I am very happy to see APL adopted as a
GNU language. I have been experimenting
with NARS2000 for some time now, but it
sometimes causes the X Window System to
lock up, and it doesn't support complex
numbers.
I installed GNU APL on a Ubuntu 10.10
system from the Debian distribution by
using dpkg at the command line. It seems
to be working properly. However, since
my terminals default to light text on a
dark background, I couldn't read the
letters until I discovered the ]xterm off
command. Then I had readable black on
gray text. Later I read about the
preferences file, so I set up my
$HOME/.gnu-apl directory, copied the
preferences file there, and selected the
second color set (the one recommended for
a black background). This color scheme
works well.
It would be helpful if the distribution
package automatically performed a
mkdir -p $HOME/.gnu-apl/workspaces
as a part of the installation process.
Also, rather than having fixed libraries
1-9, it would be nice to be able to define
libraries in the preferences file, e.g.
LIB 100=$HOME/.gnu-apl/workspaces/utilities
(the old APL*PLUS/PC system supported
defining libraries in this way). The )LIBS
command would then display only the one
default library and any additional libraries
that had been defined in the preferences file.
As for documentation, creating a wiki would
make it easy for users to help write an
APL reference. I suggest contacting the
NARS2000 team to see about collaborating on
this. They have started a manual of their
own at http://wiki.nars2000.org/ -- there's
no sense in duplicating effort. The main
NARS page at http://www.nars2000.org/ refers
to APL tutorials at http://aplwiki.com/
This group might be willing to contribute to
your documentation as well.
Thank you for making the GNU APL interpreter
available. I look forward to many enjoyable
hours working with it.
--- Brian