Proposal to Develop the apl in Academia

I have been using APL along with other programming languages (MATLAB, R, Python) for 3 years. APL has been an intricate part of my Ph.D. research. Not only have I acquired an applied understanding of APL, but also discovered very astonishing results while manipulating vectors in higher dimensions. For further information you can visit http://www.latticechallenge.org/ideallattice-challenge/alphasvphalloffame.php

As a mathematics student, I feel it is the best programming language as an intellectual exercise. In other words, one must be reasonably familiar with mathematical structures in order to use APL. Thus, I like APL for the following reasons:

1. 
   Succinct algebraic structures.
   
2. 
   Faster statistical and matrix operations.
   
3. 
   The modern concept of parallel computing.
   

Currently, programs such as C, Java, Objective-C, C++, C# etc., are increasing their dominance in the market. For further information you can visit http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html

Nonetheless, mathematicians realize how important and useful APL can be in academic research and teaching. Being a person who greatly appreciates APL, I worry that the APL may be in peril. If an attempt isn’t made to acquire more users, APL may be pushed out of the programming realm.

As of now, APL is behind for the following reasons:

1. 
   APL is influenced by mathematical notation and complex structures.
   
2. 
   In most cases, APL developers do not use libraries.
   
3. 
   Due to its lack of online resources, there isn’t an influx of new users.
   
4. 
   Lack of compatibility with all operating systems.
   
5. 
   Though it is a powerful system, it is not popular in the modern day programming community.
   

1. 
   Encourage the use of APL in Academia (starting from middle school).
   
2. 
   Make a detailed and respected library so that one can encourage the new generation of programmers, which will be the backbone of APL.
   
3. 
   Make the online resources rich and easily accessible. Decrease the learning curve for newcomers.
   
4. 
   Promote APL to commerce and industry so that having understood the power of APL, they will hire APL IT professionals.
   
5. 
   Needs effective and efficient marketing for its popularity.
   

To maximize our productivity, we should do the following jobs:

1. 
   Divide the course level into three distinct groups; beginners, intermediate, and advanced.
   
2. 
   Write an APL school library appropriate for each level. That is, write the library in a simpler, more concise format (according to each level), and make it available free of cost via the internet.
   
3. 
   Have a uniform website with a better introduction for APL programming. This website should, at the very least, post an available guidebook that newcomers can teach themselves by reading APL’s online materials.
   
4. 
   Write an APL practice book with sufficient exercises for each level. This could be for an additional charge. Thereby, helping produce additional resources to help fund APL research development.
   
5. 
   Organize annual APL programming competitions for high school kids as well as college students.
   

1. 
   Risk free: There is no risk at all. As of now, APL is not one of the first names considered for programming in an academic community. So typically, a company would need to spend a substantial amount of money to compete in an industry. To avert this problem, APL can consider my proposed marketing strategy.
   
2. 
   Financial Productivity: APL will not only benefit from lower “marketing and advertisement” costs, but also from the supply of new users that it will acquire from the programming sector.
   
3. 
   Finally and most importantly, securing the future of APL via investing in younger and brighter generation.