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IBM APL2 for OS/2
Entry Edition, Part Number 89G1556
Advanced Edition, Part Number 89G1697
Now Available - Service Level 19
Overview
APL2 for OS/2,
developed by the APL Products and Services Team
at the IBM Silicon Valley Lab in San Jose, California,
provides users of personal computers
with a full-function APL2 environment
for the OS/2 32-bit operating system.
APL2 is a programming language useful to both application program
developers and interactive end-users.
Data processing professionals
find APL2 to be a highly productive tool for developing
both commercial and scientific applications.
APL2 is also considered to be extremely effective in such
diverse areas as "what-if" modeling,
exploratory programming,
interactive computing, decision support, and data analysis.
APL2 for OS/2
is compatible with the rest of the APL2 family of products, which run on
the IBM System/370 and System/390 with CMS or TSO,
the IBM RISC System/6000 with AIX/6000,
the Sun SPARCstation with Solaris,
and personal computers with DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me,
Windows NT, or Windows 2000.
All of the APL2 systems permit transparent
import and export of programs and data via
the ")IN" and ")OUT" commands, and so
allow for a high degree of application portability.
Highlights
There are two APL2 products for OS/2 - the stand-alone
Entry Edition, and the cooperative, professional user's
Advanced Edition.
The APL2 for OS/2 Entry Edition includes:
- Graphical User Interface - the session manager and APL editor
exploit the GUI facilities of the OS/2 Presentation Manager,
providing a
CUA-compliant
user interface.
- GUI Programming Interfaces - APL2 provides a visual dialog editor
and access to window data as workspace objects. APL2 also includes an
integrated low level interface to OS/2 Presentation Manager services.
- High-Level DDE Support - APL2 can share data with other
applications such as spreadsheets and word processors using DDE.
- Multiple concurrent APL2 sessions - each APL2 session operates
asynchronously in its own process, and can share data with other
sessions on the same machine.
- Printer support - graphics and text, including text containing
APL characters, can be sent to any OS/2-supported printer.
- Graphics facilities - APL2 for OS/2 provides the APL2 universal
graphics processor and tools which are common with the other APL2
workstation systems. The GRAPHPAK workspace provided is compatible
with versions offered on all of the APL2 platforms.
- Calls to other languages - APL2 programs can call,
using name association, any program resident in a DLL which follows
32-bit system linkage conventions.
- Large workspaces - APL2 exploits the 32-bit OS/2 architecture,
allowing workspaces up to 250 MB in size.
- Application development workspaces - example and utility
workspaces are provided which can be used directly or modified
for individual needs.
- On-line Documentation - The APL2 for OS/2 Users' Guide,
a Language Summary and the GRAPHPAK User's Guide are provided in
on-line form. On-line help is also provided for many facilities.
The APL2 for OS/2 Advanced Edition includes:
- All the features of the Entry Edition
- Relational database access - auxiliary processor 127 provides
an interface to IBM DB2 using the SQL language.
On-line documentation is included.
- Tools for writing auxiliary processors - sample
processors, include files, and a server interface allow for easy
implementation of custom processors, including client-server
processors.
- Performance monitor - the TIME workspace allows for analysis
of APL2 programs to determine performance bottlenecks.
- Cooperative Processing - APL2 Advanced Edition provides
the ability to distribute data and processing among multiple APL2
systems connected through TCP/IP. The APL2 systems on CMS, TSO,
OS/2, Windows AIX/6000, and Sun Solaris all contain
the following cooperative processing features:
- Cross-system shared variables for
synchronization and data transfer in a distributed processing
environment.
- A TCP/IP socket interface for communicating with non-APL
applications.
- Program control of an APL2 session by another
application or APL2 user.
- Remote session manager capability.
- Internet tools - NETTOOLS workspace and supporting utilities, including
an HTTP 1.1 web server and client.
System Services
APL2 interfaces to system services are supplied as Associated
Processors and Auxiliary Processors Associated
processors provide a synchronous interface to services
via the name association facility of the APL2 language.
Auxiliary processors provide an asynchronous interface to services
using the shared variable facility.
Associated Processors included:
- P10
- REXX Processor. Allows use of REXX functions as APL2 functions,
manipulation of REXX programs as APL2 arrays, and easy access to operating
system files.
- P11
- Calls to External Routines. Allows an APL2 program to call
routines residing outside the APL2 workspace. The called
routine can be any program resident in a DLL that follows
32-bit system linkage conventions. A set of Processor 11
utility routines are supplied with the product. Documentation
and sample files are also provided for writing your own
external routines.
- P12
- Files as Arrays. Allows manipulation of files with APL
primitive functions and operators. Files can be operating
system text files or APL files in the same format as those
accessed with AP 210.
Auxiliary Processors included:
- AP100
- Host System Command processor. Supports the submission
of host operating system commands from an APL2 application.
- AP101
- Alternate Input (Stack) processor. Allows the creation
of a stack of programmable input to APL2.
- AP119
- TCP/IP Socket API. Passes requests to TCP/IP, which
provides communication facilities across networks.
(Advanced Edition Only)
- AP124
- Text display processor. Provides application
control of a text window. Demonstration and cover workspaces
are included.
- AP127
- SQL processor. Provides access to IBM relational
database product DB2/2,
including remote access to distributed databases,
via the SQL structured query language.
(Advanced Edition Only)
- AP145
- OS/2 Services processor. Provides access to OS/2
services, including Presentation Manager and Control Program
services. Demonstration and tool workspaces are included.
- AP207
- High-level universal graphics processor.
Allows generation of high-quality graphics, text, and images, using
a simple command syntax. Demonstration workspace and GRAPHPAK
workspace are included.
- AP210
- File processor. Used to access OS/2 files.
Text, binary, or APL-formatted objects are supported.
- AP211
- APL2 Object Library. Provides a facility for
storing APL2 arrays by name in an object file. Files created
by AP 211 are directly portable across Windows, OS/2, AIX, Solaris,
CMS and TSO.
Files created by AP 211 under APL2/PC (DOS)
can be read by APL2 on Windows, OS/2, AIX and Solaris.
- AP488
- GPIB Support Processor. Allows access to external devices
connected by a General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB).
Interfaces to the National Instruments GPIB drivers.
Technical Information
Machine Requirements:
APL2 for OS/2 is designed to run on any personal computer which
will run OS/2. A math co-processor is recommended but not required.
APL2 requires 2MB of memory
and 12MB of hard disk above that required by OS/2. Memory and
storage requirements of the user applications should also be
considered. A machine configuration of at least 12MB of memory and
120MB of hard disk is recommended for optimum performance.
Programming Requirements:
This program is designed to run with OS/2 Version 2.0 Service Pak 1
and higher. Version 2.1 or higher is recommended.
IBM DB2 1.0 or later is required for AP 127. IBM TCP/IP 2.0 or later
is required for AP 119 and the cooperative processing facilities.
Packaging:
APL2 for OS/2 is supplied on 3 and 1/2 inch diskettes. An order
form is included for 5 and 1/4 inch diskettes.
Service:
The latest service level is available from the
APL2 Download page.
Publications
On-line copies of the following publications are included with APL2 for OS/2:
| Title |
| APL2 User's Guide |
| APL2 Language Summary |
| APL2 GRAPHPAK: User's Guide and Reference |
| APL2 Programing: Using Structured Query Language |
Printed copies of the following publications are included with APL2 for OS/2:
| Title | Order Number |
| APL2 Family of Products | GH21-1090 |
| APL2 for OS/2: User's Guide | SH21-1091 |
| APL2 Programming: Language Reference | SH21-1061 |
| APL2 Reference Summary | SX26-3999 |
| APL2 at a Glance | SC26-4676 |
| APL2 Keyboard Decals | SC33-0604 |
Two of the on-line publications are also available from IBM in printed form:
| Title | Order Number |
| APL2 GRAPHPAK: User's Guide and Reference | SH21-1074 |
| APL2 Programming: Using Structured Query Language | SH21-1057 |
Ordering
To order APL2 for OS/2
Entry Edition (Part Number 89G1556) or
Advanced Edition (Part Number 89G1697) see
How to buy APL2.
Additional Information
For further information, contact
APL Products and Services.
