Glossary
Some words used in APL literature have meanings that differ from those in both mathematics and the generality of computer science.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| function | operation or mapping that takes zero, one (right) or two (left & right) array valued arguments and may return an array valued result. A function may be: |
| Primitive - built-in and represented by a single glyph; | |
| Defined - as a named and ordered collection of program statements; | |
| Derived - as a combination of an operator with its arguments. | |
| array | data valued object of zero or more orthogonal dimensions in row-major order in which each item is a primitive scalar datum or another array. |
| niladic | not taking or requiring any arguments, |
| monadic | requiring only one argument; on the right for a function, on the left for an operator, unary |
| dyadic | requiring both a left and a right argument, binary |
| ambivalent or nomadic | capable of use in a monadic or dyadic context, permitting its left argument to be elided |
| operator | operation or mapping that takes one (left) or two (left & right) function or array valued arguments (operands) and derives a function. An operator may be: |
| Primitive - built-in and represented by a single glyph; | |
| Defined - as a named and ordered collection of program statements. |
Read more about this topic: APL (programming Language)