PROMOTING FORTH By Michael J Nemeth Glenndale, Maryland Forth for many reasons has not had a fair chance at being a widely accepted language. I do not intend to directly address those reasons here, but wish instead to relate my experiences establishing and running Goddard Space Flight Centers' (GSFC) Forth Users Group and the ideas I have derived from this for promoting Forth. The Goddard Forth Users Group (GFUG) is an association of people using or interested in Forth. GFUG has no formal ties to any other organizations here at Goddard or on the outside. It is open to the public but oriented towards Goddard users. Meetings are once a month on no set day but at noon. Meeting notices are posted in Dateline Goddard and The East Coast Forth Bulletin board ((703) 442-8695). GFUG's purpose is the dissemination and exchange of information about Forth. GFUG maintains a library of Public Domain Forth systems and aids, a membership listing with an interest/expertize cross reference for referral and a small library of printed material including a periodical reference. In its short existence, since May 1986, GFUG has sponsored or arranged for the following events: The visit of Charles Moore, creator of Forth and inventor/designer of the Novix microprocessor to Goddard; the manning of a Forth interest Group table at the University of Maryland Computerfest; and the Engineering Collaquia lecture by Lawrence Forsley of the University of Rochester scheduled for January 26, 1987. The Goddard Forth Users Group was started in May of 1986 on a very informal basis at the suggestion of Jim Rash of NASA. Starting with a few names from each of us and a meeting time and place, I discovered a daisy chain effect; each person I called knew of others using Forth at GSFC. Our first meeting was attended by about twenty people. While meetings now average only 15 people, some attending are representing a group. Size also varies with the topic of the meetings. This is comparable to the Potomac FIG (which averages higher-20 to 30?) but is significant as our meetings are held at lunch hour. Promoting Forth: for the Forth User This is my first suggestion for promoting Forth, form a lunch time group at work. I suggest a public announcement on a bulletin board or newsletter or you may discover that the daisy chain effect will work for you too. Also, if a group is formed, keep using the public announcement method for calling meetings. This keeps Forth in the limelight . Since I usually have a featured speaker or topic for a meeting, posting public announcement shows the general public the utility of Forth (AI, parallel processors, databases etc.). In setting aside some time to talk about Forth even a small group can be of value, as one often gets tied up in their own work, thus missing much of value. My second suggestion is to have a good Public Domain Forth available to give to interested people even if you use a commercal Forth. While vendors might think this objectionable, I contend eventually the user will buy a Forth. Next, be honest in promoting Forth. Forth is not for all, nor is it always the optimum solution and is not itself problem free. In general magazines seem heavily C oriented now; however, they occasionally print Forth articles. Please show your interest, even a postcard to a magazine may make a difference (note: some magazines provide such postcards). If publishers do not know Forth articles are appreciated, they will be less likely to publish more. Promoting Forth: for the Vendor I very seldom see new product announcements for Forth products in the media. Many carry a "What's New" section, yet there is no listing for Forth products even though there is an ad for a new Forth product in that very issue. I do not believe the cost is so great that a paragraph describing your new product could not be sent to many. Forth Dimensions is a good place (see for FIG section.) Since the MS/DOS/80nxx machine is so popular and there is a popular Public Domain Forth available, instead of cursing L&P F*# how about supporting it for your implementation. To have a F83 compatiblity mode (word) would be a very big selling point for me. Lastly, here at Goddard we have a training and demo center. Vendors typically come to show a product and leave it on loan for a month. I have yet to convince a Forth vendor to do this. Promoting Forth: for the local FIG chapter The most rewarding experience for me so far has been the running of the Forth Interest Group table at the University of Maryland's Computerfest. I was totally surprised at the interest in Forth and learned much of interest from other Forth users. Not only was this a great way to promote Forth, but a money maker. Public Domain software was sold a $4.00 a diskette for a total of 56 dollars, more than covering the cost of the table (35 dollars). My next suggestion for the local FIGs is to post their meeting notices in the paper. Many papers offer this as a free service. Also, once or twice a year actual advertising may be worthwhile as part of a membership drive. Another good place to post notices is at your local colleges and university; this also aids in promoting Forth. Cooperate with other types of user groups. Many times the Forths they provide are several years old and, therefore, may give a very poor impression of Forth. Lastly, the local FIG can aid in supporting Forth in the media by producing a form letter. I dislike writing letters but would be willing to send in a form letter supporting an article. Promoting Forth: for FIG I have many suggestions and proposals for FIG. The first and most important, as it would help FIG be able to carry-out the others, is a structure membership fee. Many companies pay, or partially pay, for professional membership. Therefore, I propose a corporate rate of 60 dollars, or double the individual rate. Part of the gain could be used to support a student rate of 20 dollars. The rest of the gain can now be used to support other projects. In line with this, I suggest an annual membership drive where sample copies of Forth Dimension could be sent free to colleges and Universities. If Forth is to make gains, the learning institutions are a critical area. This leads to my next idea, a list of college level courses on or including Forth to be compiled by FIG. It is not always easy at quick glance to find such courses. For example Mahlon Kelly's Forth based course at the University of Virginia is titled "Microcomputers in the Sciences". Another list which could be done by FIG is one of all available Forths and where they can be obtained. We have all heard that Forth is used for arcade games, databases, wordprocessors and so on but I would like a definitive list of actual product names. In this same vein, Jerry Shifrin of the East Coast Forth Bulletin board has on his board bios of " Expert Users of Forth ". Carrying this one step further, I would like to see a book(?) of Who's Who in Forth. Not only is this useful but just being "listed" could aid the listee in his job, hence promoting Forth. Perhaps related to this is the giving of a "person(s) of the year" award by FIG. Logically this could be done at the Forth national convention. Speaking of conventions, while there is the Rochester Forth Conference in the northeast and the Forth national convention in the west, could not both FIG and the Institute for Applied Forth Research sponsor regional conferences? Or perhaps use different locations all around the country (Canada too, please) each year for the events. Partially coupled to this is my idea for special interest groups (SIGs) within FIG, since these might hold their own conventions. These SIGs would be in addition to FIG membership and could cost extra. They should be listed in the same form. In fact, there does currently exist a FIG sponsered SIG; FORML. I would like to see a "What's New" section in Forth Dimension and perhaps reviews. Again, Forth Dimension might be a logical place for form letters supporting articles in other publication, although this would entail coordination, probably with the author, far in advance. @In the general programming community, Forth is under utilized and little known. Yet Forth is powerful and rich in valuable concepts. I have found many of Forth's concepts to be an aid in my work in general. I feel everyone can benefit from learning about Forth. Hence this article, I hope will aid in promoting Forth.