Ebook: FORTH: the next step.

Forth, the language of the International Astronomical Union, is
rapidly establishing itself as an important applications
programming language in the professional field, particularly
for control applications such as process control and robotics.
Apart from its adaptability to a number of diverse applications,
Forth has the advantage of being highly portable from one
machine to another. In this book, the author concentrates on
the two dominant standards of the language, FigForth and ‘79 -
standard, though the recent ‘83 - standard and other variants
are also considered.
Forth, like a living language, is extensible. New ‘words’ can be
defined to suit the particular purpose of the user. In this book
the author presents some common extensions to the minimum
required word set along with some programs that have been
found to be either useful or entertaining. These will stimulate
users to discover solutions to their own programming
problems.In particular, solutions are provided to problems not
readily realized in integer mathematics.
This book will be of interest to the growing body of Forth
enthusiasts who, having learned the fundamentals of the
language, wish to take the next step - especially scientists,
engineers and computing professionals who are looking for
‘tools’ to do a particular job. The approach throughout is
practical, with an emphasis on using the language.
Among the useful topics covered are:
* Formatting
* Calendar functions
* Double-number definitions
* Mathematical functions
Additionally, a wide range of general purpose and frequently
used definitions and tools are included. A glossary and
bibliography complete this compact and useful reference text.