Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pt.cs.cmu.edu!a.gp.cs.cmu.edu!koopman
From: koopman@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Philip Koopman)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Re: ACM SigForth
Summary: why I belong
Message-ID: <10407@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Date: 7 Sep 90 10:54:28 GMT
References: <1678.UUL1.3#5129@willett.pgh.pa.us>
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 63

In article <1678.UUL1.3#5129@willett.pgh.pa.us>, dwp@willett.pgh.pa.us (Doug Philips) writes:
> Its been a while since I've heard any mutterings about SigForth
> and was wondering what those of you that get it think.  I recall
> that they had trouble getting issues published, but that was,
> presumably, a temporary problem.  Is SigForth worthwhile?  What
> kinds of things are written up there?

SigForth is still alive and well.  Their publications were delayed,
but they are in the process of clearing the backlog now.  The latest
issue I found in my pile is "Winter '89", which I believe
was shipped this summer.  I think the situation is that they have
the material to make up all back issues, it's just production
that is a problem.  This is a normal part of life for small
organizations, so I am not worried about it.

No doubt about it, the organization is not as mature as FIG
(but, perhaps, that's not such a bad thing...).  I think
they are targetting a different audience to serve: people
who make their living doing Forth, as opposed to Forth
hobbyists.   But, perhaps I am making unwaranted generalizations.

I belong because I like having it as a viable alternative,
and I am willing to join to help them achieve critical mass
for long-term survival.  I find the publication useful,
and enjoy the conference they sponsor (by the way, I'm
looking for papers for next year's conference...).

The magazine is not as polished as Forth Dimensions, but is 
reasonably well edited, nicely typeset, and printed on good
paper.  The major limitation seems to be that they are working on getting
a flow of articles started (so, submit!, this is your chance
to get published!).

Table of contents from the latest issue of the newsletter (32 pages):
(all typos are mine!)

Articles:
Life and Death in Silicon Valley (Book Excerpt), Russell Fish
Not Screens nor Files but Words, Wolf Wejgaard, Switzerland
Rochester Forth Conference '89 Report, Larry Forsley
Stack Frames in Forth, Bradford Rodriguez
Duals: an Alternative to Variables, Rick Hoselton
Hardware Review: Harris RTX-2001 Contest Board, Anonymous
Software Review: PocketForth for the Macintosh, Paul Frenger

Departments:
The Forth Estate, Paul Frenger
Words from the Chairman, George Shaw
Forthought, Chuck Moore
ANSI Forth Report, George Shaw
Forth Education Report, Tom Hand
Forth Information Resources, Irving Montanez
EuroForth, Klaus Schleisiek-Kern
The News in Forth (mostly pointers to articles about Forth)
Calendar

-----------
  Phil Koopman                koopman@greyhound.ece.cmu.edu   Arpanet
  2525A Wexford Run Rd.
  Wexford, PA  15090
Senior scientist at Harris Semiconductor, and adjunct professor at CMU.
I don't speak for them, and they don't speak for me.
Also, I'm not a SigForth expert, so these are just my opinions.