From: Mark Probert <probertm@...>
Date: 2005-01-29T03:08:33+09:00
Subject: Re: When little languages grow... (long)

Hi .. 

 On Thursday 27 January 2005 22:35, Trans wrote:
> Mark Probert wrote:
>
> > As a bit of fun, I once embedded a Forth system (ATLAST) into Ruby.
>
> That was you!? Ah, I've read the write-up and I've even downloaded and
> installed ATLAST, but I haven't been able to play with it much.
> Nonetheless....
>
:-) It was indeed.  I ran it up on my FreeBSD box the other day and it core 
dumped horribly.  ATLAST, in its raw form.  I am thinking of reviving it 
using the excellent pForth system.  I am using pForth for a different project 
and really like it (and it is ANS Forth).  Again, more for fun that any 
serious reason.  I like the idea of being able to extend Ruby like this.

> I have always had this great love of Forth (despite my only slight use
> of it), but I've always felt that it was to cryptic. 

Many have described it as the archetypal write-only language.  Personally, I 
think that it takes a little bit of practice to get your head around the way 
it works, then it is fine.  There is a web effort to update Brodie's 
excellent "Thinking Forth" that may help you with the cryptic.  See

  http://thinking-forth.sourceforge.net/


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Thank you, I will.

Regards,

-- 
-mark.  (probertm at acm dot org)