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Brian Becker

APL Tools Architect

Joined Dyalog Ltd in March 2011

Brian Becker

Role Summary

Brian oversees the design and development of APL-based software tools intended to make it easier for Dyalog customers to develop applications and services for their customers. Brian works on many tools and frameworks, including the Dyalog File System (DFS) and several web-enabling frameworks (HttpCommand, Jarvis, MiServer, DUI, and SAWS). Brian also provides consulting services, primarily to Dyalog Ltd’s USA-based customers.

Biography

Brian was introduced to APL at the age of 14 during his first year of high school in 1975 when he discovered that the “typewriter” that knew how to play various games was actually a terminal connected by an acoustic coupler to the University of Rochester’s York APL timesharing system. When not involved in his studies or extracurricular activities, Brian could be found in his high school’s Mathematics Lab tinkering with APL.

On graduating from high school, Brian received the New York State Data Processing Association Award of Excellence in recognition for his work with APL. He was twice recognised by ACM/SIGAPL for innovative APL development work – once for his work in putting the full text of the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations online, and once for his development of a high-performance APL-based full text search engine.

Brian’s APL career began at I.P.Sharp Associates in 1980 where, among other roles, he was one of the first instructors of Ken Iverson’s Introduction to APL course. Brian has worked for three APL language implementors – I.P. Sharp Associates, STSC Inc., and Dyalog Ltd. APL has afforded Brian the opportunity to work in a wide variety of domains, including financial planning, manufacturing control systems, automated voice and data network design, full-text legislative and regulatory applications, electronic medical records, and governance/risk/compliance applications.

Thanks to our dear friend Dr. Ray Polivka, Dan Baronet and I had the opportunity to travel to Vassar College to participate in their Community Hackathon held… Read
Abstract illustration with blue and black birds perched and in flight over a background of digital lines, grids, and fragmented data, evoking themes of communication and information flow.
This post is the continuation of the series where we examine some of the problems selected for the 2014 APL Problem Solving Competition. The problems presented… Read
One of many things I like about APL is that it’s fun to use for recreational computing. I will frequently happen upon an interesting problem, puzzle, or… Read
New Tatin Packages

New Tatin Packages

Tatin (https://github.com/aplteam/Tatin) is a package manager for Dyalog. Brian introduces some of the new Tatin packages introduced in the last year (https://tatin.dev/v1/packages): - NuGet simplifies loading and incorporating .NET packages in your ...View

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Dyalog Tools Update

Dyalog Tools Update

In addition to Dyalog's language-level tools (for example, system functions), there are also many APL based tools available for general programming, system interaction and interoperation, and application development tasks. Brian explains the efforts ...View

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How I Won the APL Problem Solving Competition – Introduction and Prize Ceremony

How I Won the APL Problem Solving Competition – Introduction and Prize Ceremony

The 15th annual International APL Problem Solving Competition took place earlier this year. Brian summarises this year's contest and introduces the grand prize winner, culminating in the award ceremony. 00:00 Introduction and purpose of the APL Prob...View

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Simplifying Secure, Scalable Web Services

Simplifying Secure, Scalable Web Services

Jarvis is Dyalog's framework for the easy development of APL-based Web Services. Once your APL code running as a Web Service you might need to address additional considerations: • Security – protecting your and your users' private information â€...View

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How I Won the APL Problem Solving Competition – Introduction and Prize Ceremony

How I Won the APL Problem Solving Competition – Introduction and Prize Ceremony

The 14th annual International APL Problem Solving Competition took place earlier this year. Brian summarises this year's contest and introduces the grand prize winner, culminating in the award ceremony. 01:05 Introduction and explanation of competit...View

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Packaging Dyalog Tools

Packaging Dyalog Tools

As the number of utilities and utility libraries for Dyalog grows, it's becoming more important for the APL developer to understand how to manage and employ these utilities as packages. A package can be thought of as a utility that you incorporate in...View

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Team Dyalog

We promote a culture where innovation, fun, pride, and acceptance is part of our daily life. We come from a variety of backgrounds, and our diversity enhances our creativity.

Andy Shiers
Andy
Chief Operations Officer
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Richard Smith
Richard
Development Manager
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Fiona Smith
Fiona
Documentation Manager
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Neil Kirsopp
Neil
Developer
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…or perhaps even join the team!

Get Support

Technical advice and assistance on all aspects of Dyalog usage is available by e-mail (support@dyalog.com) and/or telephone (+44 1256 830030 – limited to U.K. office hours). Limited advice on design and coding is available, but is not intended to replace the use of the printed and on-line documentation. Except when reporting an issue with the software, users are encouraged to seek advice from the user community via the Dyalog Forum (reading the content of the forums does not require membership).

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