~~iiFURTH UlrnEnSlOnS Forth Interest Group P.O. Box 8231 San Jose, CA 95155 VOLUME 111: Numbers 1-6 FORTH INTIRIST GROUP Volume Ill P.O. Box 1 105 Number 1 San Carlos, CA 94070 Price $2.00 2 Letters 4 Announcements 5 FORTH-79 Dialog 7 Technical Notes 10 Programming Aids 13 FORTH, Inc. News 14 Pa ramet e r Pass in g 15 Com pi ler Security 20 Userstack 23 A Stack Diagram Utility 33 C hapters/Meetings EDITOR'S COLUMN The last edition of FORTH DIMENSIONS was the beginning of many changes in editorial policy and Published by Forth Interest Group format. All these changes are designed to make FORTH DIMENSIONS a practical and useful communications Volume 111 No. 1 MayIJune 1981 tod. Publisher Roy C. Martens This practical approach continues. In this edition Guest Editor C. J. Street you will find a number of utility programs that will make the task of implementing practical applications in Editorial Review Board FORTH easier and faster. All of these utilities have been contributed by FIG members who have found Bill Ragsdale them to be valuable tools. The editorial staff thanks Dave 8oulton these contributors and would like to encourage all FIG Kim Harris members to share their ideas and experience. John James Dave Kilbridge Ifyou have a progfamming idea or tool that you have Henry Laxen found useful, pleese send it to George Maverick Editor Bob Smith FORTH DIMENStONS John Bumgarner P.O. Box 1105 San Carlos, CA 94070 FORTH DIMENSIONS solicits editorial material. comments and letters. No responsibility is assumed for YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A WRITER-me editorial accuracy of material submitted. ALL MATERIAL staff will provide whatever copywriting is necessary to PUBLISHED BY THE FORTH INTEREST GROUP IS IN make your ideas publishable. THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. Information in FORTH DIMENSIONS may be reproduced with credit given to On the aesthetic side. you will find this edition con- the author and the Forth Interest Group. tains several photographs and art illustrations. This is a FORTH DIMENSIONS' first and you con expect to see Subscription to FORTH DIMENSIONS is free with more in the future. Photographs and art illustr~ons membership in the Forth Interest Group at $12.00 per will be chosen and published on the basis of their year ($24.00 foreign arr). For membership, Ch8f~Qeof educational and human interest value. address and/or to submit material, the address is: This issue also introduces the charactw HEX who Forth Interest Group will be FORTH DIMENSIONS' official comic strip. You P.O. Box 1105 will find the HEX comic strip in future editions of San Carlos, CA 94070 FORTH DIMENSIONS. HEX'S adventures will be a com- bination of humor and education. Ideas for HEX comic strips are welcome. IXtSTORICAL PERSPECTIVE C. 3. Street Editor FORTH was created by Mr. Charles H. Moore in PUBLISHER'S COLUMN 1969 at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville. VA. It was created out of dissatisfaction Renewals and new members are coming in at a fast witn available programming tools, especially for obser- pace. We expect to climb to 3,000members in the next vatory automation. few monthsand to 5,000 within a year. Mr. Moore and several associates formed FORTH, Both the Computer Faire in San Francisco and the Inc. in 1973 for the purpose of licensing and support of Computer Festival in Trenton, New Jersey were huge the FORTH Operating System and Programming Lan- successes We'li be in both again next year. (I'd like to guage, and to supply application programming to meet know of any other shows where. you think FIG should customers' untque requirements. exhibit.) The Forth Interest Group is centered in Nwthem Good material is coming in for FORTH California. Our membership is over 2.400 worldwide. It DIMENSIONS. Keep it coming and send in your was formed in 1978 by FORTH programmerstto emur- comments. age use of the language by the interchange of ideas through seminars and publications. my Martens Page 1 FORTH DIMEI9SU)"ON In/l Dear Fig: LETTERS Thank you for the prompt and efficient rervice I have received. I realize that Dear Fig: you can't have much time left to look after the reat of the world, but without My company ir developing burinerr your interert it may never have reached ryrtemr using FORTH and we would be there rhorer. Spread the good WORD. intererted in caaanmicating with local FIGGIES as well as offering our input to J. Iluttley FST, FORM,, FIG and other applicable "F" u#IVERSIT!l OF AlXKLAND acronym since it ir obviourly in our 19 Duncan Avenue interert to promote the rpread and Auckland 8, acceptance of FORTH. We're alro confirmed New Zealand FORTH fanaticr. You are very welcome! - ad. David B. Man8 BUSINESS SYSTEMS SOFTWARE, IMC. 27 Eart Kings Highway Bditor'r note: Haddonfield, NJ 08033 (609) 429-0229 At the WEST COAST CUBPUTER FAIRE in California two verrionr of a FORTB bumper You are our kind of fanatic and m're rtrip were circulated: happy to put the word out for you Dave! -- ed . ?FORTH IF HONK THEN or alternately Dear Fig: Re : "Born-again progra=er" and "Born- again FIGGER" in FORTH DIMENSIONS II/S. Just thought you ught like to know. -- My interest in FORTB as a programing ed . language does not envolve becoming mired down in the morass of a religion. It would be best to stay on rational groundr Dear Fig: in the development of FORTH and leave religion to those who are unable to think TGIF is .very interested in mapping without faith. listings with other Fig-FORTR groups. Our current lirtingr are 2 Decorpilere; Full f will not take part in a religious rcreen editor; CASE statement8 for 8080, group. Therefore I will not be renewing 280 and 6502; 6502 Arserbler. my membership. TGIF Larry R. Shultis lWRR1 INTEREST CROUP -- TULSA P.O. Box 218 Bsx 1133 Fontana, WI 53125 Tulra, OK 74103 Just goes to shav you that there is more Bow about rending them in to FORTH than one type of fanatic! Keep the faith, DIMENSIONS? - ed. Larry, (OOPS, sorry about that! I meant: Don't worry, Larry,) FIG is not envolving (your spelling) into a religious group. -- ed . FORTH DXHENSIONS III/1 Page 2 Dear Pig: enough information should be provided so as to allow them to be adapted to I was lucky enough to attend one day of a different machine. the recent West Coast Computer Faire and to meet some of the mentors of FIG. I had 2. I will compile a draft of the pro- numerous questions and enjoyed talking to posed publication and submit it to a Bill Ragsdale and others about them. (By technical review cornittee for review the way, for those of you who couldn't and appropriate testing. This com- make it to the Faire, the FIG booth was mittee of FIG members (I am looking one of the most crowded. People were for volunteers) will scrutinize the standing there like no where else even as proposals (and alternatives if appro- the 5:OO closing approached. We all owe a priate), test them on a running FORTH thanks to the dedicated folks for their system, and make recommendations. time and effort in this endeavor, promoting and spreading the word of FORTH 3. I will then compile the final version and FIG. 1 and submit it to FIG for publication. One of my questions to Bill was "How can I have set some timelines for com- we remote members contribute to FIG" in piling this compendium such that it ways other than articles for FORTH can be published by next year's DIMENSIONS. I got a number of project Computer Faire. Material should be ideas, for one of which I need tne help of sent in no later then 1 September the whole membership. So ?LEASE: NOW 1981 (please send them early and give HERE THIS! me a chance to get ahead). I will distribute the draft for review and I propose to assemble a book of utility testing by 15 October 1981. Finally program packages for publication by FIG. I will begin compiling the final I have a list of functions which I think version by 1 January 1982 and have it should be included. This covers such ready for publication by 1 February things as editors (both the current FIG 1982. line oriented editor and a video screen type editor), string processing, data This may seem like a long time structures, extended math (double prec- abuilding, but I want to provide ision as an example), math functions (sin, ample opportunity for the contribu- log, etc.), matrix operations, and float- tors to develop their ideas fully and ing point routines. No doubt there are conduct a fair amount of testing others to be considered and I solicit your themselves before submission, I also suggestions. want to provide a good review by the coormittee to provide the highest The plan I propose to compile and quality document for FIG. It will be publish such a document is as follows: worth it in the long run. Your con- tributions will be sincerely appre- 1. Members are asked to send their ciated, and though the publication, proposals for implementing utility as are all of FIG'S, Vill be in the packages to me at the above address public domain, credit will be given (or through FIG). These proposals to the authors and contributors. So should consist of well documented if nothing else, this is a chance to (lots of cooments) fig-FORTH source get your name in print, in an inter- code accompanied by complete instruc- national publication.