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You can just change keyboard settings in any OS? The same way you change from QWERTY to DVORAK you can change to Cyrillic or... But every APL programmer just uses something like deadkeys, typing e.g. ` before another key like `[ becomes ← or `$ becomes ⍋. The same are largely used for BQN too. Every tutorial teaches how to type explicitly e.g. https://tryapl.org/

If you insist on looking at your keyboard, you can also buy stickers for like $10.

by SilentM686 hours ago|

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Yeah, I changed the keyboard settings in my OS (Win at the time) a few times, but it was a pain to have to remember the key layouts even with tutorials. I like the idea of using stickers at a lower price which is more reasonable. I always wondered why PC engineers did not design Chameleon keyboards with keys that can change their key-designation (LED key shape) based on OS usage per region. I'm sure it's partly due to money. I mean who would not like to have a keyboard that lights up different keys depending on the language you use. There just needs to be a universal key design agreed upon that can accommodate this type of keyboard design.

Don't get me wrong. I like the idea of a compact language and may reconsider APL in the future if, my financial luck changes :)

by adrian_b6 hours ago|

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There are derivatives of APL, e.g. J, which replace the symbols with ASCII characters, to avoid the keyboard problem:

https://www.jsoftware.com/#/README

I actually prefer a hybrid solution, i.e. using a part of the original APL symbols, which are now provided by Unicode, so you can map them on any standard keyboard as you please, while other symbols are replaced by keywords.

The reason is that a part of the original APL symbols make sense and are useful, because they are extensions of the traditional mathematical notation, while some other symbols, e.g. those used for trigonometric functions, are arbitrary and had only the purpose to make the text somewhat shorter and simplify the parsing of the language at a very early time, when the available resources were very scarce, and this does not matter today any more.

by f1shy5 hours ago|

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That gives me the idea of making a sort of transpiler for it as a side project. Maybe I will.

by SilentM685 hours ago|

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Thank you for the link :)

by nereye7 hours ago|

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A lower cost option is to buy a set of sticker overlays (e.g. similar to the ones you can buy to make it easier to type Korean or Japanese, etc. on a US (or generally, non-native) keyboard).

For example (no affiliation):

https://www.tindie.com/products/russtopia/apl-keyboard-symbo...

by SilentM686 hours ago|

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Thank you for the link :)

by userbinator6 hours ago|

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J and K are ASCII-based array languages which were inspired by APL.

by SilentM685 hours ago|

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Yes, I believe I tried J at one point.

Nothing against the APL, J & K languages but my brain got accustomed to using the R-Language and R-Studio, even over Python, partly because of the same keyboard difficulty, at least in my case, but also because it felt somewhat, more complete, and organized than Python. That's how my brain works, me thinks. Lately, I've started contemplating learning LUA since it's easy to work with and tied to Roblox, for game making, but again, AI's put a pause on all things related to learning, as far as mentally absorbing new stuff is concerned. I don't see the point.