Forth is an interactive programming environment. Although it is often referred to as a programming language, it includes additional environment components. Forth includes an editor, compiler, debugger, assembler, and utilities. Because it is an integrated development environment, programmers often have a quicker development and testing cycle.

One of Forthüs greatest strengths is its extensibility. It already has a large command library, but new commands can be defined either in assembly code or in terms of previously defined Forth commands. Vendors have produced marketable extensions to Forth to meet special needs, and information systems departments often create extensions for their own purposes.

History

Forth was developed in the 1960s by Charles Moore at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Moore wanted to create a language that would allow more direct user-to-machine interaction. He perceived this language as being for next-generation (or fourth-generation) computers. Since his filesystem restricted filename length...