APLX^TM: Advanced cross-platform APL

 
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What is APLX?

APL is a unique, general-purpose high level programming language used in application areas such as financial planning, market research, statistics, management information and for all types of scientific and engineering work. APLX is an advanced, second generation implementation of the APL language, closely based on IBM's APL2, but with a number of important enhancements (see the APLX Language Specification).

For an excellent introduction to the power and elegance of APL, we recommend Bernard Legrand's article

The latest version of APLX is Version 4 with support for object-oriented programming (classes written in APL), the ability to use .Net, Java, Ruby and other classes directly from APL, regular-expression searches, a powerful new general-array editor, QuickSym^TM (a new input-method as an alternative to using the keyboard to enter APL symbols), new features for importing and exporting data, and much more.

Free downloads available!

You can download the documentation and/or a free time-limited evaluation copy of APLX for Windows or APLX for Macintosh.

You can also download a free copy of APLX for Linux Version 1.1, And if you like the product, you wil be able to upgrade to Version 4 of APLX for Linux for a very favorable price!

Availability

APLX comes in two forms, as a GUI application offering an advanced and elegant environment for developing APL, and as a server-based product for running large commercial APL applications and legacy systems.

The GUI edition of APLX is available for:

• Windows 2000, XP and Vista
• Mac OS 10.x
• Most popular x86 Linux distributions including Red Hat, Debian, Mandrake, Ubuntu and SuSe

In each case, APLX is a full native application, with the 'look-and-feel' appropriate to the host. For example, under Mac OS X, it implements Apple's 'Aqua' user-interface, whereas the Windows versions follow Microsoft's style. All this is achieved using a common code base and advanced cross-platform technology, developed by MicroAPL, which will make it easy for us to continue to upgrade the product for multiple environments.

The server edition of APLX is available for:

• Windows 2000, XP, Vista
• x86 Linux
• IBM RS/6000 under AIX

APLX is also available in a full 64-bit version. This product makes it possible to have huge workspace sizes, opening up a whole new range of applications for APL on the desktop or on small, cost-effective 64-bit servers. Click here for more information about APLX64.

Standalone Applications

You can write APL code using APLX for Windows or APLX for MacOS, and save the APL workspace as an executable application. There are no royalties payable for running the executable application on any number of systems.

Compatibility across implementations

All versions of APLX share the same workspace and component file layouts. This means that workspaces saved by any version can be loaded by any other, and component files can be shared across a network of different hosts. Where the two systems use different byte-ordering conventions, APLX transparently converts between them. Existing APL.68000 and APL Level II workspaces can also be loaded directly (APLX automatically converts them to the new format), and existing component files are also upwards-compatible.

For users migrating from other APL implementations, IBM-compatible APL transfer files can be read directly using the )IN system command, or via the File menu.

Elegant development environment

MicroAPL's long experience in developing APL windowing systems, plus our extensive exposure to 'best-of-breed' development environments for other languages, has been carefully applied to the design of APLX as a platform for writing APL code. The aim has been to provide very powerful development facilities, without any distracting on-screen clutter. Click here for details.

Language features

APLX is a high-performance interpreter closely modelled on IBM's APL2 language standard, combined with modern language features such as structured-control keywords and built-in access to databases, plus the tried-and-trusted APL.68000 enhancements and many other features. Version 4 adds support for object-oriented programming, with classes written in APL or in Java, Ruby, C#, Visual Basic, and other languages. Workspaces of up to 2GB are supported (32-bit versions), or a staggering 8,589,934,592 GB for APLX64, subject to available system memory. APLX also implements the very powerful Quad-NA system function, allowing you to call operating-system or DLL routines directly from APL, as though they were ordinary APL functions.

APLX Version 4 is the latest in a planned series of upgrades and new features. We are already working on the next release of APLX, and welcome suggestions from our users.