Code golf
Code golf is a type of recreational computer programming competition in which participants strive to achieve the shortest possible source code that solves a given problem. While the exact origins of this sport is lost to history, it is known to have been popular with early APLers. While dedicated golfing languages (programming languages constructed expressly for the purpose of winning code golf competitions) usually can accomplish the goal with shorter code than APL can muster, APL does almost always have the upper hand when compared to other production languages. This is thanks to APL's array comprehension and common operations being represented by single characters.
For production code, one normally shouldn't just strive for code that is as short as possible, as code clarity, execution speed, and memory usage usually are more important. However, engaging in code golf can serve to:
- encourage exploration of the programming language's facilities
- learn cutting edge techniques
- become more comfortable with the lesser known features of one's programming language
- become accustomed to think out-of-the-box which may lead to realising better ways of approaching problems
- have fun while programming leading to a better state of mind and thus better code and higher effectivity
- meet other APLers and participate in community-building
Stack Exchange's Code Golf site has a very active group of APL golfers, with a significant percentage of new posts receiving APL answers within a relatively short time. They tend to convene in the APL Orchard to ask for help, discuss solutions, and challenge each other.
Several formal code golf tournaments have been conducted during recent years. For example, a couple of Dyalog User Meetings have hosted half-day code golf workshops.
External links
- Wikipedia: Code golf
- Code Golf Stack Exchange: Tips for golfing in APL, J, K
- Codidact Code Golf
- APLgolf ― a website that assists in composing answers for Code Golf Stack Exchange
- Dyalog webinar: APL Code Golf Autumn Tournament
- 2017 Dyalog User Meeting: Code Golf Hackathon
- 2019 Dyalog User Meeting: Code Golf – Learn Cutting-Edge APL
| APL community [edit] | |
|---|---|
| Activities | Conferences ∙ User groups and meetups ∙ Iverson Award ∙ Exercises |
| Chat rooms and forums | APL Farm ∙ APL Orchard ∙ APL Wiki |
| People | Phil Abrams ∙ Brian Becker ∙ Bob Bernecky ∙ Larry Breed ∙ Charles Brenner ∙ Jim Brown ∙ Adám Brudzewsky ∙ Gitte Christensen ∙ Peter Donnelly ∙ John Earnest ∙ Adin Falkoff ∙ Garth Foster ∙ Lib Gibson ∙ Aaron Hsu ∙ Roger Hui ∙ Ken Iverson ∙ Morten Kromberg ∙ Dick Lathwell ∙ Marshall Lochbaum ∙ Eugene McDonnell ∙ Roger Moore ∙ Trenchard More ∙ Alan Perlis ∙ Raghu Ranganathan ∙ Henry Rich ∙ Al Rose ∙ John Scholes ∙ Ian Sharp ∙ Bob Smith ∙ Geoff Streeter ∙ Joey Tuttle ∙ Arthur Whitney |
| Other | APL Trust ∙ APL Quote Quad ∙ Blogs ∙ Books ∙ Case studies ∙ Famous APL users ∙ Humour ∙ Jobs ∙ Merchandise ∙ Papers ∙ Podcasts ∙ TryAPL ∙ Try It Online ∙ Video channels |