Imperial College London
5 HN recommenders · recommended in 7 months, 2014–2021
28:00 · 111K views · Jul 12, 2013
A 1975 live demonstration of the APL language by Imperial College professor Bob Spence, showing a REPL on a modified typewriter terminal and APL's appeal to non-programmers.
Recommended as a charming, from-zero introduction to APL and a window into early interactive computing.
8 comments from Hacker News
Thanks for sharing. I worked on the UIUC campus for some time right by the greenhouses where they experimented with cultivars of corn and other grasses, always funny to see giant 8 foot tall plants lit with sodium lamps through the winter. As for APL, I haven't really got past an orientation in the language but it's held a total mystique to me since seeing this video circa 1975 [0] walking through the language with a Selectric teletype acting as a REPL, totally flipped my understanding of computer history, I assumed it was all punchcard programming back in the old black and white days xD (I am born 1990 for reference, trying to catch up with what happened before me) [0] (30min) this video
I think the key to understanding APL is realizing that it’s not built for Programmers; it’s built for Mathematicians. Here’s a fine half-hour introduction to APL in action: this video 1:00-2:00 is the motivation for APL—or any DSL—in a nutshell. (“conversational computing”, “users who are [not] professional programmers”) Or, if you’re happy to sit back and see math magic happen: [LINK] For all its mechanical advances over the last 40 years, it’s shocking how far our technology has regressed philosophically.
I think this is a good youtube video for someone starting from zero: this video An issue is how to enter the symbols. The way I do it is I created some input methods for Mac and Windows which use at-signs followed by the APL community name for the symbol: @times × @grade ⍋ @reverse ⌽ @domino ⌹ [LINK]
APL without native fonts isn't fun at all. This is real fibonacci in APL: [LINK] [LINK] This is a nice introduction into APL: this video And this is how APL is applied in the right way: [LINK]
There is something so charming about the attached video [0]. It's very reminiscent of the original APL demonstration [1] from 1975. I love it! 0. [LINK] 1. this video