Excellent insights Nils, Many of your points are being addressed by the group working on the J wiki and we would welcome your participation. We meet weekly Thursdays on Zoom at 23:00 (UTC) and the next meeting is May 11th, 2023. Let me know if you would like to be added to the invite list. Here is an example of the the new home page (work in progress). https://code.jsoftware.com/wiki/Category:Home
Also, as a general message to those looking for information on J, most of the J lore is contained in the wiki. We are working to organize the vast amount of information that is contained there into something that is a little more accessible, but it is most likely that what you are looking for is just a search away on the wiki. And if it is not, then that is an opportunity to contribute. Also, Ed Gottsman has been doing an amazing job of creating a very powerful search tool for the wiki. We recently created this video to show the functionality and are continuing with beta testing with the aim to roll it out for general use in the next few months. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjNDi05Wy20 Cheers, bob > On May 10, 2023, at 03:28, Nils Reuße <n.reu...@hxgn.net> wrote: > > Hi! I’m new to J and to this community :) > > Regarding the name of J - if I remember correctly, J was chosen because it is > the arithmetic mean of A + P + L, but I cannot find the source atm. Here’s an > example in J: > > 0 15 11 { 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz' > apl > (>.(+/%#) 0 15 11) { 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz' > j > > > A rename of the language would be helpful to find new (and maybe renamed, > official) content, even if it takes a while to spread. But a rename offers > more opportunities than just making it easier to find content - it will > attract new users to the language and the community, and to make them > „stick“, a rename should be the last step in a greater endeavor, i.e.: > > - setting up a clear learning path for beginners > - bringing tutorials/books/labs up to date > - reordering the front page/wiki, so that content is easier found (I found > out about labs by chance - they are mentioned in the wiki, but buried) > - adding a community page, where the array cast podcast, discource/matrix > server (and maybe more) is mentioned > - a guide on how to contribute code to the project - mailing lists, GitHub > pull requests or some other way? > - document the build steps - J offers binaries for multiple platforms, which > is great, but is not packaged by most(?) linux/bsd systems - e.g., releases > do not have a tag in gitlab, so that it’s impossible to build a specific > version from a git checkout, and there are no code tarballs for releases as > well > > I also read in the archives of a J list somewhere, that there were some > thoughts to switch J from GPL to MIT or another license, so that could also > be combined with the „new release“. > > IMHO, only then does it make sense to rename J. > > Just my 2 cents ;) > > Nils > > >> Am 10.05.2023 um 10:14 schrieb HH PackRat <hhpack...@gmail.com>: >> >> I may be completely mistaken (and I didn't have time to double check >> the history), but I thought Roger Hui chose "j" because (I *think*) it >> was convenient (or conveniently located). >> >> In that spirit (and I realize it's probably ridiculous, yet >> practical), I would like to suggest "jkl". It's fantastically easy to >> type. It probably should be pronounced "jay-kel". For a "meaning", >> it might stand for "J--Ken's Language" (Ken, of course, being Ken >> Iverson). >> >> Harvey >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
