A possible point of confusion: "I count at least 50 math symbols" wasn't in reference to APL, just my count of how many symbols are widely used in mathematics. Contrasting your claim that APL has "far more symbols than I've ever seen in my math degree". Agreed, most of APL's symbols are not found in mathematics.
I refer you again to Perlis, same paragraph: "It is true that BASIC and FORTRAN are easier to learn than APL, for example, a week versus a month. However, once mastered, APL fits the above requirements much better than either BASIC or FORTRAN or their successors ALGOL 60, PL/I and Pascal."
Comments
A possible point of confusion: "I count at least 50 math symbols" wasn't in reference to APL, just my count of how many symbols are widely used in mathematics. Contrasting your claim that APL has "far more symbols than I've ever seen in my math degree". Agreed, most of APL's symbols are not found in mathematics.
I refer you again to Perlis, same paragraph: "It is true that BASIC and FORTRAN are easier to learn than APL, for example, a week versus a month. However, once mastered, APL fits the above requirements much better than either BASIC or FORTRAN or their successors ALGOL 60, PL/I and Pascal."