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diff --git a/doc/index.html b/doc/index.html index 850acfd0cd13..3f811e3b5497 100644 --- a/doc/index.html +++ b/doc/index.html @@ -1,116 +1,382 @@ <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML> - <HEAD> - <META name="Author" content="john sadler"> - <META name="Description" content="Ficl - embedded scripting with object oriented programming"> - <META name="Keywords" content="scripting prototyping tcl OOP Forth interpreter C"> -<STYLE> - H1 {font: Arial; color: navy} - H2 {font: Arial; color: navy} - LI {font: Arial} -</STYLE> - <LINK rel="SHORTCUT ICON" href="ficl.ico"> - <TITLE> - Ficl - Embedded Scripting - Index - </TITLE> - </HEAD> - <BODY> - <H1> - <B>Ficl Documentation</B> - </H1> -<SCRIPT language="javascript" src="ficlheader.js" type="text/javascript"> -</SCRIPT> - <TABLE summary="table of contents" border="0" cellspacing="3" cols="2" width="675"> - <TR> - <TD width="500"> - <H2> - Contents - </H2> - <UL> - <LI> - <A href="ficl_rel.html">Release notes</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#whatis">What is ficl?</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/ficl">Ficl project page on Sourceforge</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=24441">Download</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#links">Tutorials and References</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#includesficl">Ficl Inside!</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#lawyerbait">Disclaimer ∓ License</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#features">Ficl features</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#porting">Porting</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#api">Application Programming Interface</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#manifest">Distribution source files</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl_loc.html">Local variables</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl_oop.html">Object Oriented Programming in ficl</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl_debug.html">Ficl Debugger</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#extras">Ficl extras</A> - <UL> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#exnumber">Number syntax</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl_parse.html">Parser extensions and prefix support</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#exsearch">Search order words</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#exuser">User variables</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#exmisc">Miscellaneous useful words</A> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#exficlwin">FiclWin words</A> - </LI> - </UL> - </LI> - <LI> - <A href="ficl.html#ansinfo">ANS required information</A> - </LI> - </UL> - </TD> - <TD width="175"> - <A href="http://nav.webring.yahoo.com/hub?ring=forth∓list"><IMG src="http://www.iidbs.com/images/4ring.gif" width="155" height="140" border="0" alt="Forth Webring Logo"></A> - <CENTER> - <FONT size="3"><BR> - <A href="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=forth;id=47;prev5">Previous 5 Sites</A><BR> - <A href="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=forth;id=47;prev">Previous</A><BR> - <A href="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=forth;id=47;next">Next</A><BR> - <A href="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=forth;id=47;next5">Next 5 Sites</A><BR> - <A href="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=forth;random">Random Site</A><BR> - <A href="http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=forth;list">List Sites</A></FONT> - </CENTER> - </TD> - </TR> - </TABLE> - </BODY> -</HTML> +<HEAD> +<META name='Description' content='Ficl - embedded scripting with object oriented programming'> +<META name='Keywords' content='scripting prototyping tcl OOP Forth interpreter C'> +<LINK rel='SHORTCUT ICON' href='ficl.ico'> +<TITLE>ficl</TITLE> +<style> + +blockquote { margin-left: 1em } + +</style> + +</HEAD> +<BODY> + +<table border=0 cellspacing=0 width=100%%><tr> + + +<td width=112 bgcolor=#004968 colspan=3> +<img src=graphics/ficl.4.96.jpg height=96 width=96> +</td> + +<td bgcolor=#004968> +<font face=arial,helvetica color=white size=7><b><i> +ficl +</i></b></font> +</td></tr> + + +<tr> +<td bgcolor=#004968 width=10></td> +<td bgcolor=#004968 valign=top> +<br><p> +<a href=index.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>Index</b></font></a><p> +<p><br> +<a href=dpans.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>ANS</b></font></a><br> +<a href=api.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>API</b></font></a><br> +<a href=debugger.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>Debugger</b></font></a><br> +<a href=http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=24441><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>Download</b></font></a><br> +<a href=license.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>Licensing</b></font></a><br> +<a href=links.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>Links</b></font></a><br> +<a href=locals.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>Locals</b></font></a><br> +<a href=oop.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>OOP In Ficl</b></font></a><br> +<a href=parsesteps.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>Parse Steps</b></font></a><br> +<a href=releases.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>Release History</b></font></a><br> +<a href=upgrading.html><font face=arial,helvetica color=white><b>Upgrading To 4.0</b></font></a><br> +</td><td bgcolor=#004968 width=5></td><td valign=top><blockquote><p> + + + + + +<p> +</blockquote><table border=0 bgcolor=#a0a0a0 width=100%><tr> + +<td width=1em></td> +<td> +<font face=arial,helvetica color=#004968 size=5><b><i> +<a name='WhatisFicl'> +What is Ficl? +</a></i></b></font></td></tr></table><p><blockquote> + + + + +Ficl is a programming language interpreter designed to be embedded +into other systems as a command, macro, and development prototyping +language. +<p> + +Ficl is an acronym for "Forth Inspired Command Language". + + + +<p> +</blockquote><table border=0 bgcolor=#a0a0a0 width=100%><tr> + +<td width=1em></td> +<td> +<font face=arial,helvetica color=#004968 size=5><b><i> +<a name='FiclFeatures'> +Ficl Features +</a></i></b></font></td></tr></table><p><blockquote> + + + +<dl> + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is <b><i>easy to port.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +<ul> + +<li> +It typically takes under 2 hours to port to a new platform. + +<li> +Ficl is written in strict ANSI C. + +<li> +Ficl can run natively on 32- and 64-bit processors. + +</ul> + + + +<p><dt> +Ficl has a <b><i>small memory footprint.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +A fully featured Win32 console version takes less than 100K +of memory, and a minimal version is less +than half that. + + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is <b><i>easy to integrate</i></b> into your program. +<dd> + + + +Where most Forths view themselves as the center of the system and +expect the rest of the system to be coded in Forth, Ficl acts as a +component of your program. It is easy to export code written in C or +ASM to Ficl (in the style of TCL), or to invoke Ficl code from a +compiled module. + + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is <b><i>fast.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +Thanks to its +<a href=http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/forth/threaded-code.html#switch-threading>"switch-threaded"</a> +virtual machine design, Ficl 4 is faster than ever—about 3x the speed of Ficl 3. +Ficl also features blindingly fast "just in time" compiling, removing the "compile" step from +the usual compile-debug-edit iterative debugging cycle. + + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is a <b><i>complete and powerful programming language.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +Ficl is an implementation of the FORTH language, a language providing +a wide range of standard programming language features: +<ul> + +<li> +Integer and floating-point numbers, with a rich set of operators. + +<li> +Arrays. + +<li> +File I/O. + +<li> +Flow control (<code>if/then/else</code> and many looping structures). + +<li> +Subroutines with named arguments. + +<li> +Language extensibility. + +<li> +Powerful code pre-processing features. + +</ul> + + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is <b><i>standards-compliant.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +Ficl conforms to the 1994 ANSI Standard for FORTH (DPANS94). +See <a href=dpans.html>ANS Required Information</a> for +more detail. + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is <b><i>extensible.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +Ficl is extensible both at compile-time and at run-time. +You can add new script functions, new native functions, +even new control structures. + + + + +<p><dt> +Ficl adds <b><i>object oriented programming features.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +Ficl's flexible OOP library can be used to wrap +data structures or classes of the host system without altering them. +(And remember how we said Ficl was extensible? Ficl's object-oriented +programming extensions are written in Ficl.) + + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is <b><i>interactive.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +Ficl can be used interactively, like most other FORTHs, Python, +and Smalltalk. You can inspect data, run commands, or even +define new commands, all on a running Ficl VM. +Ficl also has a built-in script debugger that allows you to +step through Ficl code as it is executed. + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is <b><i>ROMable.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +Ficl is designed to work in RAM based and ROM code / RAM +data environments. + + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is <b><i>safe for multithreaded programs.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +Ficl is reentrant and thread-safe. After initialization, +it does not write to any global data. + + +<p><dt> +Ficl is <b><i>open-source and free.</i></b> +<dd> + + + +The <a href=license.html>Ficl licence</a> is a BSD-style +license, requiring only that you document that you are +using Ficl. There are no licensing costs for using Ficl. + + +</dl> + + +<a name=whatsnew> + +<p> +</blockquote><table border=0 bgcolor=#a0a0a0 width=100%><tr> + +<td width=1em></td> +<td> +<font face=arial,helvetica color=#004968 size=5><b><i> +<a name='WhatsNewInFicl40'> +What's New In Ficl 4.0? +</a></i></b></font></td></tr></table><p><blockquote> + + +</a> + +Ficl 4.0 is a major change for Ficl. Ficl 4.0 is <i>smaller</i>, +<i>faster</i>, <i>more powerful</i>, and <i>easier to use</i> +than ever before. (Or your money back!) +<p> + +Ficl 4.0 features a major engine rewrite. Previous versions +of Ficl stored compiled words as an array of pointers to data +structure; Ficl 4.0 adds "instructions", and changes over to +mostly using a "switch-threaded" model. The result? Ficl 4.0 +is approximately <i>three times</i> as fast as Ficl 3.03. +<p> + +Ficl 4.0 also adds the ability to store the "softcore" words +as LZ77 compressed text. Decompression is so quick as to be +nearly unmeasurable (0.00384 seconds on a 750MHz AMD Duron-based +machine). And even with the runtime decompressor, the resulting +Ficl executable is over 13k smaller! +<p> + +Another new feature: Ficl 4.0 can take advantage of native +support for double-word math. If your platform supports it, +set the preprocessor symbol <code>FICL_HAVE_NATIVE_2INTEGER</code> +to 1, and create <code>typedefs</code> for <code>ficl2Integer</code> +and <code>ficl2Unsigned</code>. +<p> + +Ficl 4.0 also features a retooled API, and a redesigned directory +tree. The API is now far more consistent. But for those of you +who are upgrading from Ficl 3.03 or before, you can enable API +backwards compatibility by turning on the compile-time flag +<code>FICL_WANT_COMPATIBILITY</code>. +<p> + +Ficl 4.0 also extends support every kind of local and +global value imaginable. Every values can individually +be local or global, single-cell or double-cell, and +integer or floating-point. +And <code>TO</code> <i>always</i> does the right thing. +<p> + +If you're using Ficl under Windows, you'll be happy +to know that there's a brand-new build process. +The Ficl build process now builds Ficl as +<ul> + +<li> +a static library (.LIB), + +<li> +a dynamic library (.DLL, with a .LIB import library), and + +<li> +a standalone executable (.EXE). + +</ul> + +Furthermore, each of these targets can be built in +Debug or Release, Singlethreaded or Multithreaded, +and optionally using the DLL version of the C runtime +library for Multithreaded builds. (And, plus, the +<code>/objects/common</code> nonsense is gone!) +<p> + + +Finally, Ficl 4.0 adds a <code>contrib</code> +directory, a repository for user-contributed code that isn't +part of the standard Ficl release. The only package there +right now is <b>XClasses</b>, a Python-based IDL that generates +the definition files for C++-based classes, the equivalent Ficl +classes, and code to allow the Ficl classes to call the C++ methods. +Using <b>XClasses</b> you can write your class once, and use it +immediately from both C++ and Ficl. + + + +<p> +</blockquote><table border=0 bgcolor=#a0a0a0 width=100%><tr> + +<td width=1em></td> +<td> +<font face=arial,helvetica color=#004968 size=5><b><i> +<a name='GettingFicl'> +Getting Ficl +</a></i></b></font></td></tr></table><p><blockquote> + + + +You can download Ficl from the +<a href=http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=24441> +Ficl download page at Sourceforge</a>. + + + +</blockquote><p></td></tr></table></body></html> + |