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From: ForthNet@willett.pgh.pa.us (ForthNet articles from GEnie)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: PYGMY Forth
Message-ID: <1778.UUL1.3#5129@willett.pgh.pa.us>
Date: 21 Sep 90 04:49:33 GMT
Organization: String, Scotch tape, and Paperclips.  (in Pgh, PA)
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Category 1,  Topic 45
Message 44        Wed Sep 19, 1990
F.SERGEANT [Frank]           at 23:07 CDT
 
Forth vs Assembly Language

     There has been a discussion of whether Forth can better be  popularized
by distributing it as an assembly program or as a Forth  program.  Ting
supports the former.  Bill Ragsdale suggested that it  makes no difference up
to a certain size.  figForth was distributed as  an assembly listing, but was
also distributed as a Forth listing.  I  think this has sometimes been
forgotten.  I have a strong preference to  Forth being written in Forth.  As
an argument for this, I suggest  downloading EForth (Ting & Muench) and
looking over the assembler  listing for it and then the Forth listing of it
(both are included).  I  think the Forth listing is far clearer.  There might
have been a  stronger argument in favor of the assembler listing in the dark
ages,  when only paper was distributed.  That way you could enter the hex 
codes by hand, through a monitor, then patch the I/O routines, and  finally
get something running.  When a disk or modem squeals can be  distributed, a
running Forth executable file can be distributed at the  same time (which can
re-gen itself from its source written in Forth),  thus obviating the need for
the assembly listing.

     This still leaves the question of whether it is more appealing to 
newcomers to have Forth written in Forth or in assembler.  If they have  no
interest in Forth I don't see how having Forth written in assembler  is going
to create that interest.  If they do have an interest in  Forth, I think
they'd be more interested in seeing Forth written in  itself.  Of course, the
EForth and figForth approach of giving them  both would seem to satisfy
everyone.

  -- Frank
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