MicroAPL

Your Sinclair

Max Phillips

FAX BOX Title: QL/APL Publisher: MicroAPL Phone: [redacted] Price: £99.95 Reviewer: Max Phillips APL is one of the dirtiest words in computing. Brand yourself a freak, wear your underpants on your head, buy a Sigue Sigue Sputnik record. Tell people "I program in APL". But there's no hiding the fact that it is one of the most potent languages around and this complete implementation for the QL is nothing short of awesome. It's a highly interactive language that works a bit like Forth; you build new functions into the language by defining them in terms of existing ones. It's mostly used for number-crunching but it's also quite happy manipulating data or doing fantastic graphics. APL knows all about arrays and tables so quite often you can do with one command what would take lines and lines of loops and counters in Basic. This makes it ideal as a 'super-calculator' for tackling one-off complicated jobs that you'd otherwise need to spend days programming. This version takes full advantage of the QL's hardware - from spectacular graphics to RS232 comms. The manual is clear, full of examples and has a little tutorial. In short, this is a real APL environment and is ideal for anyone wanting to learn the language. Of course, it won't be worth twopence to many of us - it can't produce standalone programs. It's not that good for writing adventures or Son Of BJ Strikes Again games. But for people who use APL in their work or at university, even on an unexpanded QL, QL/APL is unrivalled. If you're feeling adventurous, all you need to do is choose which version you want - you can get the real 'squiggle' APL which uses strange hieroglyphic characters and needs keyboard stickers - and a taste for the perverse. Beginners might prefer the version with English-like keywords. And don't forget that its inventor only called it APL ("A Programming Language") to avoid being beaten up by the inventors of other languages. It used to be called TPL...

Sinclair User

A powerful numeric language for the QL. Not only will it do calculations on single values, it will also operate on table of numbers providing the answers to hundreds of sums in a fraction of a second. Its main use is in the classroom or in scientific establishments. It can be used for maths modelling, sampling techniques, equation solving, and even for teaching children the method behind number theory. Also included within the package is a complete tutorial on MicroAPL together with a history of its use. Although it has been maligned by QL owners, it demonstrates the numeric power of the machine in a way which has never been seen before.

Sinclair User

Overall 5/5

John Gilbert 5/5

Publisher MicroAPL, [redacted] Price £99.95 MicroAPL is a powerful subset of APL, a language developed in the 1960s but which, because of its specialised symbols and use of memory, has only recently been translated to microcomputers. The language is similar to Forth. It allows the user to define functions which act as stand-alone programs or which can be used in other functions. MicroAPL is, however, easier to use than Forth. You can create variables in a similar way to SuperBasic and without the hindrance of a stack structure. Arrays are not allowed within the language but you do not need them. One variable can contain a matrix, or list, of strings or numbers, each separated by a space. For instance A is 1 2 3 4 would put those values into variable A. To access just one of the numbers you have to use a language construct similar to the one which selects a character or number from a SuperBasic string or array. For instance, A <1> would print 1 on the screen as it is the first number in the A variable created above. It is possible to automatically set up ranges of numbers within variables using an index command. It is also possible to manipulate those numbers using MicroAPL's extraordinarily powerful numeric operators. If you want to perform an operation on a whole range of numbers it can be done with just one command. A is 10+5 7 9 12 will add 10, the number before the + operator to 5, 7, 9 and 12 and so they become 15, 17, 19, 22. Those matrix operations are performed at great speed even when hundreds of values are involved. The package is also equipped with graphics and sound commands, although you may have to set up your own functions to make them easier to handle. MicroAPL is an impressive package and a pleasure to use. It is ideal mainly for use in education and research which requires the solution of complex formulae but it could be used in business to calculate profits and tax. MicroAPL has done a fine conversion job for the QL. More power to its programming language.