Migrating Your APL Application to Dyalog
If you are considering migrating your APL application to Dyalog, we can offer advice and support as well as putting you in contact with experienced migration consultants.
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Differences When Moving to Dyalog APL
Before moving existing applications or code to Dyalog APL, it is important to be aware of the language features and behaviours that differ from other APL implementations. Being familiar with these differences helps ensure a smoother migration and reduces the risk of unexpected behaviour. To help with this:
- A list of differences of some of the functionality that is included in Dyalog APL but is not present in all of the following four APL implementations: APL+Win, APL2, APLX, and GNU APL.
- The system function
⎕ML(the migration level, also known as evolution level or compatibility setting in other APL implementations) determines the level of compatibility of the Dyalog APL language to IBM’s APL2 – changing this aid to migration from its default value (1) changes the behaviour of certain glyphs and language constructs.
Tools and Resources
Dyalog provides a number of tools and supporting resources to help simplify the process of migrating applications and code to Dyalog APL from other APL implementations. These are designed to assist with transferring workspaces, source files, and data, and to reduce the manual effort involved in migration.
- The Dyalog Migration Tools document describes how to perform a first-pass migration to Dyalog from other APL implementations (currently it only describes migrations from APL+Win.)
- The APLX migration tools repository contains utilities and useful information for the migration of code from APLX to Dyalog. For more information, see the APLX Archive.
- The
]TRANSFER.Inuser command imports files in APL Transfer Format (.ATF) that are created by other APL implementations. See]In -?for more information.
Example Migrations
Real-world experiences of migrating to Dyalog APL from other APL implementations
Read how one of Sweden’s largest banks migrated its core accounting and reporting system from an APL2 mainframe to a modern Dyalog platform, reducing costs and significantly improving performance.
Read how Volvo’s move to a modern Dyalog platform for its master scheduling system streamlined supply chain planning and boosted operational resilience.
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Gilgamesh Athoraya, Tiamatica at Dyalog ’22
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Veli-Matti Jantunen at Dyalog ’16
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Alex Holtzapple, METSIM International at DYNA Fall 2025
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Morten Kromberg and Karl Holt at Dyalog ’24
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Markos Mitsos, ERGO at Dyalog ’24
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Finn Flug, Dittrich & Partner Consulting at Dyalog ’23
Any Questions?
If you are considering migrating your APL application to Dyalog and would like to discuss how we can help you, you can email us at sales@dyalog.com, call +44 1256 830030, or send us a message.
Morten Kromberg, Technical Director (CTO)
Unsure whether to migrate to Dyalog APL from a different APL implementation?
If you are considering migrating your APL application to Dyalog, we can offer advice and support as well as putting you in contact with experienced migration consultants.
Differences when moving to Dyalog APL:
If you are considering migrating your APL application to Dyalog, we can offer advice and support as well as putting you in contact with experienced migration consultants.
Differences when moving to Dyalog APL:
- A list of differences of some of the functionality that is included in Dyalog APL but is not present in all of the following four APL implementations: APL+Win, APL2, APLX, and GNU APL.
- The system function
⎕ML(the migration level, also known as evolution level or compatibility setting in other APL implementations) determines the level of compatibility of the Dyalog APL language to IBM's APL2 – changing this aid to migration from its default value (1) changes the behaviour of certain glyphs and language constructs.
- The APLX migration tools repository contains utilities and useful information for the migration of code from APLX to Dyalog. For more information, see the APLX Archive.
- The
]TRANSFER.Inuser command imports files in APL Transfer Format (.ATF) that are created by other APL implementations. See]In -?for more information.
- from APL2:
- Case study: APL2 Mainframe application to a Dyalog Microsoft Windows Server platform
- Case study: APL2 Mainframe to a Dyalog Microsoft Windows platform
- Video (Dyalog '22): Lift-Off from APL2 Mainframe to Dyalog in the Cloud
- Video (Dyalog '16): The Journey of an APL2 Bigot to Dyalog World
- from APL+Win:
- Video (DYNA Fall 2025): Lessons Learned when Converting from APL+Win to Dyalog APL
- Video (Dyalog '24): Migrating APL+Win Applications
- Video (Dyalog '24): Migrating to Dyalog from APL+Win: Workspace Transformation
- Video (Dyalog '23): Converting a COM Server to a Jarvis-based Web Service
Case Studies
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Gilgamesh Athoraya, Tiamatica at Dyalog ’22
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Veli-Matti Jantunen at Dyalog ’16
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Alex Holtzapple, METSIM International at DYNA Fall 2025
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Morten Kromberg and Karl Holt at Dyalog ’24
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Markos Mitsos, ERGO at Dyalog ’24
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Finn Flug, Dittrich & Partner Consulting at Dyalog ’23
