Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!willett!ForthNet
From: ForthNet@willett.UUCP (ForthNet articles from GEnie)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Advanced Beginners
Message-ID: <486.UUL1.3#5129@willett.UUCP>
Date: 18 Feb 90 01:24:36 GMT
Organization: Latest link in the ForthNet chain.  (Pgh, PA)
Lines: 35


 Date: 02-15-90 (08:38)              Number: 2907 (Echo)
   To: ALL                           Refer#: NONE
 From: DAVID ALBERT                    Read: (N/A)
 Subj: FORTH MODULARITY              Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE

 Hi everyone,
    I am a Modula-2 programmer who recently got into TIL languages.  The
 reason for this was that I had to build a custom 80188 computer for a
 handicapped person and I needed a quick way to get it up and running
 interactively, so I read up on TILs and then implemented one.  My TIL
 has been refined several times and now works rather well.
    I do however have several questions:  First, I have seen that several
 implementations of Forth use a small "inner interpreter loop" using
 DS:SI for example as the instructioni pointer.  I chose just to use CALL
 and RET as the entry and exit to my words.  Therfore, CS:IP is my
 instruction pointer and word pointer.  Here's the question:  Why do
 people use the separate inner interpreter loop?  It seems that the call
 and return are much more flexible and that I can more easily manipulate
 return addresses since they are just on the stack.  I use BP for my
 parameter stack pointer.
    Question number 2:  Since I have come from a Modula-2 background,
 reusable, compiled libraries are very important (to me anyway) in the
 course of developing good applications.  Due to the interpretive nature
 of TILs, I seem to be having some trouble implementing libraries.  I
 would like to allow several libraries (vocabularies) which can be
 manipulated independently and linked into my final application.  I have
 read some of the solutions on late binding, but none I've seen have been
 satisfactory.  Does anyone have any ideas, hints, etc.  Do you know how
 anyone else does it?  Any advice would be appreciated.
    Well, thanks for taking the time to read all of this and I look
 forward to your replies! See ya :-)
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