From Logistical Nightmare to Peace of Mind with Dyalog APL

The School Laser System with Near Field Communication (NFC) Registration and Alerts developed by Chris 'Ziggi' Paul, is a truly exciting system exclusively developed in Dyalog APL with an ASP web front end. We're absolutely delighted to give you an opportunity to read about what has been achieved with this application.

The story started when Sally and Chris Eaton took up the challenge under the Governments new scheme for the establishment of free schools in 2011. They had never imagined the rapid growth they would achieve in just 3 years. By 2014 Langley Hall Primary School Academy (LHPA) had grown from 182 pupils in one location at its inception, to 728 pupils aged 4 to 11 in two locations. The logistics for pupils having to be ferried around for various activities was simply staggering. The School also operates a pickup service in morning and drops children home after school. LHPA further serves lunch for all pupils, and must adhere to the Food Standards Agency rules and regulations on allergies, hence staff need to know each individual child’s allergies, intolerances and religious beliefs/strong dislikes, as well as appropriate medical action in case of an emergency. Add to this pre and after school clubs and LHPA was simply faced with a logistical nightmare This is why Sally spent some sleepless months, and then started to consider that a technology solution might be able to ease the administrative burden and give the staff peace of mind. Discussing the idea with Chris 'Ziggi' Paul, an expert Dyalog APL programmer, the idea for the Laser Learning with Near Field Communication (NFC) Solution quickly gained momentum.

You can read the full case study online here, or download it in PDF here.

You can see Ziggi's presentation (40 minutes), with live demo, at Dyalog '14 here.