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FORTH on the MPF-IP - Part 1 (FORTH Basics)

A project log for Exploring the Microprofessor

A journey to explore and better understand the Multitech Microprofessor machines in my retro computer collection

michael-wesselMichael Wessel 02/06/2022 at 19:140 Comments

Alright, that took a while... confident by now enough in my knowledge of the FORTH I am to attempt to present & demo it :-) 

This is part 1 of ~ 3 parts that I am planning. Originally, I only wanted to define a recursive "factorial" word! That took me down the rabbit hole - from dictionaries, immediate words, over defining to compiling words - finally, I managed to implement CALL as well as DOER/MAKE. It'll take 2 more videos until we get there.

For now, here are the basics: FORTH background & history, installation, documentation & book, comments on meta-programming and "Forth in Forth", the stack, RPN (Reverse Polish Notation), HP calculators, simple user-defined words.  Enjoy and stay tuned to hear more about this ingenious "alien" programming language on the MPF-IP! 

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