[comp.lang.apl] APL for Z-80

FUCHS@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Ira Fuchs) (01/04/89)

I recently acquired a Sinclair (also called Cambridge in the USA) Z-88. For
those of you unfamiliar with this machine it has a Z-80 CPU, up to 1.5 Meg
of RAM, an 8 line display (>80 chars), runs off AA batteries for about
20 hours, and weighs just under 2 lbs. Its costs somewhere from $350-1000
depending on configuration and discount, etc. Given its size (8.5"/11 " and its
weight, it is perfect for carrying to meetings (it has a virtually silent
keyboard), on trips, etc. However, the only language that comes with it is
a version of BBC Basic which is none too great. What I am looking for is a
Z-80 version (or C which could be cross compiled) version of APL to port to
this machine. Besides having a general bias for APL, concise notation would
be a big advantage for this machine (8 line display).
Does anyone have any pointers on where to start looking?

ljdickey@water.waterloo.edu (Lee Dickey) (01/05/89)

In article <6797@pucc.Princeton.EDU> FUCHS@pucc.Princeton.EDU writes:
>I recently acquired a Sinclair (also called Cambridge in the USA) Z-88.
> ...  What I am looking for is a Z-80 version ... of APL to port to
>this machine. 

There is a possibility that I-APL is already available for the
Sinclair Z-88, since I-APL was done with the thought in mind of
putting it on small machines.  If not, instructions are available
to a qualified "porters" who has to write some machine code that
links the hardware to the I-APL kernel, and does whatever can be
done about character sets. 

You can find two articles about I-APL in the newsletter APL Quote Quad
Issue 17 2, December 1986, (ask your library to subscribe).
You can contact Anthony Camacho or Ed Cherlin of I-APL:

====================			====================		
Edward Cherlin				Anthony Camacho
Co-Chairman				Co-Chairman
I-APL Limited				I-APL Limited
6611 Linville Drive			2 Blenheim Road
Weed, California			St Albans, Herts
USA  96094				UK  AL1 4N4
====================			====================		

	The I-APL interpreter, which is distributed free of cost,
	was written by Paul Chapman (of VIZ::APL fame) who was
	supported from funds collected by voluntary contributions.  

	I think that the I-APL interpreter comes the closest of
	any APL to conforming to the ISO APL Standard.


-- 
    L. J. Dickey, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Waterloo.
	ljdickey@WATDCS.UWaterloo.ca	ljdickey@water.BITNET
	ljdickey@water.UUCP		..!uunet!watmath!water!ljdickey
	ljdickey@water.waterloo.edu