APL86 – the product forums

Transcribed from the printed issue; not yet reviewed. Read it in the PDF of the issue, page 61

All the presenters of product forums at APL86 were offered the chance to summarise their announcements for publication to a wider audience in VECTOR. The following have responded to that offer.

Butel Technology Limited¶

With much trepidation but with high spirits we set off on the road North to the Forbidden City, APL86. Forbidden, that is, to the likes of us mere humble software experts but not so to the APL gurus who thrive in such environments.

The reason for our expedition was to launch the English version of our APL product called MERLIN. No it’s not a telephone switchboard, but a spreadsheet which exploits the advantages of APL and can be customised and expanded to match virtually any application, thus giving it truly wondrous potential.

We were sure that the ability for users to add commands, calculations, alogrithms and other functions entirely to suit their own requirements, would astound and mystify all who beheld it.

As Butel is a software house specialising in System Productivity Tools for IBM Information Centres, and having only one product, we had arranged a rendezvous with an adept in the ways of APL, Bernard Legrand, who would be our guide and mentor to help us proceed in the Forbidden City without fear of discovery.

Bernard was not only the creator of MERLIN in its original French version but was also responsible for its new form in English. No one could tell you more about MERLIN’s clear formats, its variable column widths, its simplistic approach to ease data entry, its note-book feature and its powerful print facilities. He could hold the attention of APL mystics with his talk of OPERGP who could consolidate calculations from several spreadsheets, of SARGRA the graphics package, of SAFI, skilled in extracting data from other sources, and of FOCUSGP who could transfer the hidden secrets of a FOCUS database into a spreadsheet.

Lest we might offend the sensibilities of the more devout we set up our wares in a room remote from the inner sanctum of the lecture halls. Though MERLIN was written to run on an IBM mainframe under VM/CMS, TSO or VSPC with compatibility to VS-APL, we had decided to demonstrate its PC version under PC DOS with APL*PLUS. To this end we installed an Olivetti M24 with colour graphics to catch the eye of the unwary, with many handouts for the curious, and for our own ease in unfamiliar surroundings, we had concealed about the room brochures on our Sysout control products, our table handling tools, and system development design aids.

We waited breathlessly for the more adventurous to stray onto our floor, attracted perhaps by the comforts of the IBM hospitality suite opposite. At last they came, first in ones, then in twos and then in groups. But did they grasp the full potential of the product, its economy, and its ease of use to the cognoscenti of APL as well as the uninitiated?

Those of you who could not find us at Manchester can look us up in the VECTOR product guide.

Mercia Software Limited¶

At APL86, Mercia announced the availability of multi-user/multi-tasking APL*PLUS/PC. Mercia have brought together two state-of-the-art technologies – Multilink Advanced and APL*PLUS/PC – to create an environment for multi-user APL on the IBM and compatible PCs.

The Multilink software package partitions the PC’s RAM and time slices the CPU in a manner similar to a mainframe time-sharing operating system – giving up to nine terminals running DOS on an IBM PC/AT. Each terminal appears to the user to be a normal PC running DOS (with the exception that graphics are only available at the console). This enables the user to invoke most software packages written for the PC, including APL*PLUS.

To allow use of APL in true multi-user mode, Mercia have written a set of APL utilities which allow shared use of APL and native files, including component locking, inter-terminal communication and control of the multi-user environment.

Also available is LANlink – a software-driven local area network using standard serial ports on which APL users can use file locking on server APL component files in the same way as with Multilink. LANlink can also support optical fibre cabling, which can make your “local” area network two kilometres wide at about the same price as normal serial cable. For longer distances you can dial into your server machine using a modem.

Mercia also announced at APL86 the availability for the first time in the U.K. of EXEC*U*STAT – a business analysis and graphics system written in APL*PLUS/PC. EXEC*U*STAT is menu- or command-driven, and features fully integrated graphics displays and a context-related help facility. The ten chapters of the system cover a wide range of facilities: Data Management, Basic Plotting, Descriptive Methods, Estimation and Testing, Regression, Forecasting, Advanced Procedures, System Environment Control, Financial Analysis, Executive Desk.

EXEC*U*STAT will be of particular interest to people involved in business planning and analysis who are looking for a flexible, easy-to-use package with which to examine their data.

I. P. Sharp Associates¶

IP SHARP (IPSA) was distinctive at APL86 by its emphasis on the use of APL for large production application systems as opposed to simple personal computing. Ian Sharp, in his talk on strategic directions, reiterated IPSA’s commitment to large multi-user applications (or timesharing) whether on a public bureau service or on customers’ own inhouse machines. Far from dying, the demand for these timesharing systems is expanding rapidly.

IPSA provides trading support systems for the banking and energy industries which require rapid response for hundreds of users continuously signed on throughout the working day. For example, the Toronto timesharing service routinely supports over 500 simultaneous users, while one of our in-house customers is running over 1000 simultaneous APL tasks. These systems make demands that are difficult to satisfy in any language. They would be impossible in APL without the enhancements and unique environment provided with SHARP APL.

IPSA have concentrated their efforts in providing the system enhancements that make such large systems possible. However IPSA is, of course, actively interested in the latest ideas for extending APL notation. We take the conservative view that new features should require as little change to the grammar of the language as possible. Rob Hodgkinson, of IP Sharp Australia, presented a paper describing an implementation of SAPL for the HP range of minis which illustrated this.

IPSA’s commitment to large scale developments does not preclude an active interest in smaller departmental and personal APL systems. Indeed, during APL86, IPSA and STSC announced a joint development to implement SHARP APL in ‘C’ for UNIX based machines. Such smaller machines are already being used as workstations with real-time links to larger APL systems via IPSANET. To simplify the development of these hybrid systems, IPSA have extended the idea of the shared variable to operate between any SHARP APL machines linked to IPSA’s international communications network. This network shared variable processor (NSVP) is already being used to implement highly efficient and innovative international systems.

To complement SHARP APL’s ability to run large complex systems IPSA announced a new product – LOGOS – aimed at the problems of developing and maintaining large complex application software. LOGOS was introduced in a paper at the conference, and in a product forum session. It provides development tools to assist programmers, in addition to creating the controls and records that are required to manage any large scale computing project. Wih LOGOS the APL programmer and his manager need no longer fear the approach of the system audit department.