This tutorial is designed to introduce most of the table-handling capabilities of NewLeaf. Each topic includes both text and a number of code segments to explain and illustrate one feature. The topics are linked by a block of code that is designed to produce a report. Each topic concludes by adding a line or two to this code to incorporate the feature that has just been described. This way, you have the opportunity to observe the combined effects of the features at each point. As this block of code can exceed ten lines, it will be easier to edit if you manipulate the code in the form of a defined function.

While it may be sufficient merely to read through the tutorial topics, you are likely to arrive at a better understanding of NewLeaf if you work through the examples by typing the code segments or editing and running a function in the NewLeaf workspace loaded into an APL session. Such a hands-on approach also provides plenty of scope for experimentation; don’t be afraid to try values other than those used in the examples.

Note that all measurements are in points, where there are exactly 72 points to 1 inch, and approximately 28 to 1 centimetre.