********** Topic 6 Thu Nov 05, 1987 P.SPEARING at 22:05 EST Sub: do DOS files in F83 I'm trying to learn FORTH, and can't seem to Can How does one work with DOS files from F83? 8 message(s) total ********** ---------- Category 12, Topic 6 Message 1 Thu Nov 05, 1987 P.SPEARING at 22:07 EST I'm trying to learn Forth, and I have the Laxen & Perry F83 package. Can ab nyone out there explain to me how to access regular do DOS (ASCII) files from F83? Thanks. ---------- Category 12, Topic 6 Message 2 Thu Nov 05, 1987 LMORGENSTERN [leonard] at 19:55 PST To P.Spearing. To answer your question, how to access ASCII files in F83: What is your purpose? Let us know what you want to do, and we will try to help. Code to accomplish your goal is probably already in one of the files on this round table. It is fairly easy to access ASCII files as though they were block files, reading characters one at a time from the blocks until you reach a CR-LF line terminator, then breaking the resultant string into words. (You may run into a problem if you use single-sided diskettes, which have sectors 512 bytes long. This is easily solved, however.) I must admit that I have never had to write such a handler myself, since it is built into a commercial Forth called MicroMotion, based on F83, that I have. Using ASCII files as source instead of blocks is also done bye some Forths. The code to do this is not part of F83, but could be added. ---------- Category 12, Topic 6 Message 3 Fri Nov 06, 1987 JAX at 19:35 PST Will Baden's version of F83 fully handles DOS files. Check with your local FIG ( if any). Baden called his FORTH F83X, I believe. Best solution: Buy an AMIGA and use JFORTH!!!!! ---------- Category 12, Topic 6 Message 4 Sat Nov 07, 1987 LMORGENSTERN [leonard] at 09:53 PST F83X is an extension of F83, written by Will Baden. It is contained in 4 large ARC files named CALIF330.ARC, PONG330.ARC, PAND330.ARC, and PING330.ARC. Baden named the files after characters in the opera Turandot. These have the numbers 430-434 in the library. I have just uploaded a file F83XHELP.ARC to supplement these. John Peters, of the Silicon Valley FIG is working on a new version of F83X called F83S. I don't know whether it is ready. Although these Forths have a lot of good features , they are rather formidable for a beginner. ---------- Category 12, Topic 6 Message 5 Sat Nov 07, 1987 LMORGENSTERN [leonard] at 09:59 PST In my previous message, the file PAND330.ARC should read PANG330.ARC ---------- Category 12, Topic 6 Message 6 Thu Nov 12, 1987 P.SPEARING at 04:40 EST Thank you for suggesting F83X--I'll cg check on it tonight. I'd dearly love to buy an Amiga and use Jforth, but there are about a thousand good reasons why I can't right now (at about a dollar each). F83 seems to get high praise in Forth Dimensions, but I need more documentation than is provided there to help me get started. Maybe I should break down and buy a commercial Forth system, much as I hate the thought of spending money. Thanks, all. ---------- Category 12, Topic 6 Message 7 Fri Nov 13, 1987 LMORGENSTERN [leonard] at 00:06 PST To P.SPEARING: I have the following advice for all beginners. IMHO (In my humble opinion -- although finding a humble Forth programmer is not an easy task), stick to F83. Spend your money on books and asking questions on GENIE, not on a commercial program. Many of these are well worth their cost, but you can't know which one is best for you until you have had some experience. F83 is a good place to start. It has most of the features that a beginner would want, yet it is powerful enough that it has become a kind of informal standard. Several commercial Forths are based on it, and stepping up will be easy. There is also the As to a tutorial for F83, I notice a new file just uploaded, which is 785 F83TUTOR.ARC. There is also 537 F83-20.MAN Try them and let me know your opinion. Also, get the F83 source files, 241 F83.ARC. They are well documented, and should not be beyond you unless you are a rank beginner. A good book for the moderately advanced is Ting's Inside F83. As to F83X, I am ambivalent. On the one hand, it has a lot of excellent enhancements, on the other, it is probably too much for a beginner. It was suggested to you because you asked about ASCII files. Forth Dimensions is an excellent magazine, but you should not expect it to be a tutorial. I would suggest that you find a program there that doesn't look too difficult, and study it. I like to type source files by hand onto my machine, as it forces me to review it word by word. Then load it and try to run it. Change it if you think you can improve it (you might). Ask us questions about difficulties that you encounter, or about philosphy, or style. We are eager to help you. ---------- Category 12, Topic 6 Message 8 Fri Nov 13, 1987 JAX at 20:49 PST ... and, of course, read the redoubtable Dr. CHTing's "Inside F83" every day! ----------