DAVID@PENNDRLS.BITNET (11/19/88)
Prompted by a recent posting I pulled all the FORTH files from
the SIMTEL20 MSDOS subdirectory. I have not looked at all the
files in detail, but here is a preliminary summary:
BBL_A This appears to be L&P F83 compatible FORTH code, or
BBL_B perhaps an extension of F83. BBL_B contains three
ARC files that ARCUTIL can't handle; I'll have to
wait until I get them to the PC to see if PKUNPAK
will have better luck. BBL_A contains several BLK
files: the L&P assembler, some primitives that could
be used to develop a FORTH editing system for the
blind (from the comments he apparently did not get
finished with it), a full screen editor called NED,
and some fast screen write primitives. Oh, it also
contains the BBL.EXE file.
F8388 This is a massive extension of L&P F83. It uses segments
F8388DC for code and data and editing and . . . well, anyway,
F8388HP you get lots more room to maneuver but you pay the price
F8388RME of needing more memory to run. It includes an extensive
F8388XTR glossary (F8388HP) and what looks like a reasonably
comprehensive manual (I haven't read it yet). It uses
sequential files rather than block files. It has fast
screen routines. If I remember right, it uses direct
threading. It has LOTS of other goodies. And it
is all public domain, just like L&P.
F88COLOR This appears to be a modification of an earlier version
of F8388 for full color support. Whether or not it works
with F8388 as it presently exists, I have no idea.
F83A The original L&P F83 2.0 distribution, except that the
F83B BLK files are NOT huffman compressed.
F83V2-MS The original L&P F83 2.0 distributions, except that the
BLK files are not huffman compressed and the MS-DOS
screen functions have been inserted for the editor rather
that the default DUMB terminal screen functions. (If you
have an MS-DOS computer and want a copy of L&P F83, this
is the file to pull).
FBBS2 A message-tree bulletin board system in FORTH, modeled
after the communi-tree bulletin board systems. The author
does not claim it is a comprehensive system, but rather that
it is eminently extendable.
FIFTH This is a really nice looking package. It is not a
fundamental improvement on FORTH, as the name might
suggest, but it is certainly a refinement. The
edit/compile/test loop is further shrunk by making
recompilation automatic, and a full screen dictionary
structure editor is included as a fundamental piece of
the system. (You wander around the dictionary tree with
the cursor, and as you point to each word its subdictionary
and the first few lines of code in the word are displayed.)
The dictionary structure is improved to allow any word to
have what are effectively private subroutines. The package
also includes graphics primitives. If it weren't for the
fact that the dictionary structure does not match my
program decomposition style, I might just adopt this
package. Oh, it is a 32 bit FORTH, and has some sort of
target compilation capability.
FIG86 Good old fig-FORTH, MSDOS 8086 version.
FORTHED A FORTH editor called FED that runs as an overlay in its
own memory segment (the calling FORTH needs only a small
program call section added to it) and provides a full
complement of editing functions. The author sees this
as a way to standardize the editing environment across
several forths, and lists five he has successfully used
it with. The archive also contains a PD Forth called
PC-Forth.
UNIFORTH What is says. The UNIFORTH sampler system. This is
an F83 compatible (mostly) system, little brother to
a sophisticated system sold by UNIFORTH. I've seen this
one before but haven't experimented with it (my last copy
was on the wrong kind of disk and I never did get it
translated.)
Well, I hope this list saves somebody else the trouble of pulling
*all* the files (or at least gives you a clue which ones to pull
first :-). If I don't run out of energy, I'll post a more detailed
summary after I've actually played with the programs on the PC
(FIFTH and F83 are the only ones I've actually run so far).
-- R. David Murray (DAVID@PENNDRLS.BITNET, DAVID@PENNDRLS.UPENN.EDU)markd@proxftl.UUCP (Mark Davidson) (11/22/88)
The files you mentioned that have names like BBL_A are probably copies of Roedy Green's BBL Forth System that he used to develop the Abundance development system. More info on request. -- In real life: Mark E. Davidson uflorida!novavax!proxftl!markd Proximity Technology Inc., 3511 NE 22nd Ave, Ft. Lauderdale FL, 33308 #define STANDARD_DISCLAIMER <Quote construction site>