crc/retroforth: Retro is a modern, pragmatic Forth drawing influences from many sources. It's clean, elegant, small, easy to grasp, and adaptable to many tasks.

Retro is a modern, pragmatic Forth drawing influences from many sources. It's clean, elegant, small, easy to grasp, and adaptable to many tasks.

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crc 7c3d223ae2 fix typo in stack comment for `times` FossilOrigin-Name: 8bbba0d68a9cb7445cfe5c68d8bf0913107b96e9a08184fbeed6cb1c63d7641e		2018-05-13 15:24:35 +00:00
bin	bin/listener now deprecated	2017-11-15 19:58:04 +00:00
doc	add set:make	2018-05-10 10:45:38 +00:00
example	merge in some minor updates to the examples	2018-05-10 15:39:28 +00:00
interfaces	add set:make	2018-05-10 10:45:38 +00:00
literate	fix typo in stack comment for `times`	2018-05-13 15:24:35 +00:00
tests	no longer use ```` for code blocks; this fence sequence will be used for embedded tests in a later update	2018-04-25 16:57:28 +00:00
tools	add javascript implementation & html-based interface layer	2018-02-06 15:36:34 +00:00
build.sh	rre now exits on stack overflow, stack underflow, memory write out of bounds	2018-04-13 11:21:56 +00:00
glossary.forth	work on more commentary in the glossary tool	2018-05-10 00:54:33 +00:00
LICENSE.md	some work on documentation expansion/formatting	2018-05-10 00:54:05 +00:00
Makefile	updated Makefile	2018-04-21 01:41:07 +00:00
ngaImage	add set:make	2018-05-10 10:45:38 +00:00
README.md	some work on documentation expansion/formatting	2018-05-10 00:54:05 +00:00
RELEASE_NOTES.md	add set:make	2018-05-10 10:45:38 +00:00
words.tsv	add set:make	2018-05-10 10:45:38 +00:00

README.md

RETRO FORTH

RETRO is a modern, pragmatic Forth drawing influences from many sources. It's clean, elegant, tiny, and easy to grasp and adapt to various uses.

Features:

Open Source (ISC License)
Portable (runs on a MISC-style virtual machine)
Small source & binaries
Builds into a single, self contained binary for easy deployment
Sources in literate format, using a Markdown variant

Quick Start

For FreeBSD, NetBSD, macOS, Linux:

make

You will need a standard C compiler and make. The ri binary requires (n)curses, but you can ignore any build/link errors by doing:

make -kis

Executables

Binaries will be placed in the bin directory.

rre

Short for run retro and exit, this is the primary interface for RETRO. The rre interface is used to run the examples and Atua Gopher and HTTP servers that power forthworks.com.

rre embeds the RETRO image into the binary, making it trivial to copy and deploy.

The rre interface also extends the language with many new words and vocabularies, adding scripting, file i/o, gopher, and floating point math support.

repl

This is a basic read-evaluate-print-loop for interactive use. It's intended for quick tests and as an easy starting point for new interfaces.

The repl interface looks for the RETRO image (ngaImage) in the current working. If not found, this will use an embedded copy.

ri

ri is an interactive, (n)curses based interface inspired by the interface used around 2001 with RETRO4. It provides an output area and then an input area at the bottom. Input is processed as it is entered, and the top stack items appear to the right of the input.

It's useful for playing around with new ideas and seeing how the stack works.

Commercial Versions

I provide proprietary versions of RETRO for iOS and macOS. These use a custom, dual pane editor-based environment and some platform specific words and extensions. They do use the same image and virtual machine as rre, repl, etc.

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/retro-forth-12/id1170943580?ls=1&mt=8

macOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/retro-forth/id1317494014?ls=1&mt=12

The macOS application is also availble for free, though the source is not published.

Proceeds from these are used to pay for various project related expenses (vps, domains, hardware upgrades, and an occasional cup of tea).

Alternative Implementations

This source tree includes implementations in C#, JavaScript, Pascal, and Python. These are not officially supported, but are provided for your use if the C implementation will not suffice.