Thinking Forth

Book Description:

Thinking Forth applies a philosophy of problem solving and programming style to the unique programming language Forth. Published first in 1984, it could be among the timeless classics of computer books, such as Fred Brooks’ The Mythical Man-Month and Donald Knuth’s The Art of Computer Programming. Many software engineering principles discussed here have been rediscovered in eXtreme Programming, including (re)factoring, modularity, bottom-up and incremental design. Here you’ll find all of those and more, such as the value of analysis and design, described in Leo Brodie’s down-to-earth, humorous style, with illustrations, code examples, practical real life applications, illustrative cartoons, and interviews with Forth’s inventor, Charles H. Moore as well as other Forth thinkers.

 

CONTENTS

Preface to the 2004 Edition, iii

Preface to the 1994 Edition, ix

Preface, xi

Contents, xiv

The Philosophy of Forth, 1

An Armchair History of Software Elegance, 2

The Superficiality of Structure, 24

Looking Back, and Forth, 25

Component Programming, 27

Hide From Whom?, 32

Hiding the Construction of Data Structures, 33

But Is It a High-Level Language?, 36

The Language of Design, 41

The Language of Performance, 42

Summary, 46

References, 46

Analysis, 48

Contents xivThe Nine Phases of the Programming Cycle, 49

The Iterative Approach, 50

The Value of Planning, 52

The Limitations of Planning, 56

The Analysis Phase, 60

Defining the Interfaces, 64

Defining the Rules, 70

Defining the Data Structures, 80

Achieving Simplicity, 80

Budgeting and Scheduling, 88

Reviewing the Conceptual Model, 91

References, 92

Preliminary Design/Decomposition, 93

Decomposition by Component, 94

Example: A Tiny Editor, 98

Maintaining a Component-based Application, 103

Designing and Maintaining a Traditional Application, 105

The Interface Component, 111

Decomposition by Sequential Complexity, 116

The Limits of Level Thinking, 118

Summary, 126

For Further Thinking, 126

Detailed Design/Problem Solving, 130

Problem-Solving Techniques, 132

Interview with a Software Inventor, 141

Detailed Design, 144

Forth Syntax, 145

Algorithms and Data Structures, 157

Contents xvCalculations vs. Data Structures vs. Logic, 159

Solving a Problem: Computing Roman Numerals, 162

Summary, 178

References, 178

For Further Thinking, 179

Implementation: Elements of Forth Style, 181

Listing Organization, 183

Screen Layout, 197

Comment Conventions, 203

Vertical Format vs. Horizontal Format, 215

Choosing Names: The Art, 220

Naming Standards: The Science, 227

More Tips for Readability, 229

Summary, 230

References, 231

Factoring, 235

Factoring Techniques, 237

Factoring Criteria, 244

Compile-Time Factoring, 259

The Iterative Approach in Implementation, 265

References, 270

Handling Data: Stacks and States, 271

The Stylish Stack, 272

The Stylish Return Stack, 283

The Problem With Variables, 284

Local and Global Variables/Initialization, 289

Contents xviSaving and Restoring a State, 290

Application Stacks, 293

Sharing Components, 294

The State Table, 297

Vectored Execution, 302

Using DOER/MAKE, 304

Summary, 310

References, 310

Minimizing Control Structures, 314

What’s So Bad about Control Structures?, 315

How to Eliminate Control Structures, 320

A Note on Tricks, 335

Summary, 356

References, 357

For Further Thinking, 357

Forth’s Effect on Thinking, 362

Appendix A Overview of Forth (For Newcomers), 366

Appendix B Defining DOER/MAKE, 371

Appendix C Other Utilities Described in This Book, 380

Appendix D Answers to “Further Thinking” Problems, 384

Appendix E Summary of Style Conventions, 387

Index, 396