Programming language · 1966

APL

Functional, symbolic programming language for operating on multidimensional arrays.

APL logo
CWritten in
1966First released
Kenneth E. IversonDeveloper
dynamicTyping
Built fromInfluenced APL CJMATLABJuliaPython
RuntimeInfluence

What is APL written in?

Its runtime is implemented in C (documented).

Quick Facts

Designed by
Kenneth E. Iverson
Developer
IBM and Lawrence M. Breed
First released
1966
Typing
dynamic

About APL

APL is a functional, symbolic programming language for operating on multidimensional arrays. It is a dynamically typed language. It supports array and functional programming.

APL first appeared in 1966 and was designed by Kenneth E. Iverson. Development is led by IBM and Lawrence M. Breed.

How APL is implemented

In the Language Lineage dataset, its runtime is implemented in C.

APL in the language family tree

APL went on to influence J, MATLAB, Julia, and Python.

Sources: Wikipedia · Wikidata

Frequently Asked Questions

What language is APL written in?
APL is primarily implemented in C. See the implementation section above for details and source references.
Which languages did APL influence?
APL influenced J, MATLAB, Julia among others.
When was APL first released?
APL was first released in 1966. It was designed by Kenneth E. Iverson.

Evidence Sources

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<iframe src="https://www.languagelineage.org/embed?lang=apl" width="100%" height="500" loading="lazy" style="border:0" title="APL relationship graph"></iframe>

Please attribute the visualization to Language Lineage and link to the APL source record.

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