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From: koopman@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Philip Koopman)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Re: What's WRONG with Forth?
Message-ID: <11498@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Date: 2 Jan 91 23:07:27 GMT
References: <2189.UUL1.3#5129@willett.pgh.pa.us>
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 24

> Message 39        Mon Dec 31, 1990
> LRWEBBER [larry]             at 18:18 EST
> 
> I have been told by another forth "burnout" on another board that I will be
> impressed with forth..for awhile. Then, I'm told, as the size and
> sophistication of my tasks increase, I would loose my enthusiasm while trying
> to figure out where in the hell an unexpected stack parameter causes things to
> bomb.
In my experience, I'd say 80% of my Forth programming errors result
in stack imbalances.  Fortunately, stack imbalances are usually
pretty simple to track down compared to, say, an improperly
initialized variable in another language.  Sure, the "bombing"
is often more catastrophic -- but isn't that better than a
lurking bug that surfaces only after you're in production?

> By the way, I work at Cummins Electronics, a subsidiary of CUMMINS engine
> company.
Manfred Peshke, who is a Forth consultant working in New Hampshire,
does a lot of work with Cummins Engine, all in Forth.

  Phil Koopman                koopman@greyhound.ece.cmu.edu   Arpanet
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  Wexford, PA  15090
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