Re: Avoid treating the stack as an array [Re: "Back & Forth" is back!]

On 30-08-2024 22:32, minforth wrote:

Two classic answers:
use DO..LOOPs to hide away loop indices
use locals if you have too many parameters
(some technical/physical formulas are difficult
or impossible to factorise into smaller words
which would otherwise be the classic Forth mantra)

 
Tips:
- Use multiple Return Stack registers (R@, R'@, R"@);
- If parameters come in duplets or triplets, use corresponding stack operators (3DUP, 3OVER, 3DROP);
- Reorganize parameters at the *very start* of the program in a more palatable order. It saves stack juggling later on;
- Maybe a strange one, but codify stack patterns!
  E.g. SPIN ( a b c -- c b a)
       STOW ( a b -- a a b)
       RISE ( a b c -- b a c)
 
It helps you to THINK in these patterns and more easily recognize them. It depends highly on your coding habits, so it helps to analyze your legacy code to see if they often occur.