Re: Anyone need an APL programmer with 25 years experience

APL is but one tool in the tool chest and a particularly good one.
However, the IT industry is either unaware of this or is aware of the
credentials of the language and all that comes with it (which makes it
unviable).

I have used APL just as a tool and incorporated other industry-
standard technologies such as ADO, Win32 APIs, Office automation,
custom class libraries etc in the applications I have built. For these
applications I have had to know the domain, UK pensions, in order to
get going.

I also use VB & .NET: for these, there is no 'cult' approach and
knowledge of any domain is not a pre-requisite. If I want a job
utilising these skills, I simply start off with any of a number of
recruitment resources such as www.jobserve.co.uk. Potentials employers
have standard yardsticks for establishing my coding skills and do not
require domain knowledge.

So, for APL I have to find out who has a problem to solve and
demonstrate to them that I can solve the problem using APL. How do I
do that? How do I convince them that an APL solution is sustainable?
The only way this is possible is via a personal network of contacts.

If you look at the Vector Products guide which lists a number of
organisations that use APL, not one of them is interested in
recruiting someone with APL skills (alone).

Even organisations (in the UK) that are known to use APL, e.g. COGNOS,
never recruit APL developers publicly.

Isn't it interesting that I can find a job with skills in VB 6.0 -
declared as a legacy product by its vendors, Microsoft as long as 6/7
yeara ago - and I get absolutely no where with skills in APL -
apparently the cutting edge tool of the 21st century!

APL seems to have some signs of life in the US and parts of Europe: in
the UK it is all but dead. I would be ecstatic if someone can
demonstrate that that is not so.

For instance, can you divulge how many copies of V11 you sold in the
UK in 2007? APL2000 do not even have a UK distributor!