Path: ...!news.nobody.at!2.eu.feeder.erje.net!feeder.erje.net!newsfeed.bofh.team!paganini.bofh.team!not-for-mail From: antispam@fricas.org (Waldek Hebisch) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: The joy of FORTH (not) Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2024 22:25:37 -0000 (UTC) Organization: To protect and to server Message-ID: References: <20241021075543.00000494@gmail.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2024 22:25:37 -0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: paganini.bofh.team; logging-data="3293926"; posting-host="WwiNTD3IIceGeoS5hCc4+A.user.paganini.bofh.team"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@bofh.team"; posting-account="9dIQLXBM7WM9KzA+yjdR4A"; User-Agent: tin/2.6.2-20221225 ("Pittyvaich") (Linux/6.1.0-9-amd64 (x86_64)) X-Notice: Filtered by postfilter v. 0.9.3 Bytes: 2820 Lines: 33 In alt.folklore.computers Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote: > On Mon, 21 Oct 2024 07:55:43 -0700, John Ames wrote: > >> On Mon, 21 Oct 2024 08:41:38 -0000 (UTC) >> Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote: >> >>> Why would anyone want to use it, though? >> >> For starters, it's about the simplest way to get a minimal interactive >> system going on a homebrew/hobbyist computer project which still offers >> full access to the bare metal ... > > But for an RP2040, you can already cross-compile C code from a Linux-based > host, like a Raspberry Pi. That will give you “full access to the bare > metal”, without the overheads of threaded code. You missed 2 points: 1) Mecrisp is a native compiler. I do not think it optimizes as well as gcc, but slowdown is smaller than threaded code and size is comparable. 2) Key words above were "interactive system" and in particular interactive debugging. Unfortunately some embedded systems have only expensive closed source debuggers. For RP2040 in principle one should be able to get open source debugger, but RP2040 have/had trouble with compatibilty: you needed matched patched versions of tools and a second RP2040 to work as debugging interface. Makers of RP2040 intend it as Micro-Python board, but AFAIK Micro-Python is much slower and larger than Forth. -- Waldek Hebisch