Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
mainframes or minicomputers. Under this new economics of
computing, users began to migrate large number of applications
from centralized systems to microcomputers. Unfortunately, the
APL
community underestimated the microcomputer challenge
and was unable to adapt its tools to the personal computer (
PC
)
environment fast enough to attract
PC
software developers.
Compared to popular programming language environments
available for
PC
s in the 1980s,
APL
interpreters were expensive,
APL
could have became a dominant language for the micro-
computer if only some software company had developed an
APL
interpreter for early microcomputers based on popular micro-
processors such as the Intel 8080 or Zilog
Z
80. In the 1970s,
those who identified microcomputers with
BASIC
and viewed
that language as an insignificant programming toy, could have
entered the microcomputer market earlier by choosing an
APL
-
based machine. In view of the popularity of
APL
, such a com-
pany could have derived substantial profits from selling its
APL
software - the same way Microsoft was paying its bills with the
sales of
BASIC
. In fact it was Microsoft's co-founder and
APL
's
vocal supporter Bill Gates who wanted to do just that. Micro-
soft had been developing its own
APL
interpreter since 1976,
perhaps under the influence of
IBM
's introduction of its
APL
-
based
IBM
5100 computer. “Equivalence with the 5100 was
my goal,” explained Gates in his March 1979 interview for
ETI
to the owners of the Altair 8800 microcomputers in mid-1975,
“
APL
seemed like a great follow-on product,” continued Gates.
However, in 1976, Microsoft was still a small software com-
pany carefully addressing market needs.
FORTRAN
got higher
priority and by the end of 1976, only one person was left at
Microsoft to continue the
APL
work. Microsoft
FORTRAN
was
introduced in June 1977 and
COBOL
the following year. It was
not until 1979 that Microsoft announced its
APL
-80 interpreter
