On Jan 6, 12:41=A0pm, AAsk <AA2e...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> 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).
The main issue is that APL is most valuable in the hands of a kind of
person that most IT departments do not want to hire. They want to see
programming as an unskilled task which can be performance by
replaceable "cannon fodder", or outsourced to cheap labour markets.
Don't expect IT departments to learn to love APL. But do expect more
and more development to move out of the IT department as companies
lose faith in the ability of traditional methodologies to deliver non-
trivial solutions in real time.
> 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 aswww.jobserve.co.uk. Potentials employers
> have standard yardsticks for establishing my coding skills and do not
> require domain knowledge.
Again, there is probably nothing we can do to make the same true for
APL. If you are not making use of insight into the problem you are
trying to solve, APL is unlikely to give you enough of a competitive
edge to make it worth using.
> 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.
You need to find a way to locate people with interesting ideas and
possibly be in a position to do work that they initially don't have to
pay for, to demonstrate your capabilities. I doubt that arguing
sustainability is important in the early stages. Don't make it an
issue, it isn't.
> 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.
I think we've been through that discussion. There are not a lot of
"APL programming" jobs being added in the UK. Also, if people want to
recruit APL developers they are unlikely to do so in public - more
likely to use the network, which is quite closely knit.
> 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!
Perhaps, but I don't know what the conclusion is, other than than
Microsoft isn't doing a very good job of convincing people to move to
new prouducts :-).
> 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.
Shouting out loud that you believe APL to be dead doesn't seem like
the first step on the way to building the network that I think you
need. Consider the impact is on people who MIGHT be thinking about
hiring you or others for an APL job, and happen to read this.
> 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!
I'll see if I can come up with this number, can't promise anything.
Also can't comment on APL2000's sales strategy, of course.
Morten
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