Deciphering APL Character Set
If someone asks you what the only thing that differentiates APL from 99.9 percent of other programming languages is, answer without hesitation: it’s APL’s character set.
The APL founding fathers were of a solid mathematical background. They intended to create a programming language resembling familiar mathematical notation as much as possible. Ideally, the user could type a formula in an APL interpreter window and instantly execute it. That’s how APL ended up with 65 special characters (in addition to the familiar alphanumerics, spaces, and punctuation), including ⊖, ⍞, ⌹, a “thumbnail” (⍝), and even a grotesque overlay of O, Q/U, and T (the end of input—see Performing Input and Output):
The extended alphabet ...
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