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From: rat@madnix.UUCP (David Douthitt)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth,comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Prodos-based Forth-79 if you want it...
Summary: Mad Apple Forth
Message-ID: <523@madnix.UUCP>
Date: 4 Mar 89 08:50:33 GMT
References: <8902221508.AA10022@jade.berkeley.edu> <510@madnix.UUCP> <1085@wpi.wpi.edu>
Reply-To: rat@madnix.UUCP (David Douthitt)
Distribution: usa
Organization: ARP Software, Madison, WI
Lines: 56

In article <510@madnix.UUCP> I wrote:
| 
| I have a Prodos-based Apple Forth available called Mad Apple Forth.

In article <1085@wpi.wpi.edu> ggray@wpi.wpi.edu (Gary Gray) responded:
|
| Yes! But first could you say more about it?
|
| What I am looking for is a language that a) allows assembly language routines
| for speed intensive and other stuff to be easily interfaced to
| b) runs in Prodos
| c) is realtivly fast
| d) does not have a fixed memory map
| e) does not require its own "shell", so it can be run on its own.
|
| Even if your Forth does not pass all of these criteria, I would like to see
| it, if only to see some compiler source code.

Well, let me take the criteria one at a time.

a.  You could interface assembly language routines by coding them into the
    kernal using an assembler (the source is formatted for Merlin).
    There is also a CALL word which allows you to call subroutines from
    Forth.  I've recently decided to work on a word to allow loading of
    a Forth "word" ending in RTS into memory at HERE (top of the dictionary)
    and then ALLOT-ing space to protect the routine.  Basically that
    will just be separating the header from a subroutine.

b.  Runs in Prodos - yes.

c.  Relatively fast - I think so.  Forth is in general, anyway.

d.  Not sure what you mean by this one.  For the most part, Forth loads at
    $900 - I think this is fixed - I haven't tried to change it yet.
    Most everything else is variable according to the way that Forth is set
    up, using USER variables and all.

e.  Well, it does and it doesn't.  It runs under BASIC.SYSTEM as a BIN type
    file.  I have plans to change it to a SYS file, but so many things is
    going on right now, I don't know when I can get to that.  Mad Apple
    Forth should be able to run under any shell which is able to run a
    BIN type file.

I recieved a lot of responses of people asking for MAF.  Therefore, I will
post it to comp.binaries.apple2 - but is comp.binaries.apple2 moderated?
Is there someone I should send it (the files) to first?

Thanks for the help and sorry for my long-windednes!

        [david]

-- 
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