Andrew (R.S Admin)
Okay, I've seen @djsundog and other talk about Forth a lot recently.
I know a little bit about forth, because of a book I read a long time ago, but that book was about programming in general, not about forth specifically.
If I understand correctly, the important thing about Forth is that it can be extended easily?
What else makes it interesting or neat? I missed the boat on this one, and I'd like to understand.
Charles Childers
@ajroach42 @djsundog I like Forth due it it being fundamentally simple (to implement, extend, and use), though becoming proficient with it requires a good deal of care and time.
In my case, I was able to learn enough to write small programs very quickly, but becoming comfortable enough to use it quickly and confidently took years.
For me, it was worth the time though, as I now have a language closely tailored to my thought processes, that I can (re)implement and change as my needs evolve.
DJ Sundog - from the toot-lab
@ajroach42 my flurry of flirtations with forth lately is mostly related to its flexibility. in my mind, forth is the sweet spot between assembler and higher-level languages. I can (or will be able to, once I've done it once or twice) bring up my forth on whatever hardware platform I decide to spend some time with and end up knowing more about the hardware, its assembler, and my forth when I'm done, and I'll have a springboard to play with OS concepts without being saddled to any OS.
DJ Sundog - from the toot-lab
@ajroach42 plus, I have mad respect for every forth hacker I run into, much like I end up having for every smalltalk hacker I run into, and I want to be more forthy. if I end my life as a weird mutt bouncing around forths and lips and smalltalks when everyone else is diving deep into q-sharps and c-quadruple-plusses I will still feel pretty happy about it. I might not be as productive, but I am more and more aware of how little productivity adds to my general happy tally ;)
bootjack
@ajroach42 @djsundog i'd really like to have a computing device that is not only open, but is also legible. linux et al involve massive complexity on multiple layers by disparate authors using different technologies. even with open source code, they resist comprehensive understanding.
FORTH, when seen as a discipline, provides a means of building a software environment directly on bare metal that is compact, personal, and consistent all the way down.
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