Re: The joy of FORTH (not)

On 10/23/24 8:46 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:

On Wed, 23 Oct 2024 22:25:37 -0000 (UTC), Waldek Hebisch wrote:
 

Makers of RP2040 intend it as Micro-Python board, but AFAIK Micro-Python
is much slower and larger than Forth.

 Still, it seems able to do the job rather well.

   NOW ... but not "then" ..... everybody has become
   spoiled by fast CPUs with lots of memory. This
   is not ubiquitous though, many microcontroller
   projects may still have to deal with very very
   tight resources/speed.
   Still, for MOST uses I'd rec a good 'C' compiler
   and/or some ASM. 'C' compilers can be VERY tight
   these days if you set all the right flags, maybe
   tighter than some hand-coded ASM.
   Of course something like the PIC-12x series are
   too tiny for even FORTH.
   But if you want/need an interpreter ... FORTH may
   still be your best choice for such environments.
   Even MicroPython is a fat pig compared to FORTH.
   I like the Pic12x units because you can program
   them to emulate two or three of the (faster)
   74HC logic chips, add a little pre-processing
   IQ for even cheaper than the 74HC chips.
   ANYway, I'd say there may still be some joy in
   FORTH ... if you're open to the experience.