[JaumeGreen]

One of my list of dream projects that I might never have time to do, and so feel free to "steal" the idea, would be a eink notepad in where you could code in APL or similar.

APL was born as a mathematical notation, pertaining to the blackboard, so it makes sense to write it using a writing implement. Its terseness would make it ideal for the handwriting world, it's REPL implementation would give quick feedback loops, you could move around input and output streams.

You could be in a sofa, writing the solution, expending most of your energy thinking, not writing, once you got used to the new way of thinking and the vocabulary.

If you haven't tested any array language I would recommend you try to solve things using one, and check existing solutions so you can see how to think differently. Some problems are naturally easier with this approach, some are harder.

[mlajtos]

You are exactly right that the original vision of APL was a handwritten, non-ambiguous, consistent, and executable math notation. This was never accomplished.

In 2021, I made a prototype calculator designed for iPad and Pencil and wrote four essays called "New Kind of Paper" describing this concept. The video demonstration of the prototype [Demo] sums up pretty well how it might be used.

In 2024, Apple released Math Notes, which implements this concept for standard math notation. My "review" of it is at [MathNotes]. In short, it is currently a preview of a damn great tool, but its future depends on notation and expressivity.

APL is a language from 2066, created in 1966. While its semantics make more sense now due to machine learning, syntactically it remains alien to most people. Backus' FP/FL and Iverson's J are more approachable to current programmers, but still not there. In New Kind of Paper, I created a tiny language called Fluent, which is nowhere near the ambition of any language mentioned, but it is intentionally designed to be handwritten. A week ago, I open-sourced it. [Fluent]

There is plenty of work left to do, but it is a good start.

[NKoP]: https://mlajtos.mu/posts/new-kind-of-paper

[MathNotes]: https://mlajtos.mu/posts/new-kind-of-paper-5

[Fluent]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46649223

[Demo]: https://youtu.be/y5Tpp_y2TBk

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[icen]

You might be interested in this then: https://mlajtos.mu/posts/new-kind-of-paper

I’ve not used it myself, but it appears to be the thing you’re wanting?

[kkylin]

I've had the same dream! thanks for the pointer.

[bunderbunder]

I would probably just go for an Android eink tablet like the ones made by Bigme and Onyx Boox.

It looks like there are a few APL implementations for Android out there, or you could use a remote editor or terminal app to access an APL implementation running elsewhere.