Vector’s APL Nested Arrays Idiom Library

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

In my editorial to 14.3 I hinted that Vector plans to organise issues by themes. The Journal Working Group has investigated the scope for this initiative and authorised a call for idioms on nested arrays and delegated the responsibility for co-ordinating this to me. I need your help.

All the prominent APL interpreters of today offer nested array primitives. At the outset, the implementations of the various vendors differed in approach but today the consensus is to comply with the IBM APL2 standard. The objective of this project is to compile an idiom library for nested array manipulation which will be common, mostly, to this standard.

I am asking for your particular contribution to this idiom library, in a format which includes a note on the purpose of your idiom, a workspace with a function encapsulating the idiom together with an example of its use. Ideally, the note could be in WORD, or if you do not have it, in WORDPAD or NOTEPAD which you will have as these are available on all versions of Windows. Any version of APL can be used.

Why would you want to contribute to this project? Well, I can offer three reasons:

1. Your contribution could be very valuable, share it with the APL community. You will be credited appropriately.
2. There is no APL material in print which deals with this aspect of APL: the treatment of the subject in the bible of APL is far from adequate for todays APL.
3. An idiom library of this nature may well engender a common approach to using nested arrays among the APL community. This is to your advantage in that it creates a common reference standard. If the idiom library is effective and is adopted, you will recognise coding on sight.

The NESTED APL IDIOM LIBRARY is only possible with your contribution.
Please make it happen.

Contributions may be sent to me via email or by post — contact details are on the inside back cover.