What does ⍋⍋ even mean? (2023)

(blog.wilsonb.com)

38 points | by tosh 4 days ago ago

19 comments

  • magicalhippo 4 hours ago

    I see weird symbols like that I think APL. I haven't touched APL but I know weird symbols when I see it.

    And checking the article... Tags: apl

  • cocodill 5 hours ago

    Aren't those the Twin Pines from Back to the Future?

    • stirfish 5 hours ago

      Did you mean the Lone Pine?

      • cheschire 5 hours ago

        You space bastard! You killed my pine!

    • arto 4 hours ago

      My very first thought as well.

  • Qem 4 hours ago

    Appears like the twin pines cooperativism symbol.

  • semiquaver 4 hours ago

    What does [APL] even mean?

    • dbt00 4 hours ago

      an obscure but very powerful matrix-centered programming language usually considered to be "write only", as in impossible to read what someone else wrote.

      • jonahx 4 hours ago

        > usually considered to be "write only"

        Only by the ignorant and uninitiated.

        • mikelitoris 3 hours ago

          I’m sure you’re fun to work with

          • voidfunc an hour ago

            Im sure _you're_ fun to work with. Get a sense of humor.

          • jonahx 2 hours ago

            I am!

      • groby_b 2 hours ago

        Very much not.

        Its origin is as a mathematical notation for algorithms. It was used to publish research reports and (IIRC) a book or two.

        You're confusing "possible to read" with "accessible to people unwilling to invest any effort understanding"

      • bossyTeacher 3 hours ago

        > as in impossible to read what someone else wrote.

        Can you even read what you wrote several years ago?

        • dylan604 3 hours ago

          Wait, isn't that what they say about perl?

          • philipov 2 hours ago

            Yes, perl is considered write-only because it is a mess of features that allow unhygienic programming habits to flourish - it is full of hard-to-trace magical behavior. Completely different than APL, which has had perl's write-only label applied to it by programmers not used to reading terse mathematical notation.

        • gerdesj 3 hours ago

          40 years ago (at school) I generally wrote in ink - edged and straight nibs, blue and black ink because I liked it. I learned several formal styles as well as my idiosyncratic efforts. I did have biros and fibre tips etc available. I had loads of choice. My parent's generation was probably the last of the ink and nib first users.

    • zem 4 hours ago

      "a programming language".

      • philipov 2 hours ago

        Not to be confused with b programming language, which is not its succesor, but is the predecessor to c.