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APL Wiki:Content guidelines: Difference between revisions
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APL Wiki:Content guidelines (view source)
Revision as of 14:35, 6 September 2022
, 14:35, 6 September 2022→What is APL?: Try to avoid implying non-APL array languages shouldn't be documented
(→What is APL?: Define an APL dialect, instead of refusing to define it) |
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== What is APL? == | == What is APL? == | ||
The APL Wiki is focused on APL, which is somewhat problematic because APL has no agreed-upon definition. On the APL Wiki we define an [[:Category:APL dialects|APL dialect]], or "an APL", to be a programming language that encodes [[Iverson notation]] in a text-based and machine-executable form, using the syntax and symbols established by the first such language to be publically available, [[APL\360]]. This includes [[A+]], but not similar languages with different symbols like [[ELI]], [[J]], or [[BQN]]: these should be called "languages" rather than "dialects". | The APL Wiki is focused on APL (not exclusively! See [[#Notability]]), which is somewhat problematic because APL has no agreed-upon definition. On the APL Wiki we define an [[:Category:APL dialects|APL dialect]], or "an APL", to be a programming language that encodes [[Iverson notation]] in a text-based and machine-executable form, using the syntax and symbols established by the first such language to be publically available, [[APL\360]]. This includes [[A+]], but not similar languages with different symbols like [[ELI]], [[J]], or [[BQN]]: these should be called "languages" rather than "dialects". | ||
However, the APL Wiki does not merely document facts about APL dialects, but rather concepts that are important to users of APL. For this purpose it's important to discern not just whether a language is or isn't an APL dialect, but to what extent it can be considered a member of the APL family. Features that make a language APL-like might include: | However, the APL Wiki does not merely document facts about APL dialects, but rather concepts that are important to users of APL. For this purpose it's important to discern not just whether a language is or isn't an APL dialect, but to what extent it can be considered a member of the APL family. Features that make a language APL-like might include: | ||
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* For encyclopedic [[:Category:Articles|articles]], when a concept or feature is only present in one dialect. | * For encyclopedic [[:Category:Articles|articles]], when a concept or feature is only present in one dialect. | ||
* For non-encyclopedic [[:Category:Essays|essays]], when using a particular APL makes examples and discussion clearer or more concrete. | * For non-encyclopedic [[:Category:Essays|essays]], when using a particular APL makes examples and discussion clearer or more concrete. | ||
For articles, if a concept applies to multiple dialects, it would be inappropriate to write it from the perspective of a single dialect. However, there is no need to acquire an exhaustive knowledge of other APL dialects before writing an article. If you know another dialect has the feature you want to write about, but don't know how it might differ from the one you know about, | For articles, if a concept applies to multiple dialects, it would be inappropriate to write it from the perspective of a single dialect. However, there is no need to acquire an exhaustive knowledge of other APL dialects before writing an article. If you know another dialect has the feature you want to write about, but don't know how it might differ from the one you know about, indicate any other dialects as part of a list of languages with the feature (probably in the introduction), and write the rest of the article about the dialect you know. Be sure to make it clear that you are writing only about a specific dialect, so that readers know the information might not apply to every APL. It is much more important to avoid incorrect information from making assumptions about an unfamiliar dialect than to make a particular article as general as possible. When writing an essay, such as a tutorial or example, the requirement to mention other dialects doesn't apply: simply make sure the reader knows which APL you are using. | ||
In a dialect-specific article, you can assume (because you have told the reader) that the reader knows the page pertains to one APL only. This means it's acceptable to use terms like [[Disclose]] that are ambiguous in general but have only one meaning in the context of that APL, or terms like [[tradfn]] that many parts of the APL community don't use. Despite this, your primary aim should be to make the article useful for a general reader, who might never have heard of this APL. Use terminology which would be most readable for the wider APL community while remaining intelligible from the specific dialect's perspective. If there is no single term that fits, use a dialect-specific one but clarify by mentioning an identical or analogous term in parentheses. | In a dialect-specific article, you can assume (because you have told the reader) that the reader knows the page pertains to one APL only. This means it's acceptable to use terms like [[Disclose]] that are ambiguous in general but have only one meaning in the context of that APL, or terms like [[tradfn]] that many parts of the APL community don't use. Despite this, your primary aim should be to make the article useful for a general reader, who might never have heard of this APL. Use terminology which would be most readable for the wider APL community while remaining intelligible from the specific dialect's perspective. If there is no single term that fits, use a dialect-specific one but clarify by mentioning an identical or analogous term in parentheses. | ||