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We have inherited a bunch of "J" code at work (J is the ascii successor to APL). While I can see the esoteric appeal, I think J/APL is at best a concept langua
by forkandwait 15y ago
We have inherited a bunch of "J" code at work (J is the ascii successor to APL). While I can see the esoteric appeal, I think J/APL is at best a concept language, useful for exploring a syntactical idea. The email list is full of hobbyists going on about how they shaved three characters off of a ten character program that calculates every other prime number... or whatever. The other favorite topic is why APL is "mathematical" notation for computers, even though you can't use it derive new theorems or simplify exposition.
If you ask me, APL was great in its day (1965-1985) because it was the only language that natively handled vectors and matrixes, but once Matlab and S came on the scene it immediately became an evolutionary dead-end.
Yuck.
- Qz 15y agoMy father uses J in financial investing. He makes a shit-ton of money.
- burgerbrain 15y agoWe know it's still used in certain niche markets, but that doesn't imply that as a language it isn't a dead end.
- forkandwait 15y agoIndeed, while I make less than a shit-ton, my exposure to J made me a much more attractive candidate i my decent paying current job.