Tomorrow (24 September) is the 45th anniversary of the 1975 British Everest Expeditions successful ascent of the mountain. Last of the military-style Himalayan expeditions, it took the hardest route and put more climbers on the top, and faster, than any previous team. The logistics were planned with a computer model written in qs ancestor language, APL.
The program did no more than model state changes. It never generated movement orders as expedition leader Chris Bonington had hoped. Tomorrow a film screening celebrates the anniversary in aid of a charity in Nepal. In support I announce a programming competition to write the full 1975 expedition logistics model in q.
Not a climber myself, I heard about this anniversary only days ago. The prize pot most of it destined for the charity in Nepal is growing, and I am recruiting distinguished coders to judge the entries next year.
Please consider watching the film and entering the competition.
Stephen
Stephen Taylor | Librarian | Kx | +44 7713 400852 | stephen@kx.com