Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mailrus!uflorida!mlb.semi.harris.com!forth.mlb.semi.harris.com!rvn
From: rvn@forth.mlb.semi.harris.com (Rick VanNorman)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Re: PHILOSOPHY & CM
Message-ID: <1990Aug15.130831.7064@mlb.semi.harris.com>
Date: 15 Aug 90 13:08:31 GMT
References: <1504.UUL1.3#5129@willett.pgh.pa.us>
Sender: news@mlb.semi.harris.com
Organization: Harris Semiconductor, Melbourne FL
Lines: 36

In regard to the current controversy about Chuck Moore's 3-key input
device (crippled mouse? 8^)), I have watched him move from a normal terminal
connected to a (I think) PDP-11 (about 1985); to a seven switch, one hand 
keyboard connected to a single-board Novix computer (the Fk2, Fk3) (from 
1986-1987) where the seven switches were the exact ascii representation of
the character to be input; to a 3-key input device connected to the same 
Novix computer; to a 3-key input device connected to the ShBoom computer 
(shown this year at the Rochester Forth Conference).

The way that Chuck uses the 3-key device is:  pick one of seven actions
from a (currently) invisible (used to be visible) menu.  These seven choices
represent six things to be done at the current level and one option to return
to a higher level in the structure.  

In the current (ShBoom) system, textual data is not represented by ascii but
by an arbitrary coded representation that was convenient for Chuck (as I 
recall, the numbers and letters are contiguous, and the special symbols 
followed them).  The entry of text and programs is done via
a memory dump editor.  To insert a character, one uses the cursor motion
modes to select the position in memory, then switch modes to "byte edit",
then scroll up/down the current character until the desired character 
appears.

This seems very cumbersome, but to watch Chuck in action belies some of the
confusion.

I don't think I could ever use an input device like that, but Chuck has
a track record of innovations that border on genius 8^).

I hope this clears up some of the confusion, or at least adds to the 
confusion.

Cheerio,
Rick VanNorman
Harris Semiconductor
Standard Disclaimers (the only standard I believe in!)