APL: The language of science and management
Arie Eisner, Steve M. Yionoulis, J. A. Platt, Robert L. Jernigan · ACM SIGAPL APL Quote Quad · 1987
APL (A Programming Language) has been in use at the Space Department of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) for scientific problem solving. APL was a very attractive alternative to the slow, expensive and often unavailable pool of scientific programmers, and became the language of choice for a variety of scientific projects. APL was not considered to be suitable for solving business and management related problems or for building end-user applications. A critical need for modern management tools, the availability of experienced APL Programmer/Analysts, and the introduction at JHU/APL of APL Application Development Programming Productivity (ADPP) tools, resulted in management decision to explore the potential of APL for developing end-user applications. The two business (management) oriented applications which have been developed have resulted in management's acceptance of APL as an end-user application development language in addition to its traditional role in science and engineering. The rationale for choosing APL to develop end-user business applications and a short description of some of the ADPP tools and applications developed are the subject of this paper.