Mac Forth

[Mac128]

Anybody ever use Mac Forth? This auction on eBay doesn't go into a lot of detail.

[Anonymous Freak]

"this rare complete original 1984 MacFORTH Level 2 collector set!"???

collector set?!?

It's a freakin' box of software! Not a limited-edition collectible plate!

As for what it is. It's a programming language. I was happy to never have to learn FORTH. FORTRAN was bad enough. (Although from what I recall, FORTH is a fairly simple yet powerful language for mathematical use, just as FORTRAN is simple yet powerful for engineering use.)

[Bunsen]

Forth is the language of the Open Firmware command shell

[Unknown_K]

Looks cool, will keep my eyes open for a "much" cheaper one.

[ClassicHasClass]

Get PocketForth. It's much better. And it's free.

[Bunsen]

There should be *oodles* of free and open source Forth implementations out there, and free docs.

[Unknown_K]

One of the cool things about collecting vintage software releases is the box and original manuals. Sure you might be able to find some later free release of Forth software and print out a "manual", but it is not the same thing to me.

[Dog Cow]

danapplemacman routinely over-prices his "valuable wares."

[msieweke]

Back in the dark ages (1984), there were precious few ways to write software for the Mac on the Mac. Apple wanted you to develop on a Lisa. Mac Pascal was an interpreter. Mac Basic was killed by Microsoft. I bought one of the few available options - MacForth. As I recall, it's a decent implementation with words defined for calls into the toolbox. It came in several versions with different costs. I think I paid $75 or $125. The professional version(s) were quite expensive. I think it was fairly popular because it was the first system that let you write stand-alone applications on the Mac. It even ran on a 128k.

IMO Forth is a quirky language, but highly interactive. This interactivity can make it very productive for developers. Forth is a stack-based postfix language. I tried, but I never learned to think in Forth. I did write a very simple terminal emulator, but I can't recall much else.

There are several free Forth systems for the Mac. Check out forth.org for more info, including tutorials, primers, and online books.

[CJ_Miller]

Yikes! I am glad I didn't realize how "collectible" this was! I bought the same package around 2008 with two Forth books thrown in for less than $5.

item: Amazing vintage gold-plated collectible Forth IDE - WOW!!! RARE!!! OMG!!!

[JDW]

Dan has relisted it for $250. In the original listing Mac128 links to, the price was $400. If this continues, it might become attractively priced after 4 more relistings.

[BarnacleGrim]

Hack Forth, using emacs on the key. Save in NVRAM if you please!
http://playground.sun.com/1275/misc/ofwsong.au