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.

Find a file

crc 91d1d79413 add some notes on building to README FossilOrigin-Name: e81fd704ed86a29f42b44b2ede77f76cebdf3f5a4febf86a7816d7bdfede6d41		2018-10-08 17:29:51 +00:00
bin	bin/listener now deprecated	2017-11-15 19:58:04 +00:00
doc	add c:to-number	2018-08-21 00:54:38 +00:00
example	new example code	2018-09-13 19:42:54 +00:00
interfaces	new implementation aiming to minimize the C portion of the code	2018-10-01 14:56:49 +00:00
literate	small improvement to s:format	2018-09-06 15:50:08 +00:00
tests	fix tests	2018-08-29 15:46:37 +00:00
tools	add javascript implementation & html-based interface layer	2018-02-06 15:36:34 +00:00
build.sh	have build.sh regenerate sources before building full toolchain	2018-10-08 15:35:27 +00:00
glossary.forth	bug fixes in html output for glossary	2018-07-14 14:56:35 +00:00
LICENSE.md	some work on documentation expansion/formatting	2018-05-10 00:54:05 +00:00
Makefile	new implementation aiming to minimize the C portion of the code	2018-10-01 14:56:49 +00:00
ngaImage	small improvement to s:format	2018-09-06 15:50:08 +00:00
README.md	add some notes on building to README	2018-10-08 17:29:51 +00:00
RELEASE_NOTES.md	small improvement to s:format	2018-09-06 15:50:08 +00:00
words.tsv	add c:to-number	2018-08-21 00:54:38 +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 most systems (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

If you are building an an older Linux system and are running into problems, try using the build.sh script:

sh build.sh

Or the alternate `Makefile.linux':

make -f Makefile.linux

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.