop proposals by January 1, 1995.

Reviewed Papers

Reviewed papers have long been the backbone of the conference, and we intend this to continue. We invite original technical papers on all aspects of APL. These papers will be subject to double-blind peer review, and those which are selected for presentation will be printed in the APL95 Conference Proceedings, which will be an issue of APL Quote Quad — distributed to the conference delegates, SIGAPL members and libraries world-wide.

In order for us to begin to structure the technical program we would like prospective authors to send title(s) and/or abstract(s) to us as quickly as possible (preferably before November 1, 1994).

Draft papers for review must be received no later than December 1, 1994; you may send a draft paper even though you have not sent a title or abstract earlier than this. Draft papers should not exceed 6,000 words.

Informal Posters

Poster sessions are becoming increasingly important at SIGAPL’s conferences; we will continue to build this aspect of the program at APL95.

Posters are a great way to present your ideas informally and receive feedback from an interested audience. In order to maximize the impact of posters we would like you to submit your proposals in advance of the conference — although you may just turn up at the conference with a poster if you prefer.

The only restrictions on the format of a poster are that it fit onto a metre-square wall area, must be original work, and that it must be a technical presentation (advertisers are expected to book space in APL95’s exhibit area). Posters are not subject to peer review. We invite poster presenters to prepare a one-page summary of the ideas in their poster which may be distributed during their poster session; in addition, we may be able to find room for poster summaries in future editions of Quote Quad.

We are happy to receive advance poster submissions until May 1, 1995.

Panel Discussions

What are the hot topics for APL in 1995? How does APL fit in with the ever-changing outside world? Panels have always been the format we choose to explore these topics, and we see panels as an important part of being at APL95 rather than reading about it later. Some of the things we already know we want to explore in panel sessions are:

  • The reunification of APL
  • Which paradigms of the outside world are passing fads, and which should we absorb into APL?

No doubt you can think of more. We want to hear from you — because a well-prepared panel has far more value than one which is produced late in the day. We’d like your panel proposals by January 1, 1995.

Software Exchange

SIGAPL invites you to send new and useful APL/J software to the APL95 Software Exchange. New GUI software is especially welcome. Software from prior APL conferences is also welcome if it’s been significantly improved.

APL95 conference software will be available in three ways:

  1. The Conference Package: software received by April 5, 1995 will be available for purchase at APL95 in San Antonio.
  2. The APL95 Supplement: software received between April 5 and June 8, 1995 will be mailed at no charge to all who purchase the Conference Package at APL95.
  3. The Conference Package, plus the APL95 Supplement above, will be available by about October 1995 from SIGAPL, the BBS\APL, and the Waterloo archive.

Send software for the APL95 Software Exchange on a 3.5" disk to:

Dick Holt

Software in APL, J, and related languages is invited. English is preferred, but other languages are also welcome. Your material should include an ASCII file that briefly describes what the software does, and what other software/hardware is needed to use it. Please include permission to distribute any copyright software.

Other

What have we forgotten? APL95 is wide open to all of your ideas — whether you are a SIGAPL member or not (and if you’re not we’ll be very happy to tell you how you can become one). If there’s a topic that you’d like to be a part of APL95 that you haven’t seen above — let us know, and we’ll do all we can to fit it in.

If there’s a way you want to present your ideas that doesn’t fit into these categories — let us know that as well.

Above all, APL95 is going to be YOUR conference. The Organizing Committee and the Program Committee are here to turn your ideas into reality — we look forward to your responses!

Contact Information

Two Internet distribution lists have been set up for APL95. “APL95_info@ACM.org” will be used for broadcasting information to the subscribers. To subscribe, just send a one-line message to “mailserv@ACM.org”; that single line should read “subscribe APL95_info your_e-mail_address”. The other list is “APL95_conf@ACM.org”, to be used for initiating conversations with APL95 Committee members. Someone will reply to your message as soon as possible.

Site Information

San Antonio boasts a variety of attractions, from international shopping and dining along the tree-shaded Riverwalk to the historic Alamo, where a band of 189 Texan volunteers defied an army of thousands in 1836.

The flavour of old Texas is everywhere. Stroll through the narrow streets and shaded patios of La Villita, a restored Mexican village. Shop for handicrafts and farm-fresh produce at the colourful stalls of El Mercado. Relive the Old West at the Cowboy Museum. Enjoy exhibits of contemporary Mexican artists at the Mexican Cultural Institute. Even the giant new amusement park Fiesta Texas has a distinctive Texas flavor. Ride the Dining Train, tour art museums, or spend the day at Hemisfair Park, site of the 1968 World’s Fair. Go back in time to the missions of San Antonio. Buy a cowboy hat and bring sun-screen; the weather will be hot and dry. ...YEE HA!

Get yourself and your interests registered!

Please complete and mail the enclosed form to:

APL95,
P. O. Box 210367,
Bedford,
TX 76095 USA