APL 86 Publicity
Lee Dickey
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plans for apl 86 are now so well advanced that we can offer you abstracts of
the contributed papers, a timetable and a description of tutorials and some
invited talks.
there are a few things we can't tell you yet - we are still finalising
arrangements for invited speakers, prizes, competitions and what i suppose we
should call side shows. and of course we cannot tell what new products
will be launched at the exhibition.
what is apl 86 going to be like? we can offer the following facts:
1 you will be able to learn more at apl 86 than on any week's professional
development seminar or course. there are three full streams of activities
to choose between and one stream consists entirely of tutorials.
2 you can choose what you learn. the whole conference is timed in 45 minute
sessions: the lecture theatres open on to a common concourse and you can
change streams at every break.
3 there is something for you in every subject that apl is used for, from
stock control to typesetting, from graphics to music, from laura ashley to
nuclear physics, and there are more varieties of machine and of apl than
ever before.
4 you can see and hear better - the theatres have raked seating and are
equipped with the latest visual aids. more of the papers will be
accompanied by demonstrations with these aids than ever before; so many
indeed that we have equipped two theatres with large screen barco colour
projectors.
5 all the foremost vendors of apl hardware and software are exhibiting: you
will be able to see and question them for the whole week and by friday 11
july, if you wish, you will be really well informed about what the market
has to offer.
6 in addition to the conference proceedings (47 contributed papers out of
166 abstracts offered to us) which are full of valuable material, we
intend to publish a second volume of tutorials and other contributions.
these will contain extended tutorial material and such useful things as
alan graham's apl2 idiom list.
7 for our software exchange we already have offers of a row of
microcomputers. bring or send your software for any implementation of apl
and a six by four inch (15 by 10 cm) advertisement for us to put on the
wall and let other delegates see what things you can do with apl. blank
disks will be on sale and we will allow commercial software samples if
they are free.
8 the bookstall will be run by a professional bookseller: they will handle
all the apl books they have heard of and a good many rarities will also be
on sale (back numbers of apl magazines, proceedings of little-known apl
conferences, private venture publications and so on). anyone with apl
books for sale please contact us.
bookings have surprised us by beginning earlier and in greater quantity than
for previous conferences. if the pattern is typical we shall sell out.
book early to be sure of a place.
the software exchange
the software exchange will be open during exhibition hours and the computers
are individually bookable in advance up to half an hour at a time.
there will be enough pcs for every delegate to spend at least an hour at a
keyboard during the week.
each piece of software offered will be allowed one advertisement which will be
displayed in the exchange.
while there is space we will accept advertisements for samplers of commercial
software as well as privately offered software. the only condition is that
there is to be no charge. the exchange is not available for copying software
for sale.
each advertisement will indicate where the software advertised is available
(mostly, we hope, on hard disk for speed of copying), and should also say which
version of apl it uses.
the only thing we will sell is floppy disks, (at a very reasonable price) in
case you need extras.
there will be no restriction on what is offered, except that it should be
useful to aplers. bring along a single elegant function or a raft of graphic
pictures, public domain music or a complete stock control workspace. here is
your chance to show the world what you can do with apl.
piracy and selling code are prohibited: persons caught attempting either will
be debarred.
the exhibition
the exhibition area is on two floors: on the concourse between the
lecture theatres and on the floor below next to the bar. the two floors
are connected by a broad open staircase.
we have had to extend the exhibition area from what we originally
planned and have already over thirty stands booked - these include all
the major apl vendors.
you can be sure that they will all be doing their best to interest you
and show you their latest and best products.
the exhibition will be open the whole time during the conference so
there will be plenty of time to look at every product that takes your
fancy. the stand staff too will be able to answer your questions and
deal fully and unhastily with each enquiry.
for detailed expositions and particularly for new and enhanced product
launches there are product forums. these are half hour presentations by
vendors in the lecture theatres during the period between the end of
the contributed paper sessions and dinner on tuesday, wednesday and
thursday.
anyone who attends apl 86 can come away well informed about all the
latest products from the main vendors.
invited speakers, plenary sessions and other attractions
our list of invited speakers is not yet final. we are still adding to it.
the conference will be opened by dr. k. e. iverson. his subject is "the split
in apl". most aplers would like to understand the differences between the
enhanced versions of apl and few of us have the opportunity to find out for
themselves. dr. iverson's introduction will suit people who have only ever
used a simple apl and those who have some experience of enhanced versions. his
aim is to clarify matters so that listeners can appreciate both the
theoretical basis and the practical effect of the differences (and of the
different states of implementation).
on tuesday morning we have a panel session on "the apl entrepreneur". robert
decloss and timo seppala are among the members of this panel which is being
arranged by romilly cocking.
other panel sessions are on the iso standard, on graphics (organised by theo
formanek with giorgio faconti's help), on typesetting apl and on new
implementations.
on thursday 10 july from 2 pm to 3 pm povl skifter, the financial director of
bang & olufsen will tell us about the bang and olufsen data workshop. the apl
community is sometimes a bit too inward looking. mr. skifter will bring us a
view from the outside and tell us what benefit the data workshop brings to his
company and why it was done in apl. his talk will be followed, for those who
are interested in more of the detail, by a paper from gert l. moeller, who
worked on the project.
there are two debates: in one neil mitchison will suggest that apl is not
yet suitable for ai; in the other richard nabavi will argue that the
enhancements to apl are doing nothing to help persuade more people to use it.
these debates are formal arguments; they begin with a speech in favour from
the proposer, and one against from the opposer. then a seconder on each side
makes a short speech at which stage the chairman will invite contributions
from "the floor of the house", in other words the audience. the last few
minutes are taken up by a summing up; first the opposer and finally the
proposer, and at the end there is a vote to see whether the "motion before the
house" is agreed or not.
our closing plenary session will be run under the chairmanship of mr. roy
sykes, of whizbang fame (now managing director of optimation). we are sure of
a lively close to the conference under his guidance.
a tutorial volume too!
the people giving tutorials and invited speakers have all been asked to
contribute some suitable text to the tutorial volume. this will be a companion
to the proceedings, but whereas the proceedings should be papers of original
work, the tutorial volume can include material which is only partly new or
which might have been given out at the papers presentation as a handout. we
can also allow items of greater length in the tutorial volume (such as alan
graham's apl2 idiom list, which was too long for the proceedings).
both the tutorial volume and the proceedings will be produced in the same
format as previous proceedings.