45 KiB
RETRO FORTH
Background
Retro is a dialect of Forth. It builds on the barebones Rx core, expanding it into a flexible and useful language.
Over the years the language implementation has varied substantially. Retro began in 1998 as a 16-bit assembly implementation for x86 hardware, evolved into a 32-bit system with cmForth and ColorForth influences, and eventually started supporting mainstream OSes. Later it was rewritten for a small, portable virtual machine.
This is the twelfth generation of Retro. It targets a virtual machine (called Nga) and runs on a wide variety of host systems.
Namespaces
Various past releases have had different methods of dealing with the dictionary. I have settled on using a] single global dictionary, with a convention of using a short namespace prefix for grouping related words. This was inspired by Ron Aaron's 8th language.
The main namespaces are:
| namespace | words related to |
| ---------- | ------------------ |
| ASCII | ASCII Constants |
| array | arrays |
| c | characters |
| compile | compiler functions |
| d | dictionary headers |
| err | error handlers |
| n | numbers |
| s | strings |
| v | variables |
This makes it very easy to identify related words, especially across namespaces. E.g.,
c:put
c:to-upper
s:put
s:to-upper
Prefixes
Prefixes are an integral part of Retro. These are single symbol modifiers added to the start of a word which control how Retro processes the word.
The interpreter model is covered in Rx.md, but basically:
- Get a token (whitespace delimited string)
- Pass it to `interpret`
+ if the token starts with a known prefix then pass
it to the prefix handler
+ if the initial character is not a known prefix,
look it up
- if found, push the address ("xt") to the stack
and call the word's class handler
- if not found call `err:not-found`
- repeat as needed
This is different than the process in traditional Forth. A few observations:
- there are no parsing words
- numbers are handled using a prefix
- prefixes can be added or changed at any time
The basic prefixes are:
| prefix | used for |
| ------ | ---------------------- |
| : | starting a definition |
| & | obtaining pointers |
| ( | stack comments |
| ` | inlining bytecodes |
| ' | strings |
| # | numbers |
| $ | characters |
| @ | variable get |
| ! | variable set |
Naming and Style Conventions
- Names should start with their namespace (if appropriate)
- Word names should be lowercase
- Variable names should be Title case
- Constants should be UPPERCASE
- Names may not start with a prefix character
- Names returning a flag should end with a ?
- Words with an effect on the stack should have a stack comment
Code Begins
Memory Map
This assumes that the VM defines an image as being 524,288 cells. Nga implementations may provide varying amounts of memory, so the specific addresses will vary.
| RANGE | CONTAINS |
| --------------- | ---------------------------- |
| 0 - 1024 | rx kernel |
| 1025 - 1535 | token input buffer |
| 1536 + | start of heap space |
| ............... | free memory for your use |
| 506879 | buffer for string evaluate |
| 507904 | temporary strings (32 * 512) |
| 524287 | end of memory |
I provide a word, EOM, which returns the last addressable
location. This will be used by the words in the s: namespace
to allocate the temporary string buffers at the end of memory.
:EOM (-n) #-3 fetch ;
Stack Depth
depth returns the number of items on the data stack. This is
provided by the VM upon reading from address -1.
:depth (-n) #-1 fetch ;
Stack Comments
Stack comments are terse notes that indicate the stack effects of words. While not required, it's helpful to include these.
They take a form like:
(takes-returns)
I use a single character for each input and output item. These will often (though perhaps not always) be:
n, m, x, y number
a, p pointer
q quotation (pointer)
d dictionary header (pointer)
s string
c character (ASCII)
Dictionary Shortcuts
I define a few words in the d: namespace to make it easier
to operate on the most recent header in the dictionary. These
return the values in specific fields of the header.
:d:last (-d) &Dictionary fetch ;
:d:last<xt> (-a) d:last d:xt fetch ;
:d:last<class> (-a) d:last d:class fetch ;
:d:last<name> (-s) d:last d:name ;
Changing A Word's Class Handler
I implement reclass to change the class of the most recent
word.
:reclass (a-) d:last d:class store ;
With this I can then define immediate (for state-smart words)
and data to tag data words.
:immediate (-) &class:macro reclass ;
:data (-) &class:data reclass ;
:primitive (-) &class:primitive reclass ;
Optimizations & Compiler Extensions
I have a compile namespace for some low level words that
compile specific Nga bytecode. This is intended to aid in
readability when constructing compiler extensions.
:compile:lit (a-) #1 , , ;
:compile:jump (a-) #1793 , , ;
:compile:call (a-) #2049 , , ;
:compile:ret (-) #10 , ;
The compiler state is stored in a value named Compiler. I
have an accessor word that aids in readability.
:compiling? (-f) &Compiler fetch ;
It's sometimes useful to inline values directly. I use a backtick prefix for this.
:prefix:` (s-)
s:to-number , ; immediate
It's traditional to have a word named here which returns the
next free address in memory.
:here (-a)
&Heap fetch ;
Variables
The next two are additional prefixes to make working with variables a bit less painful. By default you have to do things like:
&Name fetch #10 * &Name store
Or using combinators:
&Name [ fetch #10 * ] sip store
With the @ and ! prefixes this can become:
@Name #10 * !Name
When compiling, these will generate packed Nga instructions corresponding to:
lit + fetch + nop + nop 'life.... #3841
lit + store + nop + nop 'list.... #4097
:prefix:@ (s-n)
d:lookup d:xt fetch
compiling? [ (life....) #3841 , , ]
[ fetch ] choose ; immediate
:prefix:! (s-n)
d:lookup d:xt fetch
compiling? [ (list....) #4097 , , ]
[ store ] choose ; immediate
The next few words aren't actually useful until the s:
namespace is defined. With strings and the ' prefix they
allow creation of variables and constants.
| To create a | Use a form like |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Variable | `'Base var` |
| Variable, with initial value | `#10 'Base var<n>` |
| Constant | `#-1 'TRUE const` |
The lower level kernel provides d:add-header to make a new
header. This is a bit ugly to use as most of the time I don't
need all of the flexibility it provides. Here I add a word to
create a new header pointing to here. This is then used to
build other data structures without invoking the : compiler.
:d:create (s-)
(s-) &class:data #0 d:add-header
here d:last d:xt store ;
And then the others are trivial.
:var (s-) d:create #0 , ;
:var<n> (ns-) d:create , ;
:const (ns-) d:create d:last d:xt store ;
The const word is an example of using the dictionary and word
classes to do some optimization.It creates a header, with a
class of class:data, then sets the execution pointer to the
desired value. Since the data class either leaves the word
pointer on the stack or compiles it as a literal into a
definition, this allows constants to exist as just a header
with no extra runtime code.
Stack Shufflers
The core Rx language provides a few basic stack shuffling
words: push, pop, drop, swap, and dup. There are
quite a few more that are useful. Some of these are provided
here.
Most of these are implemented as raw bytecodes which can be inlined when used in definitions. The high level definitions are:
:tuck (xy-yxy) dup push swap pop ;
:over (xy-xyx) push dup pop swap ;
:nip (xy-y) swap drop ;
:drop-pair (nn-) drop drop ;
And the low level forms:
:tuck (xy-yxy) `100926722 ; primitive
:over (xy-xyx) `67502597 ; primitive
:nip (xy-y) `772 ; primitive
:drop-pair (nn-) `771 ; primitive
:?dup (n-nn|n-n) `6402 ; primitive
:dup-pair (xy-xyxy) over over ;
Combinators
Retro makes use of anonymous functions called quotations for much of the execution flow and stack control. The words that operate on these quotations are called combinators.
Combinators are a major part of using Retro. They help in reducing the use of lower level shuffling and allow for a greater overall consistency in the syntax. I also find them to help in reducing visual noise.
Combinators: Data
dip executes a quotation after moving a value off the stack.
The value is restored after execution completes. These are
equivilent:
#10 #12 [ #3 - ] dip
#10 #12 push #3 - pop
:dip (nq-n) swap push call pop ;
sip is similar to dip, but leaves a copy of the value on the
stack while the quotation is executed. These are equivilent:
#10 [ #3 * ] sip
#10 dup push #3 * pop
:sip (nq-n) push dup pop swap &call dip ;
Apply each quote to a copy of x.
:bi (xqq-) &sip dip call ;
Apply q1 to x and q2 to y.
:bi* (xyqq-) &dip dip call ;
Apply q to x and y.
:bi@ (xyq-) dup bi* ;
Apply each quote to a copy of x.
:tri (xqqq-) [ &sip dip sip ] dip call ;
Apply q1 to x, q2 to y, and q3 to z.
:tri* (xyzqqq-) [ [ swap &dip dip ] dip dip ] dip call ;
Apply q to x, y, and z.
:tri@ dup dup tri* ;
Combinators: Control
Execute quote until quote returns a flag of 0.
:while (q-)
[ repeat dup dip swap 0; drop again ] call drop ;
Execute quote until quote returns a non-zero flag.
:until (q-)
[ repeat dup dip swap #-1 xor 0; drop again ] call drop ;
The times combinator runs a quote (n) times.
:times (nq-)
swap [ repeat 0; #1 - push &call sip pop again ] call drop ;
case is a conditional combinator. It's actually pretty
useful. What it does is compare a value on the stack to a
specific value. If the values are identical, it discards the
value and calls a quote before exiting the word. Otherwise
it leaves the stack alone and allows execution to continue.
Example:
:c:vowel?
$a [ TRUE ] case
$e [ TRUE ] case
$i [ TRUE ] case
$o [ TRUE ] case
$u [ TRUE ] case
drop FALSE ;
:case
[ over eq? ] dip swap
[ nip call #-1 ] [ drop #0 ] choose 0; pop drop drop ;
:s:case
[ over s:eq? ] dip swap
[ nip call #-1 ] [ drop #0 ] choose 0; pop drop drop ;
A Shortcut
:prefix:|
d:lookup [ d:xt fetch ] [ d:class fetch ] bi
compiling? [ [ class:data ] dip compile:call ]
[ call ] choose ; immediate
Conditionals
Taking a break from combinators for a bit, I turn to some words for comparing things. First, constants for TRUE and FALSE.
Due to the way the conditional execution works, only these values can be used. This is different than in a traditional Forth, where non-zero values are true.
:TRUE (-n) #-1 ;
:FALSE (-n) #0 ;
The basic Rx kernel doesn't provide two useful forms which I'll provide here.
:lteq? (nn-f) dup-pair eq? [ lt? ] dip or ;
:gteq? (nn-f) dup-pair eq? [ gt? ] dip or ;
:if; (qf-) over [ if ] dip 0; pop drop-pair ;
:-if; (qf-) over [ -if ] dip #-1 xor 0; pop drop-pair ;
And then some numeric comparators.
:n:MAX (-n) #2147483647 ;
:n:MIN (-n) #-2147483648 ;
:n:zero? (n-f) #0 eq? ;
:n:-zero? (n-f) #0 -eq? ;
:n:negative? (n-f) #0 lt? ;
:n:positive? (n-f) #-1 gt? ;
:n:strictly-positive? (n-f) #0 gt? ;
:n:even? (n-f) #2 /mod drop n:zero? ;
:n:odd? (n-f) #2 /mod drop n:-zero? ;
More Stack Shufflers.
rot rotates the top three values.
High level:
:rot (abc-bca) [ swap ] dip swap ;
And low level, for inlining:
:rot (abc-bca) `67503109 ; primitive
Numeric Operations
The core Rx language provides addition, subtraction, multiplication, and a combined division/remainder. Retro expands on this.
I implement the division and remainder as low level words so they can be inlined. Here's the high level forms:
:/ (nq-d) /mod nip ;
:mod (nq-r) /mod drop ;
:/ (nq-d) `197652 ; primitive
:mod (nq-r) `788 ; primitive
:not (n-n) #-1 xor ;
:n:pow (bp-n) #1 swap [ over * ] times nip ;
:n:negate (n-n) #-1 * ;
:n:square (n-n) dup * ;
:n:sqrt (n-n)
#1 [ repeat dup-pair / over - #2 / 0; + again ] call nip ;
:n:min (nn-n) dup-pair lt? [ drop ] [ nip ] choose ;
:n:max (nn-n) dup-pair gt? [ drop ] [ nip ] choose ;
:n:abs (n-n) dup n:negate n:max ;
:n:limit (nlu-n) swap push n:min pop n:max ;
:n:inc (n-n) #1 + ;
:n:dec (n-n) #1 - ;
:n:between? (nul-) rot [ rot rot n:limit ] sip eq? ;
Some of the above, like n:inc, are useful with variables. But
it's messy to execute sequences like:
@foo n:inc !foo
The v: namespace provides words which simplify the overall
handling of variables. With this, the above can become simply:
&foo v:inc
:v:inc-by (na-) [ fetch + ] sip store ;
:v:dec-by (na-) [ fetch swap - ] sip store ;
:v:inc (n-n) #1 swap v:inc-by ;
:v:dec (n-n) #1 swap v:dec-by ;
:v:limit (alu-)
push push dup fetch pop pop n:limit swap store ;
:v:on (a-) TRUE swap store ;
:v:off (a-) FALSE swap store ;
:allot (n-) &Heap v:inc-by ;
v:preserve is a combinator that executes a quotation while
preserving the contents of a variable.
E.g., instead of:
@Base [ #16 !Base ... ] dip !Base
You can do:
&Base [ #16 !Base ... ] v:preserve
This is primarily to aid in readability. I find it to be helpful when revisiting older code as it makes the intent a bit clearer.
:v:preserve (aq-)
swap dup fetch [ [ call ] dip ] dip swap store ;
If you need to update a stored variable there are two typical forms:
#1 'Next var<n>
@Next #10 * !Next
Or:
#1 'Next var<n>
&Next [ fetch #10 * ] sip store
v:update-using replaces this with:
#1 'Next var<n>
&Next [ #10 * ] v:update-using
It takes care of preserving the variable address, fetching the stored value, and updating with the resulting value.
:v:update-using (aq-) swap [ fetch swap call ] sip store ;
I have a simple word copy which copies memory to another
location.
:copy (aan-) [ &fetch-next dip store-next ] times drop drop ;
Lexical Scope
Now for something tricky: a system for lexical scoping.
The dictionary is a simple linked list. Retro allows for some
control over what is visible using the {{, ---reveal---,
and }} words.
As an example:
{{
:increment dup fetch n:inc swap store ;
:Value `0 ; data
---reveal---
:next-number @Value &Value increment ;
}}
Only the next-number function will remain visible once }}
is executed.
It's important to note that this only provides a lexical
scope. Any variables are global (though the names may be
hidden), so use v:preserve if you need reentrancy.
:ScopeList `0 `0 ;
:{{ (-)
d:last dup &ScopeList store-next store ;
:---reveal--- (-)
d:last &ScopeList n:inc store ;
:}} (-)
&ScopeList fetch-next swap fetch eq?
[ @ScopeList !Dictionary ]
[ @ScopeList
[ &Dictionary repeat
fetch dup fetch &ScopeList n:inc fetch -eq? 0; drop
again ] call store ] choose ;
Linear Buffers
A buffer is a linear memory buffer. Retro provides a buffer:
namespace for working with them.
This is something I've used for years. It's simple, but makes it easy to construct strings (as it writes a trailing ASCII null) and other simple structures.
| word | used for |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| buffer:start | return the first address in the buffer |
| buffer:end | return the last address in the buffer |
| buffer:add | add a value to the end of the buffer |
| buffer:get | remove & return the last value |
| buffer:empty | remove all values from the buffer |
| buffer:size | return the number of stored values |
| buffer:set | set an address as the start of the |
| | buffer |
| buffer:preserve | preserve the current buffer pointers & |
| | execute a quotation that may set a new |
| | buffer. restores the saved pointers |
| | when done |
{{
:Buffer `0 ; data
:Ptr `0 ; data
:terminate (-) #0 @Ptr store ;
---reveal---
:buffer:start (-a) @Buffer ;
:buffer:end (-a) @Ptr ;
:buffer:add (c-) buffer:end store &Ptr v:inc terminate ;
:buffer:get (-c) &Ptr v:dec buffer:end fetch terminate ;
:buffer:empty (-) buffer:start !Ptr terminate ;
:buffer:size (-n) buffer:end buffer:start - ;
:buffer:set (a-) !Buffer buffer:empty ;
:buffer:preserve (q-)
@Buffer @Ptr [ [ call ] dip !Buffer ] dip !Ptr ;
}}
Strings
Traditional Forth systems have a messy mix of strings. You have counted strings, address/length pairs, and sometimes other forms.
Retro uses zero terminated strings. Counted strings are better in many ways, but I've used these for years and they are a workable approach. (Though caution in needed to avoid buffer overflow).
Temporary strings are allocated in a circular pool (STRINGS).
This space can be altered as needed by adjusting these
variables.
:TempStrings ; data #32 !TempStrings
:TempStringMax ; data #512 !TempStringMax
:STRINGS EOM @TempStrings @TempStringMax * - ;
{{
:Current `0 ; data
:s:pointer (-p) @Current @TempStringMax * STRINGS + ;
:s:next (-)
&Current v:inc
@Current @TempStrings eq? [ #0 !Current ] if ;
---reveal---
:s:temp (s-s) dup s:length n:inc s:pointer swap copy
s:pointer s:next ;
:s:empty (-s) s:pointer s:next #0 over store ;
}}
Permanent strings are compiled into memory. To skip over them a helper function is used. When compiled into a definition this will look like:
i lica....
r s:skip
d 98
d 99
d 100
d 0
It'd be faster to compile a jump over the string instead. I use this approach as it makes it simpler to identify strings when debugging.
s:skip is the helper function which adjusts the Nga instruction
pointer to skip to the code following the stored string.
:s:skip (-)
pop [ fetch-next n:-zero? ] while n:dec push ;
:s:keep (s-s)
compiling? [ &s:skip compile:call ] if
here [ s, ] dip class:data ;
And now a quick ' prefix. (This will be replaced later). What
this does is either move the string token to the temporary
buffer or compile it into the current definition.
This doesn't support spaces. I use underscores instead. E.g.,
'Hello_World!
Later in the code I'll add a better implementation which can handle conversion of _ into spaces.
:prefix:' compiling? [ s:keep ] [ s:temp ] choose ; immediate
s:chop removes the last character from a string.
:s:chop (s-s) s:temp dup s:length over + n:dec #0 swap store ;
s:reverse reverses the order of a string. E.g.,
'hello -> 'olleh
:s:reverse (s-s)
[ dup s:temp buffer:set &s:length [ dup s:length + n:dec ] bi swap
[ dup fetch buffer:add n:dec ] times drop buffer:start s:temp ]
buffer:preserve ;
Trimming removes leading (s:trim-left) or trailing
(s:trim-right) spaces from a string. s:trim removes
both leading and trailing spaces.
:s:trim-left (s-s)
s:temp [ fetch-next [ #32 eq? ] [ n:-zero? ] bi and ] while
n:dec ;
:s:trim-right (s-s) s:temp s:reverse s:trim-left s:reverse ;
:s:trim (s-s) s:trim-right s:trim-left ;
s:prepend and s:append for concatenating strings together.
:s:prepend (ss-s)
s:temp [ dup s:length + [ dup s:length n:inc ] dip swap copy ] sip ;
:s:append (ss-s) swap s:prepend ;
s:for-each executes a quote once for each cell in string. It is
a key part of building the other high-level string operations.
:s:for-each (sq-)
[ repeat
over fetch 0; drop
dup-pair
[ [ &fetch dip call ] dip ] dip
[ n:inc ] dip
again
] call drop-pair ;
Building on s:for-each, I am able to implement s:index-of, which
finds the first instance of a character in a string.
:s:index-of (sc-n)
swap [ repeat
fetch-next 0; swap
[ over -eq? ] dip
swap 0; drop
again
] sip
[ - n:dec nip ] sip
s:length over eq? [ drop #-1 ] if ;
s:contains-char? returns a flag indicating whether or not a
given character is in a string.
:s:contains-char? (sc-f) s:index-of #-1 -eq? ;
s:contains-string? returns a flag indicating whether or not
a given substring is in a string.
{{
'Src var
'Tar var
'Pad var
'I var
'F var
'At var
:terminate (-)
#0 @Pad @Tar s:length + store ;
:extract (-)
@Src @I + @Pad @Tar s:length copy ;
:compare (-)
@Pad @Tar s:eq? @F or !F @F [ @I !At ] -if ;
:next (-)
&I v:inc ;
---reveal---
:s:contains-string? (ss-f)
!Tar !Src s:empty !Pad #0 !I #0 !F
@Src s:length
[ extract terminate compare next ] times
@F ;
:s:index-of-string (ss-a)
!Tar !Src s:empty !Pad #0 !I #0 !F #-1 !At
@Src s:length
[ extract terminate compare next ] times
@F [ @At ] [ #-1 ] choose ;
}}
s:filter returns a new string, consisting of the characters
from another string that are filtered by a quotation.
'This_is_a_test [ c:-vowel? ] s:filter
:s:filter (sq-s)
[ s:empty buffer:set swap
[ dup-pair swap call
[ buffer:add ]
[ drop ] choose
] s:for-each drop buffer:start
] buffer:preserve ;
s:map Return a new string resulting from applying a quotation
to each character in a source string.
'This_is_a_test [ $_ [ ASCII:SPACE ] case ] s:map
:s:map (sq-s)
[ s:empty buffer:set swap
[ over call buffer:add ]
s:for-each drop buffer:start
] buffer:preserve ;
s:substr returns a subset of a string. Provide it with a
string, a starting offset, and a length.
:s:substr (sfl-s)
[ + s:empty ] dip [ over [ copy ] dip ] sip
over [ + #0 swap store ] dip ;
s:right and s:left are similar to s:substr, but operate
from fixed ends of the string.
:s:right (sn-s) over s:length over - swap s:substr ;
:s:left (sn-s) #0 swap s:substr ;
Hash (using DJB2)
I use the djb2 hash algorithm for computing hashes from strings. There are better hashes out there, but this is pretty simple and works well for my needs. This was based on an implementation at http://www.cse.yorku.ca/~oz/hash.html
:s:hash (s-n) #5381 swap [ swap #33 * + ] s:for-each ;
Copy a string, including the terminator.
:s:copy (ss-) over s:length n:inc copy ;
RETRO provides string constants for several ranges of characters that are of some general interest.
:s:DIGITS (-s) '0123456789 ;
:s:ASCII-LOWERCASE (-s) 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ;
:s:ASCII-UPPERCASE (-s) 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ;
:s:ASCII-LETTERS (-s)
'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ;
:s:PUNCTUATION (-s)
'_!"#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\]^`{|}~ $_ over store ;
's:WHITESPACE d:create
#32, #9 , #10 , #13 , #0 ,
ASCII Constants
Not all characters can be obtained via the $ prefix. ASCII has
many characters that aren't really intended to be printable.
Retro has an ASCII namespace providing symbolic names for
these.
#0 'ASCII:NUL const #1 'ASCII:SOH const
#2 'ASCII:STX const #3 'ASCII:ETX const
#4 'ASCII:EOT const #5 'ASCII:ENQ const
#6 'ASCII:ACK const #7 'ASCII:BEL const
#8 'ASCII:BS const #9 'ASCII:HT const
#10 'ASCII:LF const #11 'ASCII:VT const
#12 'ASCII:FF const #13 'ASCII:CR const
#14 'ASCII:SO const #15 'ASCII:SI const
#16 'ASCII:DLE const #17 'ASCII:DC1 const
#18 'ASCII:DC2 const #19 'ASCII:DC3 const
#20 'ASCII:DC4 const #21 'ASCII:NAK const
#22 'ASCII:SYN const #23 'ASCII:ETB const
#24 'ASCII:CAN const #25 'ASCII:EM const
#26 'ASCII:SUB const #27 'ASCII:ESC const
#28 'ASCII:FS const #29 'ASCII:GS const
#30 'ASCII:RS const #31 'ASCII:US const
#32 'ASCII:SPACE const #127 'ASCII:DEL const
These words operate on character values. Retro currently deals with ASCII, though cells are 32 bits in length, so Unicode values can be stored.
First are a bunch of words to help identify character values.
:c:letter? (c-f) $A $z n:between? ;
:c:lowercase? (c-f) $a $z n:between? ;
:c:uppercase? (c-f) $A $Z n:between? ;
:c:digit? (c-f) $0 $9 n:between? ;
:c:visible? (c-f) #31 #126 n:between? ;
:c:vowel? (c-f) 'aeiouAEIOU swap s:contains-char? ;
:c:consonant? (c-f)
dup c:letter? [ c:vowel? not ] [ drop FALSE ] choose ;
{{
'WS d:create
ASCII:SPACE , ASCII:HT , ASCII:LF , ASCII:CR , #0 ,
---reveal---
:c:whitespace? (c-f) &WS swap s:contains-char? ;
}}
And the inverse forms. (These are included for readability and orthiginal completion).
:c:-lowercase? (c-f) c:lowercase? not ;
:c:-uppercase? (c-f) c:uppercase? not ;
:c:-digit? (c-f) c:digit? not ;
:c:-whitespace? (c-f) c:whitespace? not ;
:c:-visible? (c-f) c:visible? not ;
:c:-vowel? (c-f) c:vowel? not ;
:c:-consonant? (c-f) c:consonant? not ;
The next few words perform simple transformations.
:c:to-upper (c-c) dup c:lowercase? 0; drop ASCII:SPACE - ;
:c:to-lower (c-c) dup c:uppercase? 0; drop ASCII:SPACE + ;
:c:to-string (c-s) '. s:temp [ store ] sip ;
:c:toggle-case (c-c)
dup c:lowercase? [ c:to-upper ] [ c:to-lower ] choose ;
:c:to-number (c-n)
dup c:digit? [ $0 - ] [ drop #0 ] choose ;
Back to Strings
With the character transformations a few more string words are possible.
:s:to-upper (s-s) [ c:to-upper ] s:map ;
:s:to-lower (s-s) [ c:to-lower ] s:map ;
Convert a decimal (base 10) number to a string.
{{
'Value var
:correct (c-c)
dup $0 lt? [ $0 over - #2 * + ] if ;
---reveal---
:n:to-string (n-s)
[ here buffer:set dup !Value n:abs
[ #10 /mod swap $0 + correct buffer:add dup n:-zero? ] while drop
@Value n:negative? [ $- buffer:add ] if
buffer:start s:reverse s:temp ] buffer:preserve ;
}}
Now replace the old prefix:' with this one that can optionally turn underscores into spaces.
TRUE 'RewriteUnderscores var<n>
{{
:sub (c-c) $_ [ ASCII:SPACE ] case ;
:rewrite (s-s)
@RewriteUnderscores [ &sub s:map ] if ;
:handle &prefix:' call ;
---reveal---
:prefix:' rewrite handle ; immediate
:prefix:" rewrite s:keep ; immediate
}}
The s:split splits a string on the first instance of a given
character. Results are undefined if the character can not be
located.
:s:split (sc-ss)
dup-pair s:index-of nip dup-pair s:left [ + ] dip ;
:s:split-on-string (ss-ss)
dup-pair s:index-of-string n:inc nip dup-pair s:left [ + ] dip ;
:s:replace (sss-s)
over s:length here store
[ s:split-on-string swap here fetch + ] dip s:prepend s:append ;
s:tokenize takes a string and a character to use as a
separator. It splits the string into a set of substrings and
returns a set containing pointers to each of them.
{{
'Split-On var
:match? (c-f) @Split-On eq? ;
:terminate (s-s) #0 over n:dec store ;
:step (ss-s)
[ n:inc ] dip match? [ dup , terminate ] if ;
---reveal---
:s:tokenize (sc-a)
!Split-On s:keep
here #0 , [ dup , dup [ step ] s:for-each drop ] dip
here over - n:dec over store ;
}}
s:tokenize-on-string is like s:tokenize, but for strings.
{{
'Tokens var
'Needle var
:-match? (s-sf)
dup @Needle s:contains-string? ;
:save-token (s-s)
@Needle s:split-on-string s:keep buffer:add n:inc ;
:tokens-to-set (-a)
here @Tokens buffer:size dup , [ fetch-next , ] times drop ;
---reveal---
:s:tokenize-on-string (ss-a)
[ s:keep !Needle here #8192 + !Tokens
@Tokens buffer:set
[ repeat -match? 0; drop save-token again ] call
s:keep buffer:add tokens-to-set ] buffer:preserve ;
}}
Use s:format to construct a string from multiple items. This
can be illustrated with:
#4 #6 #10 '%n-%n=%n\n s:format
The format language is simple:
| \r | Replace with a CR |
| \n | Replace with a LF |
| \t | Replace with a TAB |
| \\ | Replace with a single \ |
| \ | Replace with an underscore (_) |
| \0 | Replace with NUL |
| %c | Replace with a character on the stack |
| %s | Replace with a string on the stack |
| %n | Replace with the next number on the stack |
{{
:char (c-)
ASCII:SPACE [ $_ buffer:add ] case
$r [ ASCII:CR buffer:add ] case
$n [ ASCII:LF buffer:add ] case
$t [ ASCII:HT buffer:add ] case
$0 [ ASCII:NUL buffer:add ] case
buffer:add ;
:string (a-a)
repeat fetch-next 0; buffer:add again ;
:type (aac-)
$c [ swap buffer:add ] case
$s [ swap string drop ] case
$n [ swap n:to-string string drop ] case
drop ;
:handle (ac-a)
$\ [ fetch-next char ] case
$% [ fetch-next type ] case
buffer:add ;
---reveal---
:s:format (...s-s)
[ s:empty [ buffer:set
[ repeat fetch-next 0; handle again ]
call drop ] sip ] buffer:preserve ;
}}
:s:const (ss-) [ s:keep ] dip const ;
The Ultimate Stack Shuffler
Ok, This is a bit of a hack, but very useful at times.
Assume you have a bunch of values:
#3 #1 #2 #5
And you want to reorder them into something new:
#1 #3 #5 #5 #2 #1
Rather than using a lot of shufflers, reorder simplfies this
into:
#3 #1 #2 #5
'abcd 'baddcb reorder
{{
'Values var #27 allot
:from s:length dup [ [ &Values + store ] sip n:dec ] times drop ;
:to dup s:length [ fetch-next $a - n:inc &Values + fetch swap ] times drop ;
---reveal---
:reorder (...ss-?) [ from ] dip to ;
}}
Extending The Language
does is intended to be paired with d:create to attach an
action to a newly created data structure. An example use might
be something like:
:constant (ns-) d:create , [ fetch ] does ;
In a traditional Forth this is similar in spirit to DOES>.
:curry (vp-p)
here [ swap compile:lit compile:call compile:ret ] dip ;
:does (q-)
d:last<xt> swap curry d:last d:xt store &class:word reclass ;
d:for-each is a combinator which runs a quote once for each
header in the dictionary. A pointer to each header will be
passed to the quote as it is run.
This can be used for implementing words:
[ d:name s:put sp ] d:for-each
Or finding the length of the longest name in the dictionary:
#0 [ d:name s:length n:max ] d:for-each
It's a handy combinator that lets me quickly walk though the entire dictionary in a very clean manner.
:d:for-each (q-)
&Dictionary [ repeat fetch 0;
dup-pair [ [ swap call ] dip ] dip again ] call drop ;
Using d:for-each, I implement a means of looking up a
dictionary header by the d:xt field.
:d:lookup-xt (a-d)
#0 swap [ dup-pair d:xt fetch eq?
[ swap &nip dip ] &drop choose ] d:for-each drop ;
Arrays
Retro provides words for statically sized arrays. They are represented in memory as:
count
data #1 (first)
...
data #n (last)
Since the count comes first, a simple fetch will suffice to
get it, but for completeness (and to allow for future changes),
we wrap this as array:length:
:array:length (a-n) fetch ;
The first couple of words are used to create arrays. The first,
array:counted-results executes a quote which returns values
and a count. It then creates an array with the provided data.
:array:counted-results (q-a)
call here [ dup , &, times ] dip ;
The second, array:from-string, creates a new string with the
characters in given a string.
:array:from-string (s-a)
here [ dup s:length , [ , ] s:for-each ] dip ;
A very crucial piece is array:for-each. This runs a quote once
against each value in an array. This is leveraged to implement
additional combinators.
{{
'Q var
---reveal---
:array:for-each (aq-)
&Q [ !Q fetch-next
[ fetch-next swap [ @Q call ] dip ] times drop
] v:preserve ;
}}
With this I can easily define array:dup to make a copy of an
array.
:array:dup (a-a)
here [ dup fetch , [ , ] array:for-each ] dip ;
Next is array:filter, which is extracts matching values from
an array. This is used like:
{ #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 }
[ n:even? ] array:filter
It returns a new array with the values that the quote returned
a TRUE flag for.
:array:filter (aq-)
[ over [ call ] dip swap [ , ] [ drop ] choose ] curry
here [ over fetch , array:for-each ] dip
here over - n:dec over store ;
Next are array:contains? and array:contains-string? which
compare a given value to each item in the array and returns
a flag.
{{
'F var
---reveal---
:array:contains? (na-f)
&F v:off
[ over eq? @F or !F ] array:for-each
drop @F ;
:array:contains-string? (sa-f)
&F v:off
[ over s:eq? @F or !F ] array:for-each
drop @F ;
}}
I implemented array:map to apply a quotation to each item in
an array and construct a new array from the returned values.
Example:
{ #1 #2 #3 }
[ #10 * ] array:map
:array:map (aq-a)
[ call , ] curry
here [ over fetch , array:for-each ] dip ;
You can use array:reverse to make a copy of an array with the
values reversed.
:array:reverse (a-a)
here [ fetch-next [ + n:dec ] sip dup ,
[ dup fetch , n:dec ] times drop
] dip ;
array:nth provides a quick means of adjusting an array and
offset into an address for use with fetch and store.
:array:nth (an-a)
+ n:inc ;
array:reduce takes an array, a starting value, and a quote. It
executes the quote once for each item in the array, passing the
item and the value to the quote. The quote should consume both
and return a new value.
:array:reduce (pnp-n)
[ swap ] dip array:for-each ;
When making an array, I often want the values in the original
order. The array:counted-results array:reverse is a bit long, so
I'm defining a new array:make which wraps these.
:array:make (q-a)
array:counted-results array:reverse ;
:{ (-) |[ |depth |[ ; immediate
:} (-a) |] |dip |depth |swap |- |n:dec |] |array:make ; immediate
Muri: an assembler
Muri is my minimalist assembler for Nga. This is an attempt to implement something similar in Retro.
This requires some knowledge of the Nga architecture to be useful. The major elements are:
Instruction Set
Nga has 27 instructions. These are:
0 nop 7 jump 14 gt 21 and
1 lit <v> 8 call 15 fetch 22 or
2 dup 9 ccall 16 store 23 xor
3 drop 10 return 17 add 24 shift
4 swap 11 eq 18 sub 25 zret
5 push 12 neq 19 mul 26 end
6 pop 13 lt 20 divmod
The mnemonics allow for each name to be reduced to just two characters. In the same order as above:
no ju gt an
li ca fe or
du cc st xo
dr re ad sh
sw eq su zr
pu ne mu en
po lt di
Up to four instructions can be packed into a single memory location. (You can only use nop after a jump, call, ccall, ret, or zret as these alter the instruction pointer.)
So a bundled sequence like:
lit 100
lit 200
add
ret
Would look like:
'liliadre i
100 d
200 d
And:
lit s:eq?
call
Would become:
'lica.... i
's:eq? r
Note the use of .. instead of no for the nop's; this is
done to improve readability a little.
Instruction bundles are specified as strings, and are converted
to actual instructions by the i word. As in the standard Muri
assembler, the RETRO version uses d for decimal values and r
for references to named functions.
This is kept in the global namespace, but several portions are kept private.
{{
I allocate a small buffer for each portion of an instruction bundle.
'I0 d:create #3 allot
'I1 d:create #3 allot
'I2 d:create #3 allot
'I3 d:create #3 allot
The opcode word maps a two character instruction to an opcode
number.
:opcode (s-n)
'.. [ #0 ] s:case 'li [ #1 ] s:case
'du [ #2 ] s:case 'dr [ #3 ] s:case
'sw [ #4 ] s:case 'pu [ #5 ] s:case
'po [ #6 ] s:case 'ju [ #7 ] s:case
'ca [ #8 ] s:case 'cc [ #9 ] s:case
're [ #10 ] s:case 'eq [ #11 ] s:case
'ne [ #12 ] s:case 'lt [ #13 ] s:case
'gt [ #14 ] s:case 'fe [ #15 ] s:case
'st [ #16 ] s:case 'ad [ #17 ] s:case
'su [ #18 ] s:case 'mu [ #19 ] s:case
'di [ #20 ] s:case 'an [ #21 ] s:case
'or [ #22 ] s:case 'xo [ #23 ] s:case
'sh [ #24 ] s:case 'zr [ #25 ] s:case
'en [ #26 ] s:case 'ie [ #27 ] s:case
'iq [ #28 ] s:case 'ii [ #29 ] s:case
drop #0 ;
I use pack to combine the individual parts of the instruction
bundle into a single cell.
:pack (-n)
&I0 opcode &I1 opcode
&I2 opcode &I3 opcode
#-24 shift swap
#-16 shift + swap
#-8 shift + swap + ;
Switch to the public portion of the code.
---reveal---
With this it's pretty easy to implement the instruction bundle
handler. Named i, this takes a string with four instruction
names, splits it into each part, calls opcode on each and
then pack to combine them before using , to write them into
the Heap.
:i (s-)
dup &I0 #2 copy #2 +
dup &I1 #2 copy #2 +
dup &I2 #2 copy #2 +
&I3 #2 copy
pack , ;
The d word inlines a data item.
:d (n-) , ;
And r inlines a reference (pointer).
:r (s-) d:lookup d:xt fetch , ;
The final bits are as{ and }as, which start and stop the
assembler. (Basically, they just turn the Compiler on and
off, restoring its state as needed).
:as{ (-f)
@Compiler &Compiler v:off ; immediate
:}as (f-?)
!Compiler ; immediate
This finishes by sealing off the private words.
}}
Evaluating Source
The standard interfaces have their own approaches to getting
and dealing with user input. Sometimes though it'd be nicer to
have a way of evaluating code from within RETRO itself. This
provides an evaluate word.
{{
First, create a buffer for the string to be evaluated. This is sized to allow for a standard FORTH block to fit, or to easily fit a traditional 1024 character block. It's also long enough for most source lines I expect to encounter when working with files.
I allocate this immediately prior to the temporary string buffers.
:current-line (-a) STRINGS #1025 - ;
To make use of this, we need to know how many tokens are in the
input string. count-tokens takes care of this by filtering
out anything other than spaces and getting the size of the
remaining string.
:count-tokens (s-n)
[ ASCII:SPACE eq? ] s:filter s:length ;
The next-token word splits the remainimg string on SPACE and
returns both parts.
:next-token (s-ss)
ASCII:SPACE s:split ;
And then the process-tokens uses next-token and interpret
to go through the string, processing each token in turn. Using
the standard interpret word allows for proper handling of the
prefixes and classes so everything works just as if entered
directly.
:process-tokens (sn-)
[ next-token swap
[ dup s:length n:-zero?
&interpret &drop choose ] dip n:inc
] times interpret ;
---reveal---
And finally, tie it all together into the single exposed word
evaluate.
:s:evaluate (s-...)
current-line s:copy
current-line dup count-tokens process-tokens ;
}}
Loops, continued
Sometimes it's useful to be able to access a loop index. The
next word, times<with-index> adds this to RETRO. It also
provides I, J, and K words to access the index of the
current, and up to two outer loops as well.
{{
'LP var
'Index d:create #128 allot
:next (-) @LP &Index + v:inc ;
:prep (-) &LP v:inc #0 @LP &Index + store ;
:done (-) &LP v:dec ;
---reveal---
:I (-n) @LP &Index + fetch ;
:J (-n) @LP &Index + n:dec fetch ;
:K (-n) @LP &Index + #2 - fetch ;
:times<with-index>
prep swap
[ repeat 0; n:dec push &call sip pop next again ] call
drop done ;
}}
Hooks
In RETRO 11, nearly all definitions could be temporarily replaced by leaving space at the start for compiling in a jump. In the current RETRO I do not do this, though the technique is still useful, especially with I/O. These next few words provide a means of doing this in RETRO 12.
To allow a word to be overridden, add a call to hook as
the first word in the definition. This will compile a jump
to the actual definition start.
:hook (-) #1793 , here n:inc , ; immediate
set-hook takes a pointer to the new word or quote and a
pointer to the hook to replace. It alters the jump target.
:set-hook (aa-) n:inc store ;
The final word, unhook, resets the jump target to the
original one.
:unhook (a-) n:inc dup n:inc swap store ;
I/O
:io:enumerate (-n) as{ 'ie...... i }as ;
:io:query (n-mN) as{ 'iq...... i }as ;
:io:invoke (n-) as{ 'ii...... i }as ;
{{
'Slot var
---reveal---
:io:scan-for (n-m)
#-1 !Slot
io:enumerate [ I io:query nip over eq?
[ I !Slot ] if ] times<with-index>
drop @Slot ;
}}
A Retro system is only required to provide a single I/O word to
the user: a word to push a single character to the output log.
This is always mapped to device 0, and is exposed as c:put.
:c:put (c-) hook #0 io:invoke ;
This can be used to implement words that push other items to the log.
:nl (-) ASCII:LF c:put ;
:sp (-) ASCII:SPACE c:put ;
:tab (-) ASCII:HT c:put ;
:s:put (s-) &c:put s:for-each ;
:n:put (n-) n:to-string s:put ;
An interface layer may provide additional I/O words, but these will not be implemented here as they are not part of the core language.
Debugging Aids
I provide a few debugging aids in the core language. The examples provide much better tools, and interface layers can provide much more than I can do here.
:d:words (-) [ d:name s:put sp ] d:for-each ;
:reset (...-) depth repeat 0; push drop pop #1 - again ;
:dump-stack (-) depth 0; drop push dump-stack pop dup n:put sp ;
From Kiyoshi Yoneda, this is a variant of d:words which displays
words containing a specific substring. It's useful to see words in
a specific namespace, e.g., by doing 's: d:words-with, or words
that likely display something: ':puts d:words-with.
{{
:display-if-matched (s-)
dup here s:contains-string? [ s:put sp ] [ drop ] choose ;
---reveal---
:d:words-with (s-)
here s:copy [ d:name display-if-matched ] d:for-each ;
}}
:FREE (-n) STRINGS #1025 - here - ;
The End
Legalities
Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
Copyright (c) 2008 - 2019, Charles Childers
Copyright (c) 2012 - 2013, Michal J Wallace
Copyright (c) 2009 - 2011, Luke Parrish
Copyright (c) 2009 - 2010, JGL
Copyright (c) 2010 - 2011, Marc Simpson
Copyright (c) 2011 - 2012, Oleksandr Kozachuk
Copyright (c) 2018, Kiyoshi Yoneda
Copyright (c) 2010, Jay Skeer
Copyright (c) 2010, Greg Copeland
Copyright (c) 2011, Aleksej Saushev
Copyright (c) 2011, Foucist
Copyright (c) 2011, Erturk Kocalar
Copyright (c) 2011, Kenneth Keating
Copyright (c) 2011, Ashley Feniello
Copyright (c) 2011, Peter Salvi
Copyright (c) 2011, Christian Kellermann
Copyright (c) 2011, Jorge Acereda
Copyright (c) 2011, Remy Moueza
Copyright (c) 2012, John M Harrison
Copyright (c) 2012, Todd Thomas