
APL\B5500: The Language and Its Implementation – Gary A. Kildall (1970) [pdf] - vezzy-fnord
https://www.cs.washington.edu/tr/1970/09/UW-CSE-70-09-04.PDF
======
drallison
A few historical implementations of APL are very interesting. The Burroughs
220 version by Larry Breed was the defining factor of what became the APL
environment. Jim Ryan's APL for the Burroughs 6500 was nothing short of
amazing and pioneered many of the performance enhancement mechanisms now used
in production optimizing compilers. John Walters (ex-IBM) built an APL
compiler for HP which compiled very good code but retained the interactive
character of APL. Much of the early history is documented in the ACM Quote-
Quad.

~~~
nigwil_
The user manual for Jim Ryan's APL\700 implementation is here:

[http://www.softwarepreservation.org/projects/apl/Manuals/APL...](http://www.softwarepreservation.org/projects/apl/Manuals/APL700UserReferenceManual/view)

If we can get a working Burroughs B6700 emulator (see elsewhere in this
thread) we may have enough pieces to see APL\700 working again. We're seeking
the APL\700 Installation Manual (Form 5000805) if anyone has a copy.

Note the use of the "\" in the name was intentional according to Jim Ryan,
"APL "expands" the '700 series" (comp.lang.apl)

As drallison notes, APL\700 was a compiler to an intermediate language.

------
kazinator
The likes of Hoare, Dijkstra and Knuth hacked on these Burroughs machines:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burroughs_large_systems#Langua...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burroughs_large_systems#Language_support)

Pardon my slip; Dijkstra didn't "hack", of course.

~~~
pinewurst
If you have any interest in these machines, the web-based B5500 emulator is a
fantastic toy:

[http://www.phkimpel.us/B5500/](http://www.phkimpel.us/B5500/)

~~~
nigwil_
We and others are working on emulators for the Burroughs B6700 too. If anyone
can help find software for any of the Burroughs systems from that era, in
particular the ESPOL compiler and the so-called INTRINSICS libraries it would
be appreciated. Any software or documentation for Burroughs systems from that
era would be helpful too, the related systems include Burroughs B6700, B7700,
B6800, B7800, B6900, B5900 and B7900 (listed in order of release date). We may
use later MCP revisions to help cross-compile to earlier versions or identify
system related changes.

------
tlack
Kinda off topic: Those who are interested in modern implementations of APL and
similar vector languages are invited to join #kq on Freenode IRC.

We have John Earnest who implemented K5 in Javascript (oK.js) and Kevin Lawler
who worked on both Kona (K3) and his new friendlier Kerf.

Some really interesting discussion about array languages has been happening
there lately. Join us!

~~~
thoughtexpt
Is this only for theoretical discussions about language design, etc.? Or can
we ask dumb questions about how to do simple things in k and q? Not really a
fan of Google Groups. It would be great to have an IRC channel for common
questions.

~~~
tlack
We just happen to talk about other implementations due to the Q licensing
thing from a few weeks back. Of course we love to help newbies learn the
language too. There are some real k/q geniuses in there (I'm not one of them).
Come say hi! I'm tlack.

------
MaggieL
Wow, I had no idea "Mr. CP/M" was into APL...

~~~
vezzy-fnord
He was into quite a lot of things. One of the rare examples of a person who
was simultaneously a skilled programmer, a computer scientist and a business-
savvy entrepreneur (though one sadly plagued by a lot of obstacles and
circumstance).

I would go as far as to say that, at least as far as individuals go, he was
the single most important in initiating the PC revolution, doubtlessly more so
than Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or even Woz from the perspective of
fundamentals.

He is also virtually unknown to the public. Go figure.

~~~
acqq
The contributions, from the Wikipedia entry about him:

"In March 1995, Kildall was posthumously honored by the Software Publishers
Association (now the Software and Information Industry Association) for his
contributions to the microcomputer industry:[3]

\- Introduction of operating systems with preemptive multitasking and
windowing capabilities and menu-driven user interfaces.

\- Creation of the first diskette track buffering schemes, read-ahead
algorithms, file directory caches, and RAM disk emulators.

\- Introduction of a binary recompiler in the 1980s.

\- The first programming language and first compiler specifically for
microprocessors.

\- The first microprocessor disk operating system, which eventually sold a
quarter of a million copies.

\- The first computer interface for video disks to allow automatic nonlinear
playback, presaging today's interactive multimedia.

\- The file system and data structures for the first consumer CD-ROM.

\- The first successful open system architecture by segregating system-
specific hardware interfaces in a set of BIOS routines.[22][23][24][25] "

------
janvdberg
Wonderful! But just think of the guy that had to manually type up these
diagrams on on page 22 and 28 (at least I assume the text is done on a
typewriter with the arrows and balloons being added later by hand?).

------
dboreham
We had Burroughs mainframes at college (not sure why, although there was a
Burroughs factory about 20 miles away so that might have been the reason).
Algol 68. Good times..

~~~
jejones3141
Someone implemented ALGOL 68 for the Burroughs 5500 or descendant? I'm way
envious.

~~~
nigwil_
If anyone finds a reference to its existence we would appreciate the details
please. Bauer and DeRemer's Compiler Construction text speculates about ALGOL
68 on a B5500 but we've not found any evidence so far it was attempted. As you
will see about the discussion of ALGOL-68R
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALGOL_68-R](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALGOL_68-R)
\- the first implementation of ALGOL 68) it took considerable resources to
support it, likely more than the B5500 could provision.

------
shaunxcode
This is a great find! Not to hijack the thread - but does anyone know the
status of "chasing men who stare at arrays"?

~~~
clathwell
Thank you to everyone who has kept my project alive in their hearts and minds.
I am still on hiatus and while I do plan to start it up again I am not sure
when.

In the mean time:

\- Roger Moore has been working on his Wikipedia entry and notes: "It seemed
easier to find citations from my brief time in academe than the remainder of
my life. I will have to wait and see what Wikipedia editbot thinks of it."
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Moore_(computer_scientis...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Moore_\(computer_scientist\))

-As for my father, there's not much new on the programming language front however his Alpaca business is holding its own: [http://www.manitoulin.ca/2015/06/30/lobo-loco-alpaca-farm-th...](http://www.manitoulin.ca/2015/06/30/lobo-loco-alpaca-farm-thriving-and-growing-at-one-year-mark/)

------
0xdeadbeefbabe
Mary _and_ Sally. Hurray!

