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From: ForthNet@willett.UUCP (ForthNet articles from GEnie)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Vocabularies
Message-ID: <687.UUL1.3#5129@willett.UUCP>
Date: 21 Mar 90 00:14:30 GMT
Organization: Latest link in the ForthNet chain.  (Pgh, PA)
Lines: 28


 Date: 03-18-90 (09:38)              Number: 3045 (Echo)
   To: CHRIS WATERS                  Refer#: NONE
 From: STEVE WHEELER                   Read: NO
 Subj: CONSTANT PROBLEMS             Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE


 >   If you could, I'd like some more details about why you have problems
 >with these constants.  It can't be something as simple as multiple
 >stacks or floating point, can it?  I'm just curious why there isn't a
 >easier solution to this.

 The problem arises when you want to make use of some of the "side 
 effects" of number entry, such as using the value in DPL for a scaling 
 factor.  If you have, say, 0 through 4 defined as constants, then when 
 you enter one of those numbers, DPL will contain the value produced by 
 the PREVIOUS non-constant number.  Although you can work around it in 
 several ways, such as changing (and slowing down) the run-time operation
 of CONSTANT.  I felt the problem was significant enough to make any 
 constants in the kernel headerless.  It certainly makes the Forth system
 easier to explain to customers.  ("Well, you can do this except with 3, 
 5, and 12 on alternate Thursdays during leap years with interrupts 
 disabled, etc.")

 NET/Mail : RCFB Golden, CO (303) 278-0364 VESTA & Denver FIG for Forth!
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