ljdickey@water.waterloo.edu (Lee Dickey) (04/10/89)
Attention APL.68000 enthusiasts Direct Definition Workspace now available If you are an APL.68000 user, you may wish to try an APL workspace that implements a Direct Definition compiler. If you have APL.68000, and are willing to report your experience with this workspace, please accept my offer to send you an e-mail copy of my APL workspace for your evaluation. What is Direct Definition? Direct Definition, in the tradition of modern functional programming, gives a concise representation of APL functions. The use of Direct Definition can make experimentation with function definitions easier than the use of the traditional del editor and, in many instances, simpler even than using the editor for canonical representations. There are two forms, one the simple block, in which no condition execution is tested, and the other is the "if - then - else - " construct. Functions may have 0, 1 or 2 arguments. Documentation There is a DESCRIBE variable in the workspace that tells how to use it and gives a reference. Examples are given. It is written in ISO Standard APL, and will run on a Macintosh, an Amiga, or the Atari ST. Packaging The Workspace has been uuencoded. When you receive the file I send you, use uudecode to create the file DDEF.AWS. Then give the APL command )LOAD DDEF to load the workspace. This packaging has been tested and is known to work well. Suggestions for other forms of packaging will be considered. How to get DDEF Write to me at one of the addresses below: ljdickey@water.BITNET ljdickey@water.UWaterloo.ca ljdickey@water.waterloo.edu ljdickey@water.UUCP ..!uunet!watmath!water!ljdickey Mail alternative If you need this on a disk, send me two formatted disks, and sufficient funds to cover the postage. I will return one disk with the workspace on it. You then just run your APL.68000, insert your disk, and )LOAD DDEF . L. J. Dickey Department of Pure Mathematics University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario CANADA N2J 2P6 (This workspace will run on the demo version of APL.68000 that is available from UHUPVM1, CANADA01 and other servers for the Atari ST.)