3 ms·
APL is best thought of, not as a "programming language", but as a DSL for array manipulation. The syntax is sadly dead. The semantics live on in the most mainst
by dTal 7y ago
APL is best thought of, not as a "programming language", but as a DSL for array manipulation. The syntax is sadly dead. The semantics live on in the most mainstream of places, notably Numpy.
Trying to write entire full-features programs in APL should be thought of as roughly the same as doing so in Awk. Possible, and even beautiful - but not a serious endeavor. We'd be better off if other languages incorporated APL as a first class DSL, the same way they incorporated regex.
- mncharity 7y ago> Numpy https://analyzethedatanotthedrivel.org/2018/03/31/numpy-another-iverson-ghost/ https://analyzethedatanotthedrivel.org/2018/03/31/numpy-anot... . https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16982086 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16982086 . > if other languages incorporated APL as a first class DSL, the same way they incorporated regex April for Common Lisp et al? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22225136 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22225136
- kd0amg 7y agoNumpy has a very rough approximation of APL's semantics. The broadcasting rules are quite different, and it's missing some rather fundamental things like automatically lifting functions with argument rank other than 0.