UMFORTH@WEIZMANN.BITNET (F.I.G.I.L.) (06/13/86)
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Yes we are still in existance !!
-- T --
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News from Figil:
Amidst the incredible backlog which has built up after vacation
in the last few weeks, I am very surprised at the number of new
subscribers we have waiting in the wings to get our mailings.
Figil's popularity can't be from a quick response time as the
last few months have pointed out... As most of you know I
moderate this digest alone and work has not permitted me the time
for the last number of weeks to even answer my mail.
Finally we are now caught up with current submissions (with this
mailing! That's why it is so large. Apologies for anything which
looks dated. The stuff's been waiting around for awhile now.
Archives and special requests cannot be dealt with still, and we are
still working on plans to have archives handled on BITNET through file
servers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Once this has been set up BITNET subscribers will be able to request
files interactively and directly from the server. When this is actually
working, the details will be posted in a FIGIL DIGEST so stay tuned!
This may be implemented by August, but I have run into some
red tape and slow response times from those people who maintain the
server machines.... so be patient!
Anyway there is no shortage of ideas, only the time to implement them.
I hope that within the foreseeable future, I can set up FIGIL's
management and programming to be more flexible and responsive.
Regards to all you FIGILer's out there.
and also to the Usenet People who have submitted much material!
Thanks!!
-- Tamir -- (FIGIL moderator)
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Date: Wed May 14 08:46:50 1986
From: Mark Zimmermann <zimmer@LLL-TIS-A.ARPA>
Subject: more on Mach 1; browser project
To: umforth%weizmann.bitnet@csnet-relay.arpa
Cc: zimmer@LLL-TIS-A.ARPA, umforth%weizmann@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA
Now that I've played with Mach 1 (a Macintosh FORTH) let me add a few more
remarks:
- version 1.2 seems relatively bug-free (no inexplicable crashes yet)
- a big Heapsort test took 102 seconds in Mach 1 to sort 10,000 random
32-bit integers, vs. 248 seconds in MacFORTH for nearly-identical code;
the speed ratio of 2.4 seems consistent in various tests (not including
code definitions)
- a MacFORTH program that uses 'Macish' features (scroll bars, TextEdit,
etc.) is MUCH tougher to translate into Mach 1 (in agreement with Scott
Squires' remarks -- MacFORTH has 'higher level' Mac toolbox hooks) ...
apparently one needs to write significant amounts of assembler to do many
simple operations in Mach 1 ((query: can somebody tell me how to find
out the length of a disk file in Mach 1? GETEOF works nicely in MacFORTH,
but for Mach 1 it seems necessary to set up all sorts of file parameter
blocks by hand, etc.))
- in Mach 1, LEAVE does a direct jump out of a DO loop to the word after
the LOOP, instead of setting up the loop parameters to force an exit and
then continuing through the body of the loop. ((I will show my ignorance
of the FORTH-83 standard -- is this the new LEAVE behavior?))
- overall, however, for $50 to produce full-up standalone Mac applications,
Mach 1 can't be beat....
On a completely different front, I'm working on a "browser" program to take
a text file and produce a complete "index in context" out of it ... user sees
a scrollable window with alphabetized words from the text lined up down the
middle, each with half a line of context on each side ... click on a word
and another (fully text-editable) window into the original text opens up.
I can send a more complete description to anybody who's interested ... a
prototype version is posted on CompuServe's FORTH forum (was written in
MacFORTH, but is limited to 32K files) ... I am trying to translate it into
Mach 1 and to extend it to larger text files, perhaps ultimately many Mbytes.
Send suggestions to "zimmer@LLL-TIS.arpa" ... tnx! ^z
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Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1986 15:30:03 +0300
From: Omer Zak <XLKESHV2@WEIZMANN>
Subject: FIGIL etc.
To: <umforth@WEIZMANN>
I am interested in having a target compiler of FORTH which'll allow
me to develop EPROM based applications.
The specific use will be to develop software which sits on cartridges
which are used by the Commodore-64 computer, the specific software being
telecommunications terminal program.
I use the HES 64FORTH system, however with it I am forced to develop my
own target compiler.
Thank you,
Omer
z XLKESHV2 WEIZMANN 6/08/86
' Omer Zak umforth@WEIZMANN 6/08/86 FIGIL etc.
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