APL Wiki
Marvin Smoak
Email: <mpsmoak AT VERY SPAMFREE windstream DOT net>
Most folks call me Marv.
BS Physics MS Statistics-Experiment Design; Algol, then Fortan, Basic, APL. Retired from IBM in 1990. Used APL as a tool in support of process and product development engineering groups. Taught Experiment Design inside IBM and as a university adjunct professor and, after leaving IBM, I started my own company to consult and teach. That ended in 1996 because of family needs.
I've been an APL user since about 1970. Today I do no statistics or experiment design work, so my use of APL is small. I bought ibm apl2 and grafstat about 1990, and stsc apl and statgraphics a year or two later. Good systems both. Have APLX on my linux system, and like it. I've tried to get into J, but haven't yet. I really like the APL character set. When I was working, I used APL for my work. Now, my strong interest is music; playing sax in a group, recording, writing. But, even though I don't use APL much these days, I am still very interested in it and how it is evolving.
I use Linux on my new systems; one a machine setup for realtime recording with low latency and the other a laptop for travel. I'd be very interested in talking to other APL on Linux users.
Opensource and free software is of some interest to some APL folks, I believe. I like to steer folks to the following sites that explain the ideas behind the terms, Open and Free.
Free:
Free Software Foundation http://www.fsf.org/
Free software is software that gives you the user the freedom to share, study and modify it. We call this free software because the user is free.
Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/
Creative Commons provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved."
Open:
Open Source Initiative http://www.opensource.org/
Open source is a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.
Open Standards http://www.open-std.org/
The site www.open-std.org is holding a number of web pages for groups producing open standards
...
Seed Starting Area
Put ideas here; see if the germinate ...
- Ensenbles and Opensource
- bla bla
The Rules for Working in Ensembles
Here is a listing of all the rules of behavior you will ever need to find peace, happiness, and excellence in ensemble playing. Just follow these five simple rules and life will be wonderful, you will find bliss, contentment, and great wealth as a member of a chamber music ensemble.