home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- ** ReadMe **
-
- Contents:
-
- This is an update to the MVP-Forth directory on Fred Fish disk #9.
- Provided is an improved faster screen editor which uses the keyboard
- cursor keys, backspace and delete keys and function keys which allow
- fast moving thru the screens, pasting from PAD and the printing of
- screen, triad or PAD to the printer port prt: .
- F1 is the OOPs key. Control Keys give fast editing. The control keys
- and Function keys can be reprogrammed by the user if desired.
- Runs on Amiga 1000 and 3000. Probably on Amiga 500 and 2000 (Untested).
-
-
- Amiga implementation:
-
- On this disk are the files MVPFORTH and FORTH.
- Both conform to the ' FORTH-79 Standard' and can be loaded
- from the CLI or from Workbench by clicking on their icon.
- MVPFORTH is a lean version with a limited number of extensions
- that can be saved. To see the available words (commands) in FORTH
- type: vlist <return>. The source code is in the file 'Source'.
- FORTH is the one normally used. It has more extensions and can
- be revised as needed by the user. To save a revised version,
- type: save-forth <return>. Answer the prompt for a pathname
- with df0:MYFORTH. No icon is made if saved with a
- different name. Provide an Icon or load your 'MYFORTH' from
- the CLI only.
-
- On this disk are the following files that contain Forth screens:
- Work, 68kAsm, Editor, ScreenEditor and Source.
- Editor is the standard Forth line editor.
- ScreenEditor is a screen editor written by me.
- It is pre-loaded in 'FORTH' and invoked with 'Ed'.
-
- Before you do anything else, take this disk out of the disk drive
- and write protect the disk by sliding the little square to close
- the opening. Then place this disk in df0: and a blank disk in df1:
- and make a backup copy. Call this copy 'FORTHcopy' and store the
- original disk in a safe place.
- I suggest you write protect your FORTHcopy as well and return it
- to drive df1:. Place a blank disk in drive df0: and make another
- copy of FORTHcopy. Call this copy 'FORTH'. This will be your work
- disk. To make room delete from the work disk any directories.
-
- To create your own workfiles, copy from the cli the file 'empty'
- as follows: copy empty work <return>
- copy empty work1 <return>
- copy empty work2 <return> as many as you want.
- And to experiment with: copy editor myfile <return>
-
- To start Forth, double click on one of the FORTH icons of the NOT
- write protected work disk 'FORTH' in df0:. ( Forth must be able
- to write to this disk in df0: )
-
- ***********************************************************************
- -- FORTH does not ask ' Are you sure ? ' , it does what you
- -- tell it to do, no questions asked. Therefore I recommend to
- -- experiment first with the file 'df0:myfile' as a scratch file!!
- -- Place the write protected disk 'FORTHcopy' in drive df1: to
- -- recover from in case something went wrong.
- ***********************************************************************
-
- A message appears on the screen and when pressing <return> you should
- get a response of 'ok'.
- Type: 7 select <return>
- Response should be 'ok'
- Type: from df0:Source
- Response should be 'ok'
- Type: files
- Response: 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- * 7 df0:Source 136 blocks
-
- To open the file 'Editor' you select a free number, e.g.
- 6 select <return>
- followed by typing: from df0:Editor <return>
- If you type again: files <return>
- you'll see that the asterik (indicating current active file)
- moved to before the number 6 and the line 6 looks as follows:
- * 6 df0:Editor 36 blocks
- To load this line editor type: 1 load <return>
- This editor can now be invoked with the word 'editor'
-
- Type 'files' at any time to see which files are already open and
- which one is selected as the current file ( shown with an asterik )
- Use for the filename the full path name.
-
- To get your own file, type first
- 0 select <return>
- from df0:work <return>
- files <return>
-
- You'll see:
- * 0 df0:work 2 blocks
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6 df0:Editor 36 blocks
- 7 df0:Source 136 blocks
-
- If you type 0 list <return> you'll see an empty screen.
- This file 'work' has only 2 screens ( = blocks ) available.
- If you want to add say 8 blocks, you'll type:
- 8 larger <return>
- Typing files <return> will show that you now got 10 blocks.
- A file to be enlarged must be the current file and must be
- loaded in file 0. ( You cannot make a file smaller ).
- The maximum number of blocks in one file is 999, memory permitting
- and is also restricted to a max of 880 blocks on an Amiga floppy.
- Generally files are smaller then 200 blocks, often in the range
- of 4 to 40 blocks.
-
- To make 'Source' again the current file, type 7 select.
- To see what is in there type: 0 135 index <return>
- Press any key to pause the scrolling.
- Press <return> to quit the scrolling.
- Press any key except <return> to continue the scrolling.
-
- To view any of the screens type the screen number followed by 'list'
- e.g. 7 list <return>. If 'Editor' is loaded, you can
- relist the screen by typing l <return>.
- To see the next screen you could type 8 list or ll <return>
- (They are 'els', not 'ones'). The previous screen: lll <return>
- To see the 'words' (Forth calls commands words) available, type
- vlist <return>
- The scrolling can be paused the same way as explained for 'index'
-
- The 'ScreenEditor' is preloaded in FORTH and is invoked with 'ed'.
- To edit screen 9 you would type: 9 ed <return>.
- To see which editing commands are available besides the arrow
- keys you'll have first to open the 'ScreenEditor' file as follows:
- 3 select from df0:screeneditor <return> followed by:
- 33 list <return> and 34 list <return> will show the available
- commands. Or get into the editor by typing 'ed' <return> and
- pressing the help key. This works only if 'screeneditor' is the
- current file as indicated by the '*' when 'files' is typed.
-
- There is also a small built in system line editor in this version
- with only the two commands 'list' and 'pp'.
- They are available at any time.
- When you have listed a screen, e.g. 9 list <return> and you
- want to replace line 11 with ." hello world !" then type:
- 11 pp ." hello world !" <return>
-
- To close file 7 df0:Source you can type 7 closefile <return>
- To start experimenting pick a free file number ( use files
- <return> to list them ) say 1 select <return>.
- Then from df0:myfile <return> followed by 0 20 index <return>
- Use this file to experiment with.
- ( I generally use files 0 and 1 as work and development files,
- hold in file 3 the source of any Editor file if needed,
- keep file 4 for the printer and use the remaining
- files to hold any reference files.)
-
- The loop constructs supported in this version are:
-
- EndValue BeginValue DO ................. LOOP
- EndValue BeginValue DO ...... StepValue +LOOP
- EndValue BeginValue DO ...... StepValue /LOOP
- BEGIN ......... Flag UNTIL
- BEGIN ......... Flag WHILE ........ REPEAT
- BEGIN ........infinite loop ........ AGAIN
- Flag IF ................. ELSE ........... THEN
-
- Each dot stand for one or more valid FORTH words.
- LOOP increments Beginvalue by 1 until it is equal to EndValue.
- +LOOP increases Beginvalue by StepValue until equal or more than EndValue.
- /LOOP similar to +LOOP, but uses unsigned numbers.
- UNTIL loops back to BEGIN until Flag (top value on stack) is true (not 0.)
- REPEAT loops back to BEGIN as long as Flag is true, if Flag = 0 then it
- jumps over the words between WHILE and REPEAT and continues after REPEAT.
- IF will process the words between IF and ELSE if Flag is True, else it
- will process the words between ELSE and THEN. Then it will continue
- after THEN. ELSE is optional, it can be omitted.
- Remember the mnemonic: If True Do.
-
- The words EndValue, BeginValue, StepValue and Flag represent numerical
- values on the parameter stack. To see what's on the stack type: .s <return>
- If the system misbehaves and gives messages 'Invalid Filenumber'
- generally after an error, you may recover with typing 'cold' <return>.
- To quit, type: bye <return>
-
- This should be enough to get you going.
- I recommand that you make a printout of this Readme file and
- get hold of a book that explains 'FORTH'. The book
- 'Starting Forth' by Leo Brodie is recommended.
-
- Acknowledgment: In rewriting the screen editor I used as much as
- I could the screens provided on Fred Fish disk #9.
- Credit should go to Henry Laxen and Glenn Tenney and others in
- most cases. You can blame me for implementing the function keys,
- backspace key, del key and control key functions c e f j n p t.
- Many control names have been changed, for instance ^z is renamed
- to ^q (quit), ^t to ^w (delete word) and ^t is re-used for
- transfer to screen 0. Some functions were dropped, others added.
- I also added the printer support.
- Feel free to change or modify this editor as much as you want
- for your own use.
- 91/05/16 J.Bos
- 187 Dufferin Ave.
- Brantford N3T 4R4
- Ontario Canada
-
-