Alee Forth is a concise Forth implementation written in modern C++ that aims for portability, minimal program size, and execution efficiency.
Alee Forth is a concise Forth implementation written in modern C++ that aims for portability, minimal memory footprint, and execution efficiency.
## Cross-platform compatibility
Alee Forth relies on the C++20 standard. It *does not* rely on any operating system. As a result, portability extends down to microcontroller targets with <1kBofmemory.Seethe`msp430`folderforanexampleofsuchaport.
Alee Forth relies on the C++20 standard. It *does not* rely on any operating system. As a result, portability extends down to microcontroller targets with <16kB flashand<1kBofRAM.Seethe`msp430`folderforanexampleofsuchaport.
System-specific functionality is obtained through a `sys` Forth word. This word calls a user-supplied C++ function that implements whatever functionality is needed.
System-specific functionality is achieved through a `sys` Forth word. This word calls a user-supplied C++ function that implements whatever functionality is needed.
## Forth compatibility
Alee implements the entire "core" and majority of the "core extension" [word-sets](https://forth-standard.org/standard/core). Implementation is tracked in `compat.txt` with missing words listed below. Fundamental words are hard-coded into Alee while the rest of the implementation is found in `forth/core.fth` and `forth/core-ext.fth`. Running Alee without these implementation files will leave you with a very minimal word-set. These files may be compiled into the Alee binary by building the `standalone` target.
Alee Forth uses the [Forth 2012 test suite](https://github.com/gerryjackson/forth2012-test-suite) to ensure standards compliance. The entire "core" [word-set](https://forth-standard.org/standard/core) is implemented as well as most of the "core extension" word-set. The compiled program contains a minimal set of fundamental words with libraries in the `forth` directory supplying these larger word-sets. The "core" word-set can be compiled into the program by building the `standalone` target.
**Missing** core extension words:
**Missing** core extensions:
```
.R HOLDS PAD PARSE PARSE-NAME REFILL RESTORE-INPUT S\" SAVE-INPUT SOURCE-ID U.R U> UNUSED WITHIN [COMPILE]
```
Alee aims for compliance with common Forth standards like Forth 2012 and ANS Forth. Compliance is tested using a [Forth 2012 test suite](https://github.com/gerryjackson/forth2012-test-suite). Supported test files are in the `test` directory with tests for unimplemented words commented out.
## Building
Alee requires `make` and a compiler that supports C++20. Simply running `make` will produce the `libalee.a` library and a REPL binary named `alee`. You will likely want to pass in the core implementation files by calling`./alee forth/core.fth forth/core-ext.fth`.
Alee requires `make` and a compiler that supports C++20. Simply running `make` will produce the `libalee.a` library and a REPL binary named `alee`. The core word-sets can be passed into `alee` via the command line:`./alee forth/core.fth forth/core-ext.fth`.
Other available build targets:
@ -30,5 +29,5 @@ Other available build targets:
* `standalone`: Builds the core dictionary (`core.fth`) into the binary.
* `msp430-prep` and `msp430`: Builds a binary for the [MSP430G2553](https://www.ti.com/product/MSP430G2553) microcontroller. See the `msp430` folder for more information.
If building for a new platform, review these files: `Makefile`, `libalee/types.hpp`, and `libalee/state.hpp`.
If building for a new platform, review these files: `Makefile`, `libalee/types.hpp`, and `libalee/state.hpp`. It is possible to modify the implementation to use 32-bit words, but this will require re-writing the core word-sets.
