Finding out about APL

Transcribed from the printed issue; not yet reviewed. Read it in the PDF of the issue, page 26

One of the perennial enquiries we all get is for APL reference material. There is, of course, a small number of well-known APL reference books that are always mentioned. The BAA Committee produced a 'Top Six' list last year:

APL - An Interactive Approach (Gilman and Rose)
Sharp APL Reference Manual (Paul Berry)
A source book in APL (Ken Iverson)
APL Design Handbook for Commercial Systems (Adrian Smith)
APL - the language and its usage (Polivka and Pakin)
FinnAPL idiom library

... and these are all stocked by the University of Warwick bookshop who run the APL book service for us. Please note that 'Design Handbook' is now out of print; if you have trouble finding it the residual stock (14 copies!) is obtainable from the author. The University of Warwick also carry a number of other general APL texts.

Whilst the books mentioned above are good for a general grounding in APL and themselves carry further references to APL material, we still receive a number of enquiries along the lines of: '..do you know of anything that covers APL as used in..'. I have made some enquiries about further sources of reference material which may be of interest to the membership.

IP Sharp¶

IP Sharp have a bibliography workspace (1000 BIBLIOG) which is still on the Sharp system and was kept up to date until a couple of years ago.

INSPEC¶

The Institute of Electrical Engineers run a number of online information services, the largest of which is the INSPEC database which is continuously being updated and covers physics, engineering, computers and control, maths and information technology. I visited the IEE at Savoy Place in London to see what sort of representation APL has in the INSPEC database.

In May 1988 there were in excess of 600 references in abstracts to 'APL' (A Programming Language). This covers virtually all published material that carries some library reference, be it of UK or overseas origin. For example all ACM publications are included.

I think that with so many APL references listed, there must be something which deals with almost any application area.

Access to the INSPEC database is open to all, IEE members or not and current average prices range from £60-70 for non-members (less for members). The library staff will assist in the composition of the enquiry so that you get what you wanted! You can visit, ring or write to:

Technical Information Unit
IEE, Savoy Place, London, WC2R 0BL
01 240 1871