retroforth/doc/html/chapters/techniques/quotes.html
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<p><span class="h1">Quotations</span>
<br/><br/>
Quotes are anonymous functions. RETRO uses these as the basis for
executable flow control and combinatorial logic.
<br/><br/>
<br/><br/>
To make a quotation, surround the code with square brackets. E.g.,
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>#1&nbsp;#2&nbsp;eq?&nbsp;[&nbsp;'No_match&nbsp;s:put&nbsp;nl&nbsp;]&nbsp;-if</tt>
<br/><br/>
Quotes can be nested:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>[&nbsp;#3&nbsp;[&nbsp;#4&nbsp;]&nbsp;dip&nbsp;]&nbsp;call</tt>
<br/><br/>
After creation, a pointer to the quotation is left on the stack
(or is compiled into the current definition).
<br/><br/>
<span class="h2">Combinators</span>
<br/><br/>
Words operating on quotations are called combinators; these are
discussed in <strong>Using Combinators</strong>.
<br/><br/>
<span class="h2">Implementation</span>
<br/><br/>
A quotation is compiled as:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>...&nbsp;code&nbsp;before&nbsp;quotation&nbsp;...</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>i&nbsp;liju....&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(if_compiling_only)</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>d&nbsp;address&nbsp;after&nbsp;quotation&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(if_compiling_only)</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>...&nbsp;code&nbsp;for&nbsp;quotation</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>i&nbsp;re......&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(this_is_where_the_quote_ends)</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>i&nbsp;li......</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>d&nbsp;address&nbsp;of&nbsp;code&nbsp;for&nbsp;quotation</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>...&nbsp;code&nbsp;after&nbsp;quotation&nbsp;....</tt>
<br/><br/>
<br/><br/>
Quotations are used heavily in RETRO. They give the source a
feel that's different from traditional Forth, and allow for
a more consistent syntax.
<br/><br/>
For instance, in a traditional Forth, you might have some
conditionals:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>IF&nbsp;...&nbsp;THEN</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>IF&nbsp;...&nbsp;ELSE&nbsp;...&nbsp;THEN</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>IF&nbsp;...&nbsp;EXIT&nbsp;THEN</tt>
<br/><br/>
RETRO uses conditional combinators for these:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>[&nbsp;...&nbsp;]&nbsp;if</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>[&nbsp;...&nbsp;]&nbsp;[&nbsp;...&nbsp;]&nbsp;choose</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>[&nbsp;...&nbsp;]&nbsp;if;</tt>
<br/><br/>
Or loops:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>FOR&nbsp;...&nbsp;NEXT</tt>
<br/><br/>
Is replaced by:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>[&nbsp;...&nbsp;]&nbsp;times</tt>
<br/><br/>
This can also extend to stack flow. Sequences like:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>&gt;R&nbsp;...&nbsp;&gt;R</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>DUP&nbsp;&gt;R&nbsp;...&nbsp;&gt;R</tt>
<br/><br/>
Become:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>[&nbsp;...&nbsp;]&nbsp;dip</tt>
<tt class='indentedcode'>[&nbsp;...&nbsp;]&nbsp;sip</tt>
<br/><br/>
And forms like:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>1&nbsp;2&nbsp;3&nbsp;*&nbsp;swap&nbsp;3&nbsp;*&nbsp;swap</tt>
<br/><br/>
Can be replaced with a combinator like:
<br/><br/>
<tt class='indentedcode'>#1&nbsp;#2&nbsp;[&nbsp;#3&nbsp;*&nbsp;]&nbsp;bi@</tt>
<br/><br/>
While there is a different set of words to learn, I find that
overall there's less noise from low level stack shuffling words
and the added consistency with regards to overall syntax has
been nice as I was never fond of the multiple forms that existed
in traditional Forth.
</p>
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