koopman@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Philip Koopman) (07/03/90)
Recent discussions have bemoaned the fact that a few inches of shelf space in bookstores hold Forth books, while several feet hold C books. This has nothing to do with whether C or Forth is better, or even more popular in actual use. It has to do with *who buys books*! Do you think most bookstore owners have any idea what computer programming is even about? If books on Forth don't move, they don't order more. Also, if Forth books aren't on their distributor's magic list, they can't order them even if they want to (here I'm talking about chain stores like Waldenbooks). Finally, if quality Forth books are not written (and published by the right publishers), they don't get on the distributor's magic list. Phil Koopman koopman@greyhound.ece.cmu.edu Arpanet 2525A Wexford Run Rd. Wexford, PA 15090 Senior scientist at Harris Semiconductor, and adjunct professor at CMU. I don't speak for them, and they don't speak for me.