A modern FORTH compiler with GUIs

This is really is a stupid post, but as I was checking out the examples in MPE Forth, I got the GUI running. It was really easy to do, all it took was changing the line for the SetMacro path, like so (it may be different for your system):

c" C:\MPE\VfxEval\Examples\Win32\GUIgen" SetMacro GUIlib
Here's the evidence:

The thing in the red square is the GUI produced, all pretty with columns and all (hey - maybe you can write a spreadsheet in Forth!) You can also see the big, thorough manual for GUIgen, and a Forth interpreter running. Although this is Windows-specific, MPE Forth also supports GTK, but the documentation isn't as complete as for GUIgen. Swift Forth also supports GUIs, and so does iForth, but I found their documentation lacking (Swift Forth, in particular, has been around for so long that they ought to have done a better job with the documentation, while iForth is a one man enterprise). I thought MPE Forth had better documentation (could be improved, though) than, say, Swift Forth. Given the fact that learning Forth is kind of a steep climb, documentation is a key factor for me. I suppose you would like to be able to use a GUI too, perhaps, as opposed to a command line application. Besides, MPE Forth is fast (actually, the correct name is VFX Forth).

So here you go, a GUI for a modern Forth. Not only are modern Forth compilers very fast and aggressive, but these modern Forth systems are way cheaper than their C/C++ counterparts (some Smalltalk systems are very cost-effective too - I just don't get it why more independent developers aren't using more of these tools - what have you got to loose?).

What can I say? I just think Forth is cool. I really got turned on to Forth when I saw a guy who had done his own CAD system in Forth! How's that for awesomeness? I had already come in contact with Forth but, as he put it, with Forth you go from very low level (e.g., assembly primitives and then a Forth layer very close to the metal) to very abstract, very high level.

See ya next time!

PS: Oh! I should mention other Forths with GUIs: Win32Forth, VisualForth (based on Win32Forth) and Gforth (this one is a GPL implementation with the dual-license loophole - I don't see the point, given the GPL constraint, the non-clear contract, and the lack of good documentation).

MPE Forth