Editorial

Transcribed from the printed issue; not yet reviewed. Read it in the PDF of the issue, page 3

A VECTOR is variously defined as 'a quantity with both length and direction'; 'the course of an aircraft or missile'; 'a carrier of disease or infection'. So far we have managed a fair length (13 issues and still going), and I hope we are beginning to set some kind of course. What we have not yet done is to carry the disease to those not already infected. VECTOR is still circulated largely within the ranks of the BAA, and if anything our print runs are coming down.

I feel that as Editor, I am under pressure to move the journal in two diametrically opposite ways; do we go 'Quote-quad' and try for technical excellence and APL 'whizz-bangs', or do we go 'Education' and 'APLication' to spread the word beyond the inner circle of APL cognoscenti? Are we principally here as a service to the existing membership, or are we a vehicle for converting the masses?

In general the membership survey rated technical articles, software reviews, and application articles as the best items we do. The notes on meetings are seen to be a problem; the most interesting talks are invariably the ones where there is no written paper, or the material diverges so far from it that the paper would be of little relevance to readers.

Here is what we (the working group) intend to do. I cannot pretend that we have all the answers, but at least if we set out our stall in public we can hope for some feedback from our current readership!

Format and Layout¶

We do not see the need for any major changes here. In particular we propose to ...

• stay A5, and retain the current cover design.
• ensure APL code is big enough to read easily!
• try to find an APL typeface that sits naturally with our normal text face, and standardise on it for all APL code.

Contents¶

We would like to move towards more regular 'slots' as a way of giving the journal a clearer structure that readers will be able to anticipate and become accustomed to.

• Product Guide and Public Domain Software Library to continue every issue in its present form. Addresses of overseas associations to be carried every issue, in compressed format.
• a 'Software Workshop', typically covering a related set of primitives, or programming technique in around 2 pages. Examples could be: quad-FX, encode and decode, PC windows, Laser printers and how to drive them. A technically proficient member of the group would either write these himself, or vet and select from submitted material.
• part of the above could be a 'Dr Solomon's' column of helpful hints to bemused readers.
• some regular columnists, selected for their ability to write English rather than APL.
• regular reviews of both hardware and software. We shall also keep up the Press Review.
• 'APL Programmers at Work'. A series of interviews, slanted to reveal how we really do the job.
• other languages ... BASIC, Pascal, C, Macro, HP plotters etc.

There will also be the occasional 'theme' issue, e.g. Education. However we think it would be a mistake to try for a theme every issue ... this would be giving far too many hostages to fortune as regards getting enough of the right copy! We will commission articles well in advance from known experts in the field; a bundle of VECTORs should be bribe enough!

Summary¶

We are aiming for a bit more structure, a guaranteed technical slot of high quality, and a bit more readability. The format and general tone will continue to be much the same as now.

Addendum¶

On the sore subject of timing! This VECTOR is roughly 4 months late, and has suffered the additional embarrassment of being overtaken by 4.3! Firstly, I would like to apologise to frustrated readers, and to even more frustrated advertisers. In mitigation, I would say that we now have a much improved production method, typically reducing the lead time on material from an absolute minimum of 12 weeks down to as little as a week.

VECTOR 4.3 was begun in anger just before Christmas (Dec 17th I think). Two of us worked on it fairly solidly for one day, and one morning. It rested untouched over the bulk of the holiday, and was finally assembled (along with Dave Weatherby's review and Graham Parkhouse's article which arrived around Dec 29th) for dispatch to the printers on Jan 6th. Copies were available for distribution by January 15th, and a parcel did make it to Sydney in time for APL88.

In other words I believe we now have a Journal that we can sustain without a killing amount of work, or absurdly long-range deadlines on copy. VECTOR 4.4 will be out on time, and VECTOR 5.1 is roughed out. As long as I am running this beast, and as long as I continue to get the support and help of the VECTOR Working Group, it will not be late again.

Submitting Material to VECTOR¶

I occasionally dare to open 4.1 round about page 123; it is awful!! Please, please ignore what we said there ... if you have something to say then say it. I don't care if it is on scratty bits of paper, or in the most stylish of typesetting. If it is worth saying and is fit to print then we will jolly well print it!

The ideal is plain ASCII text on PC disk (5 inch or 3 inch are fine). Wordstar documents are OK, and if you have MS Word that would be wonderful! APL code is best printed separately ... FX80 quality is actually quite good (but do put a new ribbon in), otherwise daisywheel or laser are fine if you can do it.

If you don't have a PC, but can produce really good copy from a mainframe system (see Norman Thomson's 'Knapsack' in this issue) then inch margins at each side, 2 inches at the top and 1.2 at the bottom would be ideal. Otherwise we will do a bit of 'shrink to fit' on the copier, which degrades the image a bit (and takes time to do), but is infinitely better than the alternative of resetting the whole article. At least you know that the only typos are your own! Use a biggish font (remember that the result will be halved from A4 to A5 at the final printing stage) and generous line spacing. Do a trial run and reduce it down ... then hold the result up against an old copy of VECTOR to see the effect. The closer you can get the happier we will be!

Outline of Forthcoming Issues¶

VECTOR 4.4 is basically a conference special. Several VECTOR stalwarts made the trip to Sydney, and I have every confidence that they are even now beavering away at their respective keyboards.

VECTOR 5.1 is a special issue on 'interfaces'. We intend to cover the links between APL systems and (for example) Oracle databases on Vax, C programs on the PC, HP plotters, electronic balances, and mainframe databases such as DB2. It is a wide open field - if there is something you know about which fits under this umbrella, then give me a call and book your slot now!