APL and Jazz

Date: 17 Jul 2003 09:31:58 -0700
Newsgroups: comp.lang.apl
Size: 4,153 bytes

"Vess Irvine" <email-address-deleted> wrote in message news:<email-address-deleted>...
> I believe that a possible major reason for lack of new talent in APL has to
> do with an unbalance in the "productivity = earnings" equation. If indeed
> APL developers are massively more productive then people in other language
> (I do believe this), what has not happened is our seeing this productivity
> translated into higher earnings by the individuals themselves.
[snip]
> Average or lower programmers never "got it" when it came to APL. Those of us
> who did "get it," can never understand why everybody doesn't just jump on
> this terrific tool.
[snip]
> Forever there has been a sideways disconnect between really talented APL
> folks and recruiters.
[snip]
> If attractive pay scales existed even back in the heyday of APL, there would
> be plenty of talent to fill the vacuum that now exists.
[snip]
> I weep not for organizations that bemone "there is no APL expertise to draw
> upon." They reap what the sow.
We have a similar situation in the music world where jazz musicians
tend to be more talented and well-trained than, say, their rock
counterparts.
Jazz, like APL is in a sense a "more powerful language."
I like to think that the additional complexity and variety of jazz
music adds a richness to the aesthetic experience that constitutes a
form of "value added." This could translate to a richer experience for
the listener, more intellectual stimulation, etc.
If this is true, then theoretically jazz musicians should get paid
more for a gig or perhaps jazz CDs should cost more.
But of course this is generally not the case. In fact, jazz musicians
often get paid less because the market is smaller.
Why is the market smaller?
I see it as a self-fulfilling prophecy, because the music industry
doesn't invest in jazz because jazz doesn't initially appeal to the
younger and less sophisticated masses. This lack of investment creates
a viscous circle, because people don't want a product whose value they
don't appreciate.
But in the long run investing in jazz would pay off because it would
lead to a more educated public who could appreciate the subtleties and
complexities of the music and the talent of its practitioners, and
would therefore seek it out.
Sound familiar? If companies invested more in APL, rather than
worrying that it is not as popular today as C or not as accessible to
programmers of average intelligence, then its benefits would over time
become self-evident, and there would develop a cadre of elite
programmers whose effectiveness would be well-known.
So APL, like jazz, is under-promoted because it's under-appreciated
because it's under-promoted -- the classic vicious circle.
One would think APL should not have the problem as badly as jazz
because in the programming world the metrics are perhaps
better-defined. APL's efficiency can be demonstrated, and I'm assuming
studies have already been done to show this. Jazz should have a harder
problem because aesthetic value is more difficult to measure since it
is more subjective.
However, I think one of the reasons those of us who "get it" love APL
so much is, in fact, aesthetic. We find the code so much more
beautiful than most other programming languages. I think this is a
large part of the attraction, and since there is no disputing tastes,
there may be people who will just never appreciate APL, just like some
who will never like jazz. For them, we'll still have C ("Rock 'n roll
will never die!").
But then again, tastes are often influenced by peers and by exposure,
so if APL and jazz were promoted more, this could break the viscous
circle as more people find out what they've been missing.
Incidentally, one could make a similar comparison to classical music,
which is also esthetically richer than mainstream pop and also
under-appreciated. But I like the jazz comparison more because jazz,
like APL, is about improvisation.
Interpreters are for improvisers, while compilers are for composers.
Of course a kick-butt complier for APL would bridge that gap, but that
is another subject.
Stanley Jordan
www.stanleyjordan.com