a_dent@vaxa.uwa.oz (01/03/90)
Add one more to the comp.lang.forth reader list! I'd just like to add my support for those involved in porting the various Forth discussions between nets - you're doing a great job guys! We only just started getting comp.lang.forth in Australia and I've been really impressed by the quality of the discussions. I haven't yet had a chance to use Forth commercially as I work under the control of people who want "maintainable" systems so we use either Pascal or C for our native code stuff (we do a lot of Mac contract programming in 4th Dimension). Without having seen MacForth (I don't buy things I can't play with 1st) here's my contribution to what could be done to make Forth a commercial success: When you're doing Mac development for information systems (ie: fancy databases etc.) an important part of getting the Mac "feel" right is iterative testing of the user-interface. This is only cost-effective if you have tools that let you make radical changes in a matter of hours, not only the appearance of screens but the way they are linked together. Hypercard is useful to a point, 4th Dimension much more so. Tools such as Prototyper are structured too much like the 3GL behind them. My dream environment would be something with the "drawing program" interface of 4th Dimension, for putting screens together, backed by an object-oriented Forth. There are enough database libraries around now that you could plug in your own Forth database engine. I see the concept as a cross between a windowing package and an advanced vocabulary manager, where every object in a window can have a Forth word attached. Throw in a pretty-printing "point-and-click" editor and this might be the tool to pull in the crowds - the people who've got past programming Hypertalk and want to get their hands on the "real" Mac. Andy Dent Mac & VAX/VMS Systems Programmer part-time YAHFS developer (Yet Another Half-finished Forth System) P.S A philosophical point - I've done more lateral thinking about computing systems in general by trying to understand and implement Forth than in earning my degree or 8 years of professional programming. "Forth - the tool for changing your point of view!"