Tutorial 4 ME by Jodell Bumatai (copyright)2001

Instant Tourist Guide to the FORTH Dimension

definition: "geakazoid... an oid which is an other derivative of a geek..."




Why FORTH? or Why Forth and Not C - a personal view?

Research Questions:

Interactive Media Questions:

1) Can FORTH be used to create Communication Tools within a Network of PCs?

2) Can FORTH be used to create a Network of PCs on the Internet?

3) Can FORTH be used for developing an Interactive Sound and Grapchics Network?

4) Can FORTH be used to design and develop Re-Usable Code for the Future Systems?

5) Can FORTH be used to co-design and develop in a collaborative environment?

6) Can Forth be used as an Operating System for the Intel x86 family easily?

Multasking Questions:

1) Can FORTH support multiple

programmers, designers, developers co-ordaintaing their private libraries

with shared libraries to co-create?

2) Can the Core Code be embedded and private libraries be added?   Embedded Programming

Research Journal:

  
  June 9, 2001 
  I started with the Help  files in WinView, then found Getting Started with Forth
  with short guide which is a good start point on downloading Win32Forth and using the 
  command console making an executable.
  The FORTH Source is a  source of educational software and hardware models for FORTH.  
  Here are  some interesting program sources and the Wong's Beginning ANSI FORTH Programs.  
   
  July 12, 2001 
  I found some libraries at the Scientific Forth Libraries .   

  I also tried
  the example to save a file as source code and execute it. I tried to
  execute the windemoa example and had the following error: 
  
  Current directory: C:\Program Files\WIN32FOR               
  Error: FILES\WIN32FOR is undefined                                       
                              
  Error: C:\PROGRAM.F file not found  I looked for a program.f file and
  found
  
  (July 30, 2001)The fix turned out to delete win32for folder and files
  and re-install directly to 
  
  C:/win32for also took the advice from Tom Zimmer to install the latest
  version at 
  
  ftp://pweb.netcom.com/users/zforth/ 
  
  none in the folder. I reinstalled win32foth and and still there was
  not a program.f file. I am seeking in the net.  However, I found an
  example of a text editor to start a simple project.
  
    
  July 14, 2001  
  According to Peter Knaggs, Forth: An underview, 
  
  "After a month or so of fulltime use,the programer could understand more
  of its internal working than ispissible with conventions of opertating
  systems and compilers."  
  
    
  Notes:  Forth Still Suits Embedded Applications , Tom Napier's article in
  Circuit Celller, says,
  
  "Forth act both as an interpreter and acompiler... Each new word is
  inherantently reusable program module.. You can write and compile the
  program on a PC using the PC's disk and editing facilities. then just
  download the program to the PROM, RAM,or EPROM in the target system."  
  
  
  July 17, 2001
  I wrote a page about My Computer History. I have a good feeling that FORTH 
  will be a language I will be using for projects I have been working on.  
  
  July 18, 2001
  I found The Nth Forth . It was suggested that I check out as an
  Operating System.  I also followed the suggestion to
  read Chuck Moore's web site about ColorForth. It is said to be bootable
  from floppy or CD. 
  
  July 19, 2001
  I ran the create.exe which automatically made my floppy into a bootable
  disk image. It was
  easy! I booted my AMD 750 and it worked fine. There is really only a
  command line but it works.  I
  will reboot to try out some of Leo Wong's Simple Forth Examples. 
  Starting from the simplest
  examples, these words came up on screen as "undefined":  
  
  ? see  
  
  
  July 27, 2001
  
  Using win32forth, winview  ( using the example from Running WinViewForth )
    if I type  
  
  fload c:\progra~1\win32for\windemoa.f  and I will get the appropriate
  
    result:  save complete  How do I change the WinView Editor to fload
  
    c:\progra~1\win32for\ automatically? (fix above)
  
  July 29, 2001
  
  I attended my first Silicon Valley Forth Interest Group: I met Chuck
  Moore (who gave out floppies of his bootable colorforth - tried it on
  more than a few machines and had not display. It may even have changed
  the resolution on my Sony VAIO since aftwards it booted into 16 colors)
  along with several other FORTH people. C.H. Ting PhD. Gave a
  presentation on sound compression using FORTH.
  
  Ken Morely loaned me his copy of Starting Forth, by Leo Brodie 1981,
  which I did the exercises in chapter 0 and 1 today. I realized that it
  would be fairly simple to define words for parsing HTML and XML (and
  VRML2 or X3d for serving web pages.
  
  I am adding this links to an Java applet demonstrating ANS: WebForth
  Forth so anyone can test a simple FORTH samples when not at home in
  front of your PC. This way, you can loggin from anywhere, while at a
  cafe, friend's house, work, and try some FORTH excercises... practice,
  practice practice...
  
  July 31, 2001
  
  The final fix for solving issue with not being able to 
    
  fload fload c:\progra~1\win32for\whatever.f
    
  was to uninstall c:\progra~1\win32for and
    
  reinstall the latest version at ftp://pweb.netcom.com/users/zforth/
  and install it to c:\win32for to avoid the need to write progra~1
    
  I am finally being able to fload my.f files!!! Whoopee!!!
    
  So far, I have tried out bigFORTH/MINOS/Theseus and I am finding I am
  more comfortable with the simple 3 Window Pane Style of Win32View with
  the win32 editor.
        
     
  Aug 13, 2001
    
  I ordered the Forth Application Technigues workbook from Forth, Inc. and 
  have been doing the excercises. Although, I am using a combo of Forth
  editors because the Swiftforth Demo is only on one machine. So, far, so 
  good.
        
  Although, Ken Morley has convinced me that I should plan on using 
  colorforth from Chuch Moore.
    
    
  Aug 14, 2001
    
  Alas, I ordered Swiftforth and await its arrival. However, to be honest I still 
  agree that there needs to be an Forth OS project. I listened to the Streaming Video 
  Fireside Talks and read Interviews with Chuck Moore and realize that the color is 
  used to point out the Interpret, Compile, and Execute definitions of a word, 
  I think that is what he means. I stand to be corrected. From what I heard 
  and read, it seems that colorforth is about simplying the words and some 
  definitions especially pertaining to IF ELSE THEN and DO LOOPS. He 
  also identified some coding issues which could be simplified.
 
  Here is a paper OS FORTH issues by the SVFIG. I guess   they already have an 
  evaluation of what FORTH needs for the 21st Century. 
    
 
  Maybe if the coding habits Chuck Moore suggested were implemented, I could even 
  aquire habits that could be used in colorforth? Hum... there are some ideas for
  changing IF ELSE THEN and DO LOOPS that might be also easy to code using
  even another FORTH like Swiftforth. I am planning on trying out some of the ideas
  and concepts he presented. I have put this out as a question on the c.l.f usenet.

  Aug 15, 2001
  
  I have been doing some research on Random Number Generators. It seems that there
  are issues about RNGs such as there is never a 100% random number generated. It
  is difficult to initialize the random number generator with a random seed number.
  This is problematic as the starting number has x combinations or permutations (I
  always get combinations and permutations confused) of y results. So, the same x
  seed number may have a specific statistical pattern of variations. Which, ulti-
  mately, means there is a predictability involved with the patterns of numbers which
  are generated. Thus the results are not purely random.
  
  Here is an article about why computers cannot be intuitive.
    
  Aug 17, 2001
        
  I am awaiting the UPS man to bring my Swiftorth to me today. Meanwhile, I am
  trying out some code samples that would replace 
        
      : X ( -- ) A IF B ELSE C THEN ;
    
  to emulate Chuck Moore's colorforth code which omits the ELSE in the IF ELSE THEN 
  statement. I am trying
    
    : X ( -- ) A IF B EXIT THEN C ; 
    
  Win32forth:
    
    see x

        : X     A
                IF      B _EXIT
                THEN    C ;  ok
    
    : X ( -- ) A IF B -; THEN X -;
    
    : X     A
                IF      B _EXIT
                THEN    C ;  ok
  
  My Swiftorth demo does not resolve either statement.
  From conversations on *c.l.f about colorforth and definitions, 
  it seems that Chuck Moore has "eliminated ELSE" and has 
  defined IF ELSE THEN with  IF ~~~ ; THEN 
     
  However some of the definitions are not easily replicatable as
  they depend upon the forth system's definitions. So, Chuck
  Moore has a new definition of a semicolon and can code
     
     IF ~~~ ; THEN
     
  This is not repeatable in another forth system without a 
  change in the forth system itself.
     
  There is a list of words Chuck Moore advocates to not
  use. I am checking into what list that might be and will be 
  adding and experimenting with it while using Swiftforth and
  Win32forth.
     
  The UPS man finally came and delivered my new Swiftforth CD!
    
  Aug 18, 
    
  I am at the SVFIG Meeting.
 
 Aug 19, 2001
 
 I met Gary Sprung at the SVFIG. He is an expert on Swiftforth and is consultant. He
 gave me some pointers on how to learn Win32API. There are samples with Swiftorth
 docs that I am trying out.
 
 I am still working on a Text Editor.  I will post some design comparisons soon.

 Aug 25, 2001

 I have been learning how to create a simple text editor, my first project:
 GOEdit.

 I have also been collecting examples of Text Editors designed with different
 languages along with some information about computertechnology.



  Oct 29, 2001

  I have been doing  very little Swiftforth but have been struggling through
  learning Windows Programming 95 samples - ouch.

  This last weekend SVFIG, enth was demonstrated by Dr. Ting. There is reason to
  believe that enth might be a working useable model for a practical bootable
  FORTH. There are some slight problems due to the author, Sean Pringle not
  understanding enough about blocks. Dr. Ting recommends that there would need a
  rewrite of the block segments.

  Enth also runs a colorforth shell called Flux. A few members of SVFIG who have
  been examining Enth are impressed with the mulitasking capabilities. Remeber,
  Enth loads from a 1.44 M flopyy.

  Enth comes with a metacompiler which can be edited with Win32forth or
  Swiftforth. If you are interested in Enth, please get on comp.lang.forth and
  ask some questions about how it works and how to use it.
	
 June 7, 2002
	
 Too many  projects, not enough time, energy, and money... Well, I  have been 
 learning Swiftforth for small in-house projects on Windows. We are now using
 Eserv for our LAN and Proxy Server because I wanted to learn  forthscripting.
	
 I am still learning about forthscripting and it so happens that our projects
 may involve the embedded forth. Although I was not at the last SVFIG, I got
 the message that there will be an embedded forth on a chip at AM Research Inc.
 
 I would like to point out the article "I Hate Forth". This is a humorous article 
 that must be an anti-productivity joke on the programmers of the world who love
 to sit in cubicles, drink lots of coffee, and be annoyed at dumb questions. If
 you really love coffee and donuts, you should become a member of the SVFIG, where
 you can drink all of the coffee and donuts and share your knowledge of forth
 with a group of forthers who do not have dumb questions, or answers.

 July 8, 2002
 
 It's now been over one year since I began learning FORTH: for this anniversary, I
 inherited back issues of the FORTH DIMENSION Magazine dating backwards to 1985!
 
 I now have my own Computer Museum of Software and 
 
 paraphernalia
       n : equipment consisting of miscellaneous articles needed for a
           particular operation or sport etc. 
			   
  Yes, programming is a Sport. When will it be picked up by the Olympics?
	If you think about it "Computers run the Olympics" - mulitmedia infomercials,
	record keeping, instant replays, security, vending machines at the coliseum.
	I have heard that even the athletes use Virtual Reality Simulators for their
	performance training.
 
 If you are a member of the Forth Fan Club, please feel free to contribute to
 ongoing events. You can always play with the code for free with the SVFIG
 WinEd Win32forth Editor & Compiler. (This project has recently been submitted to Sourceforge
 ... so keep checking for the updates.... )
*c.l.f. is used as abreviation for comp.lang.forth which you can do a search to find conversations that have references to some things that I am learning and mentioning.

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