I-Beam
I-Beam (⌶
) is a primitive monadic operator that takes a numeric code as it's operand and derives an ambivalent function which provides a range of ad-hoc operations. This range covers non-primitive functions - for example: experimental features, interpreter-level control, access to the environment, and information about APL itself.
History
I-Beam was introduced in APL\360 by implementers to execute System/360 instructions from program control. The convenience of this lead to I-Beam becoming directly available to use by anyone.[1]
Mnemonics
In general, I-Beam's numeric operand isn't intended to be easily recalled. But some are given meaningful names.
One method is to devise a name from the Roman numeral letters I, V, X, L, C, D, and M[2]
I-Beam | Numeral |
---|---|
Called Monadically | CM (900) |
Line Count | LC (50100) |