Associative Programming Language Explained

Associative Programming Language should not be confused with APL (programming language).

The Associative Programming Language (APL) is a database language developed by General Motors Research Laboratories in 1966.

APL was developed to provide high-level language data access and manipulation functions to support GM's CADANCE interactive computer graphics system. It was designed to integrate with PL/I.^{[1] [2]}

The underlying database is assumed to follow the network model. GM's first database manager was implemented via linked lists, but in 1977 the "Virtual Associative Access Manager"

Notes and References

1. Book: Bachman . Charles . An interview with Charles W. Bachman . https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1141880.1141882 . ACM Oral History interviews . January 2006 . 10.1145/1141880.1141882 . 978-1-4503-1771-9 . June 29, 2024. "George [Dodd] built a very attractive IDS like system, called 'Associative Programming Language' (APL)"
2. Book: Dodd . George G. . APL: A language for associative data handling in PL/I . AFIPS '66 (Fall): Proceedings of the November 7-10, 1966, fall joint computer conference. November 1966 . 677–684 . 10.1145/1464291.146436 . 2024-08-12 . 978-1-4503-7893-2 . https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1464291.1464363 . July 2, 2024.