Utilities in Dyalog APL

Dan BaronetBoston 2011

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[]SE vs #

There are 2 “workspaces” available at all times when using Dyalog:

[]SE which holds session (static) data

And# which is the workspace as such

(dynamic)

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Memory layout

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[]SE

.dsefile

.dwsfile

#

[]SE

Previously []SE was only used in GUI versions to hold session objects (menus, toolbars, statusbars, …)

It is now used to also contain utilities like SALT.

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#

# is dynamic, this is where you )LOAD workspaces and )SAVE them from.

You can write utilities, store them in a .DWS file and )COPY them when needed.

That’s one way to do it and it’s been done for ages.

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[]SE

[]SE is static. You can store utilities there and refer

to them either using their full path (e.g. []SE.myUtil) or by setting []PATH to ‘[]SE’.

No other APL offers this.For many this is new.

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[]SE – loading and saving[]SE is loaded at start-up time.If you modify it it can be saved using the

Session/Save menu item:

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[]SE – loading and savingIf you wish to use a different name for

the session file you can use Save as…

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[]SE – loading and savingIf you want APL to use it automatically you

will then need to tell APL which session (.DSE) file to load at start-up:

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[]SE : using it as storageIt may be convenient enough to store

utilities in []SE and use them from there.You can even add some GUI to use them.

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[]SE – storing utilities

Dyalog stores utilities in []SE.They are in namespaces - General line Parser- SALT & Spice (UCMD framework)- Dyalog utilities- Chart- The User Command function Utilities Dyalog’11 - Boston 11

SALT

SALT is basically a pair of functions to read and write APL code outside the workspace

One feature of SALT is to hook into the editor to save objects automatically.

SALT has more functionality and can be used as a version control system.

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SALT uses Unicode text files as storage medium.

Text files can be shared and integrate well with other VCS

SALT is the base for Spice

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SALT

Spice

Spice is the interface between you and your code stored in SALT files.

It allows you to execute your code under your own rules.

Spice is the framework of User Commands

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User Commands

UCMDS are SALT based functions called thru the ] syntax.

All the basic code resides in a SALTed text file with specific format.

When “]CAL 12” is entered in the session its main <Run> function is called with arguments ‘CAL’ ‘12’

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Keyboard ShortcutsCtrl-Shift-End : highlight to the end of textCtrl-delete : remove highlighted textCtrl-Home/End : go to the beginning/end of the textShift-Esc : cancel operationSpace (in session): mark current line for re-execution

(several can be marked)Keypad - : toggle line numbersKeypad / : reformat according to configurationCtrl-Up : localize nameCtrl-Shift-BS/Enter: undo/redo

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Examples

- The <calendar> function.- The <time> user command- The Dyalog utilities

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The APL Wiki

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