wikipedia APL page revamp

At the latest BAA London meeting we discussed improving the wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APL_(programming_language). Below is a suggestion for inserting as the opening section with a view to moving the present introduction to the History section where it more properly belongs. We see the most important things as making a casual reader want to read on; to leave out everything that will be just as well left until later; and to ensure that everything we say is verifiable. This means adding citations wherever we make a claim that can be challenged. Here is our first attempt.

APL (programming language)

APL is one of the oldest programming languages and an important influence on the development of spreadsheets, functional programming, MatLab, R, Mathematica, and its descendent languages J, K and q. It is a dynamic language based on Iverson's mathematical notation, in which arrays are primary and loops are rare.

It flourishes in scientific, actuarial, statistical and financial applications, and is favoured by domain experts writing software for their own purposes. APL and its descendent languages are also associated with rapid and lightweight development projects in volatile business environments.

APL interpreters are available for a wide range of platforms including PCs, Macs, Linux and handhelds. Recent extensions to APL interpreters and IDEs include:

That's it.

Please comment on it, add suggestions, criticise, but most importantly give us your knowledge. Where is there, for example, a published account that APL influenced the development of MatLab? Perhaps it didn't. Knowing it did isn't enough. Over to you. -- PhilLast 2009-07-24 21:18:17

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