SIGAPL: Difference between revisions

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== History ==
== History ==


SIGAPL was an official special-interest group chartered under the auspices of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery). In February of 2008 this group was formally de-chartered by the SIG Governing Board.
SIGAPL was formed in 1973 as STAPL, a Technical Committee of [[wikipedia:SIGPLAN|SIGPLAN]], the [[wikipedia:Association for Computing Machinery|ACM]] Special Interest Group on Programming LANguages. It was later converted to an ACM Special Interest Group independent of SIGPLAN named SIGAPL, and in 2008 was merged back as a chapter of SIGPLAN, retaining the name SIGAPL.
 
ACM's history with APL began in 1970. Following the [[APL70|second APL conference]] (organized by an APL committe under [[wikipedia:SHARE (computing)|SHARE]]), a group of APLers initiated the ACM's process to create a Special Interest Group by sending the required petition and signatures to form such a group for APL, SIGAPL. This request was denied on the grounds that a Special Interest Group on programming languages in general, SIGPLAN, already existed. Following this rejection, SIGPLAN reprinted issues of the [[APL Quote-Quad]] in ''SIGPLAN Notices'' for a short period before stopping in 1972. Some APLers suggested that the APL community form its own organization, while [[Alan Perlis]] led a group to convince the ACM to reverse their decision.<ref name="roots">[[Garth Foster|Foster, Garth]]. "The APL user community - its roots". Proceedings of the 1980 APL Users Meeting in Toronto, Canada. 1980.</ref>
 
In 1972, SIGPLAN added provisions for creating Technical Committees (TECS) to its bylaws, and the APL applied to form STAPL. This application was accepted in 1973, and STAPL was formed and organized between 1973 and 1974, taking over administration of the 1974 conference [[APL74|APL 6]] and publication of the conference proceedings and [[APL Quote-Quad]].<ref name="roots" />
 
Profits from the unexpectedly large APL 6 helped establish STAPL initially. Officers were appointed initially, and the first elections held in 1975; [[Garth Foster]] retained his position as the first STAPL Chairman. STAPL hosted [[APL 75]] and [[APL 76]] (initiating the scheme of naming conferences after the year) with growing success. However, no 1977 conference was held because STAPL was unable to find a location conforming to the rule that odd-numbered conferences be held in Europe, and the 1978 conference was also skipped because of concerns about quality of and demand for such frequent conferences. Yearly APL conferences resumed when STAPL organized [[APL 79]], attended by nearly a thousand, although [[APL 80]] was hosted by the Dutch Computer Society and the European Cooperation in Informatics, not STAPL.<ref name="roots" /> Following APL 80, STAPL and later SIGAPL organized the APL conference every year until 2005.
 
By 1980, the process of separating STAPL from SIGPLAN had begun, and SIGAPL was eventually made an official special-interest group chartered under the auspices of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery). In February of 2008 this group was formally de-chartered by the SIG Governing Board.


As part of this change, what was formerly SIGAPL (Special Interest Group on ''APL'') became a chapter within the larger SIGPLAN (Special Interest Group on Programming Languages). One of the goals with this change was to encourage the often quite isolated the APL community to cooperate with with the larger group and thus reach beyond its traditional boundaries. The "APL" part of the acronym was also reinterpreted to cover all array programming languages, not just the original APL language. SIGAPL is now identified as the Special Interest Group on ''Array Programming Languages''.
As part of this change, what was formerly SIGAPL (Special Interest Group on ''APL'') became a chapter within the larger SIGPLAN (Special Interest Group on Programming Languages). One of the goals with this change was to encourage the often quite isolated the APL community to cooperate with with the larger group and thus reach beyond its traditional boundaries. The "APL" part of the acronym was also reinterpreted to cover all array programming languages, not just the original APL language. SIGAPL is now identified as the Special Interest Group on ''Array Programming Languages''.


=== HOPL ===
== HOPL ==
SIGPLAN arranges the infrequent (but with increasing frequency) HOPL (History of Programming Languages). The first conference (1978), featured [[Ken Iverson]] and [[Adin Falkoff]] on APL. The fourth conference (2020) features APL again, this time by [[Morten Kromberg]] and [[Roger Hui]].
SIGPLAN arranges the infrequent (but with increasing frequency) HOPL (History of Programming Languages). The first conference (1978), featured [[Ken Iverson]] and [[Adin Falkoff]] on APL. The fourth conference (2020) features APL again, this time by [[Morten Kromberg]] and [[Roger Hui]].


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[[File:BadgeAPL.png|thumb|right|One of HOPL IV's conference badges]]
[[File:BadgeAPL.png|thumb|right|One of HOPL IV's conference badges]]
==== HOPL IV conference badge ====
=== HOPL IV conference badge ===


One of the conference badges for HOPL IV features an APL expression <math>\div+\!/\div(\mathcal E \ne 0)/\mathcal E</math> or <source lang=apl inline>÷+/÷(E≠0)/E</source> which computes multiple aspects of electrical circuits:
One of the conference badges for HOPL IV features an APL expression <math>\div+\!/\div(\mathcal E \ne 0)/\mathcal E</math> or <source lang=apl inline>÷+/÷(E≠0)/E</source> which computes multiple aspects of electrical circuits:

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