The Nial Language
Introduction
The Nial language was developed by Mike Jenkins and Trenchard More in a collaborative research project supported by Queen's University at Kingston and IBM Cambridge Scientific Center from 1979 to 1982. Mike's team at Queen's designed and implemented a portable C-based interpreter, Q'Nial that was initially released in 1983.
The language combines Trenchard More's theory of nested arrays with Mike's ideas on how to build an interactive programming system. The goal was to combine the strengths of APL array-based programming with implementation concepts borrowed from LISP, structured programming ideas from Algol, and functional programming concepts from FP. The interpreter, originally developed for Unix, was small enough to run on the then newly released IBM PC and portable enough to execute on IBM mainframes computers.
Nial Systems limited licensed the interpreter from Queen's University and marketed it widely. Mike Jenkins continued to refine both the language and its implementation. In 2006 Mike released Version 6.3 as an open source project to encourage continued development of Nial.
In 2014 Mike started working with John Gibbons to develop a 64-bit version and to add capabilities that John needed for his work. The decision was made to target the open source for Unix-based platforms and release it on GitHub.
Version 7 Q'Nial
This version of Q'Nial is intended for people who want to integrate the functionality of Nial into projects that can take advantage of its powerful array computations for numeric, symbolic, or data analysis problems. The major changes are:
- the capability to build both 32 and 64 bit versions
- the removal of multi-platform support and a focus on Unix-based multiprocessor systems
- a reduced role for workspace management
- the addition of new capabilites to support mutiprocessor use
- making interactive mode an explicit choice
- facilitating the addition of new extensions
Currently Supported Platforms
- Linux
- Darwin/OSX
- Raspbian
- MSWindows
Getting the Source or an Executable Version
You can either use git to clone the repository or you can download a zipped version of the repository as provided on GitHub.
The repository is organised in a simple directory structure
| Entry | Contents |
|---|---|
| README.md | The file you are currently reading |
| binaries | QNial executables for supported versions |
| BuildCore | The directory to build a core version of QNial |
| BuildNial | The directory to build a package with various features |
| CONTRIBUTING.md | How to contribute to the QNial project |
| docs | Documentation for QNial and its implementation |
| examples | Some examples of Nial code that uses the extensions |
| LICENSE | The license for using the open source version of QNial7 |
| NialLogo.jpg | The Viking ship logo for QNial |
| Nialroot | Directory holding a library of Nial code, and a tutorial |
Setting up QNial7 for use on your computer
If your computer is one of the supported platforms then all you need to do is the following:
-
Download the QNial7 repository to your $Home directory.
-
Add the nial executable for your platform to your $PATH variable. For example, for OSX
$ export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/QNial7/binaries/OSX
-
Test that the nial executable is working by running it interactively.
$ nial -i
A header of the following form appears:
Q'Nial V7.0 Open Source Edition Intel x86 64bit Mac OSX Jan 22 2017 Copyright (c) NIAL Systems Limited
clear workspace created
The cursor will be indented by 5 spaces. Test the executable by typing:
sum count 100The answer
5050
will appear at the left margin.
To terminate the Nial session type:
byeIf you are new to using QNial, you can learn more about it by invoking the tutorial library function teach. Run nial interactively, then at the prompt type:
library "teachEnter "intro" at the prompt and follow the instructions.
Building Nial
The directories BuildCore and BuildNial are used to build versions of QNial7. If no existing executable is available for the platform you are using then you need to build the nialcore executable using BuildCore. Follow the directions given in the README.md file in BuildCore.
If you are building for a new platform or want to add features to QNial7 that are not in the executable you have then you use directory BuildNial. The README.md in BuildNial describes the process for selecting additional features already available. There is also an explanation of how a new feature can be implemented and added to QNial7.
Nial Community Links
The following links are for online discussion groups relating to Nial.
Discord
There is a discord server for APL inspired languages and it includes a Nial discussion channel
https://discord.gg/NYxAVx9dJoin in and discuss aspects of Nial that interest you, problems you are having with Nial and directions you would like to see Nial go.