Using Functions and Arrays

Norman D. Thomson and Raymond P. Polivka
Additional contact information
Norman D. Thomson: Finnock House

Chapter 4 in APL2 in Depth, 1995, pp 89-119 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Chapters 1 and 2 discussed functions and operators in relative isolation. Chapters 4 and 5 are about the interactions of various functions and operators and thus provide a study in greater depth of the features of APL2 which are most intimately connected with nested arrays and the associated operations of enclose, disclose and each. Although the basic concepts are few a new perspective is required in order to acquire fluency in application. There is an analogy to the mental leap needed to move from thinking in two dimensional geometry to thinking in three dimensions. Data objects in first-generation APL possess data and structure where structure is synonymous with shape. In APL2 structure is given the additional aspect of depth, thereby releasing the user from the shackles of rectangular data structure and thus making it possible to model data structures of almost indefinite complexity. The price of the flexibility afforded by the combination of data, depth and shape is that the simultaneous control of all three is a skill which has to be consciously acquired through practice in order to exploit the great programming versatility which nested arrays afford.

Keywords: Character String; Fill Item; Identity Item; Primitive Function; Fill Function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1995
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-1-4612-4172-0_4

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9781461241720

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-4172-0_4

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().