Adventures in the Forth Dimension

Abstract

Forth is a language that, for most programmers, is like the back side of the Moon: they know it is there but have never laid eyes on it. Yet Forth is mature (about as old as Lisp or C); ubiquitous in everyday applications such as automated tellers, package tracking, airline reservations, telephone switching systems, and microcontrollers everywhere; and built into millions of personal computers and workstations in the guise of IEEE Open Firmware. The page description language PostScript also has its roots in Forth.