Bob has good ideas we should consider. I've been updating the SIGAPL page with notices of these functional-language conferences to which he refers: please take a look and recommend any other venues that look promising.
On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 9:58 AM, Robert Bernecky <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, all, > > I am not convinced that this group is a good idea, for several reasons. > Here are some of those reasons, as I see them, > being somebody who has worked > in the area of Functional Array Languages for a while: > > 0. Oh, please include SAC (Sven-Bodo Scholz, > at Heriot-Watt U in Edinburgh) in the language list. > SAC is beating everybody else > in performance, as the attached papers show. > Think of SAC as an extensible APL, even though it lacks > some important features (no higher-order functions). > > 1. ACM SIGAPL existed outside of SIGPLAN, rather than as Just Another > Language within the SIGPLAN umbrella. The effect of this, although > perhaps intended to provide an incubator for a fledgling language, > was to prevent the good ideas of APL from being exposed to > the more larger programming language community. > > Action plan: Infect the extant SIGPLAN, IFL, ICFP, and other > functional and programming communities with the ideas of APL, > showing how it is better than what they are using now, and > why. See the attached as an example (with a lousy summary) > of this. > > 2. There is already a small group associated with ACM PLDI, > promoting the ideas of functional array languages, and exchanging > ideas among those interested in them. > These are the PLDI Arrays Workshops. I am one a member of the > Program Committee of this year's Workshop. As far as I know, > no papers have been received for this workshop yet. It has > not been well-advertised, as far as I can tell: > > http://conf.researchr.org/track/pldi-2016/ARRAY-2016 > > Laurie Hendren, David Padua, Stephen Herhut, and > Clemens Grelck are also on the program committee. > > Action plan: Work within the extant programming languages > community, rather than building yet another island of exiles. > > Action plan: Volunteer for the PLDI Arrays Workshops, and > PLEASE submit papers to same, giving your concrete research > results. Soon! > > 3. The ideas presented in the Arrays Workshops have been, > by and large, quite primitive, and ignorant (sorry!) of the > APL language. For example, one paper given at the Edinburgh > conference recently touted their invention of something > that we know as "scalar extension". > > Action plan: Get the fundamental ideas behind APL out to > the larger programming community by concrete actions. > These ideas include, but are not limited to: > > - functional notation (no side effects) > - rectangular arrays (NOT vectors of vectors!!) as fundamental > data objects, passed by value and and out of functions. > - higher-order functions: adverbs and conjunctions. > - typeless programming. > > Personally, I consider that being able to compile code to achieve > better performance than traditional languages can do (See > attached papers again) is crucial to acceptance, as is > achieving excellent parallel performance with NO source code changes. > We have achieved both of these goals with SAC, but much > remains to be done. > > 4. There is much wasted effort in the functional array languages > community, that could be avoided if we worked together, instead > of reinventing the wheel. For example, in compiler projects alone, > we have SAC, APEX, and at least two different Dyalog APL compilers. > > Action plan: Work within the functional array languages community > to develop tool sets, such as compiler optimizations, that > be used in a variety of settings. Like gcc, one key here is > to define a common intermediate language that can be used to > express the source languages for the relevant functional > array languages. > > I have, in my back pocket, but in need of funding, an idea > for a book that describes, the current state of array language > optimizations, much as Bacon, et al's: > > Compiler Transformations for High-Performance Computing > > describes classical ones. The idea behind my "Optimizations > for Functional Array Languages" (OFFAL) is that each chapter > introduces a new optimization, of set of related optimizations, > offering the motivation for each of them, with benchmarks > and executable APL code that implements the optimization. > The result should be, ignoring things that I don't care > about, such as tokenization, syntax analysis, and run-time code > generation, a usable optimizer for a generic, high-performance > functional array language compiler. > > 5. APLers are extremely good at ignoring work done outside the > APL community. This blinkered approach (some call it focused, > but we know better...) does not do us any good. As a simple > example, consider that NO APL dialect, with the sole exception > of SAC allows users to create their own derived data types. > Instead, new data types can only be created by the anointed > high priests of implementation. This is a waste of everybody's > time, and results in applications that are harder to write, > harder to maintain, harder to communicate, and harder to > compile effectively. [Gluing things together with "enclose" > does NOT constitute a new data type; it's merely a kludge.] > > You have until April 1 to submit papers to Array'16. > > Bob > > On 16-03-09 07:35 PM, LaRocque, Guy (NRCan/RNCan) wrote: > > Dear colleagues, > > > > > > > > You are receiving this email because you are a member of the steering > > committee of an association or belong to the community of developers or > > consultants of a programming language derived from Iverson’s > > mathematical notation, including APL, J, K, A+, Nial or Gauss. Recently, > > I had a discussion with APL colleagues about the international > > visibility of these different array programming languages. We are aware > > of the fact that the majority of associations, developers and > > consultants have good web sites with a lot of good information, but our > > impression is that there is a lack of good communications among the > > different associations in different parts of the world. > > > > > > > > The reason I am sending you this email is to suggest the idea of forming > > an informal international group that will improve communications among > > the organizations and users of languages derived from Iverson’s > > mathematical notation. This international group could (1) establish > > linkages between the web sites of the different associations, developers > > or consultants, (2) organize webinars, (3) assemble lists of users > > across the world, and (4) provide efficient means of internet > > communications among organizations and users. > > > > > > > > The objective of this idea is not to create a “super” organization that > > will consider existing groups as affiliates, but simply to promote good > > communications and improve the visibility and use of the different > > languages. If you like the idea and wish to initiate discussions, > > please, let me know. > > > > > > > > Kind Regards > > > > > > > > Guy Larocque > > > > > > > > ************************************************* > > > > Guy Larocque, Ph.D. > > > > Research scientist/Chercheur scientifique > > > > Natural Resources Canada/Ressources naturelles Canada > > > > Canadian Forest Service/Service canadien des forêts > > > > Laurentian Forestry Centre/Centre de foresterie des Laurentides > > > > 1055 du P.E.P.S. > > > > POB Box 10380, Stn. Ste-Foy > > > > Québec (QC), G1V 4C7 > > > > Canada > > > > Tel: 418-648-5791 > > > > Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > > > Editor of/ Éditeur deEcological Forest Management Handbook > > < > https://www.crcpress.com/Ecological-Forest-Management-Handbook/Larocque/9781482247855 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > Robert Bernecky > Snake Island Research Inc > 18 Fifth Street > Ward's Island > Toronto, Ontario M5J 2B9 > > [email protected] > tel: +1 416 203 0854 > > -- Devon McCormick, CFA Quantitative Consultant
