c4a: a 32-bit Forth system for PCs and Arduino, inspired by ColorForth and Tachyon

ColorForth's influence on c4a

• c4a supports control characters in the whitespace that change the state.
  
• c4a has 4 states: INTERPRET, COMPILE, DEFINE, AND COMMENT,
  
• c4a also supports the standard state-change words.
  

Ascii	Word	State	Description
$01	]	1	Compile
$02	:	2	Define
$03	[	3	Interpret/execute/immediate
$04		4	Comment
	(	4	Comment, save current state
	)		End comment, restores saved state

NOTE: In the DEFINE state, c4a changes the state to COMPILE after adding the next word.
NOTE: Unlike ColorForth, ';' compiles EXIT and then changes the state to INTERPRET.

Tachyon's influence on c4a

• In c4a, a program is a sequence of WORD-CODEs.
  
• A WORD-CODE is a 32-bit unsigned number (i.e. - a DWORD).
  
• Primitives are assigned numbers sequentially from 0 to [BYE].
  
• If a WORD-CODE is less than or equal to [BYE], it is a primitive.
  
• If the top 3 bits are set, it is a 29-bit unsigned literal, 0-$1FFFFFFF.
  
• If it is between [BYE], and $E0000000, it is the code address of a word to execute.
  

CELLs in c4a

• A CELL in c4a is 32-bits, the same size as a WORD-CODE.
• Since development boards don't support 64-bits, neither does c4a.
• For PCs, only 32-bit platforms are supported.
• For 64-bit systems, see c4: https://github.com/CCurl/c4).

Building c4a

PCs - Windows and Linux, and probably others

• Windows: there is a c4a.sln file for Visual Studio
  • only the x86 target is supported
• Linux: there is a makefile
  • only the 32-bit configuration (-m32) is supported
• Others:
  • c4a is simple enough that it should be easy to migrate it to any platform

Development boards via the Arduino IDE:

• I use the Arduino IDE v2.0
• There is a c4a.ino file
• File c4a.h controls parameters for the target board
• Edit the section where isBOARD is defined to set the configuration for the board
• Use #define FILE_NONE to disable support for blocks and LittleFS
• For the RPI Pico:
  • Use the arduino-pico from earlephilhower (https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico)
  • The version must be 4.2.0 or later. Versions older than 4.0.0 do not support boards using the RP2350 microcontroller.
  • Use #define FILE_PICO to include support for LittleFS
• For the Teensy-4.x:
  • Use #define FILE_TEENSY to include support for LittleFS

c4a memory areas

c4a provides a single memory area. See 'mem-sz' (MEM_SZ in c4a.h) for its size.

• It is broken into 3 areas: CODE, VARS, and DICT.
• The CODE area is an aray of WORD-CODEs starting at the beginning of the memory.
  • here is an offset into the CODE area.
  • The size of the CODE area is code-sz. See 'code-sz' (CODE_SZ in c4a.h).
  • NOTE: Use wc@ and wc! to get and set WORD-CODE values in the code area.
  • NOTE: CODE slots 0-25 (0 wc@ .. 25 wc@) are reserved for c4a system values.
  • NOTE: CODE slots 26-[BYE] (26 wc@ .. [BYE] wc@) are unused by c4a.
  • NOTE: So c4a provides space for about 75 'free' variables.
  • NOTE: These are free for the user/application to use as desired.
• The VARS area is defined to begin at address code-sz wc-sz * memory +.
  • vhere is the absolute address of the first free byte the VARS area.
• The DICT is at the end of the memory. 'last' grows toward the beginning of the memory.
  • last is an offset into the memory area.
• Use ->memory to turn an offset into an address.

WORD	STACK	DESCRIPTION
memory	(--A)	A: starting address of the c4a memory
mem-sz	(--N)	N: size in BYTEs of the c4a memory
code-sz	(--N)	N: number of in WORD-CODE slots in the code area
dstk-sz	(--N)	N: size in CELLs of the DATA and RETURN stacks
tstk-sz	(--N)	N: size in CELLs of the A and T stacks
wc-sz	(--N)	N: size in BYTEs of a WORD-CODE
de-sz	(--N)	N: size in BYTEs of a dictionary entry
(dsp)	(--N)	N: CODE slot for the data stack pointer
(rsp)	(--N)	N: CODE slot for the return stack pointer
(lsp)	(--N)	N: CODE slot for the loop stack pointer
(tsp)	(--N)	N: CODE slot for the T stack pointer
(asp)	(--N)	N: CODE slot for the A stack pointer
(here)	(--N)	N: CODE slot for the HERE variable
(last)	(--N)	N: CODE slot for the LAST variable
base	(--N)	N: CODE slot for the BASE variable
state	(--N)	N: CODE slot for the STATE variable

c4a Strings

Strings in c4a are NULL-terminated with no count byte.

Format specifiers in ftype and ."

Similar to the printf() function in C, c4a supports formatted output using '%'.
For example : ascii dup dup dup ." char %c, decimal #%d, binary: %%%b, hex: $%x%n" ;.

Format	Stack	Description
%b	(N--)	Print TOS in base 2.
%c	(N--)	EMIT TOS.
%d	(N--)	Print TOS in base 10.
%e	(--)	EMIT escape (#27).
%i	(N--)	Print TOS in the current base.
%n	(--)	Print CR/LF (13/10).
%q	(--)	EMIT " (#34).
%s	(A--)	Print TOS as a string (formatted).
%S	(A--)	Print TOS as a string (unformatted).
%x	(N--)	Print TOS in base 16.
%[x]	(--)	EMIT [x].

The A stack

c4a includes an A stack.
This is somewhat similar to MachineForth's operations for 'a', but in c4a, it is a stack.
The size of the A stack is configurable (see tstk-sz).

WORD	STACK	DESCRIPTION
>a	(N--)	Push N onto the A stack.
a!	(N--)	Set A-TOS to N.
a@	(--N)	N: copy of A-TOS.
a@+	(--N)	N: copy of A-TOS, then increment A-TOS.
a@-	(--N)	N: copy of A-TOS, then decrement A-TOS.
a>	(--N)	Pop N from the A stack.
adrop	(--)	Drop A-TOS

The T Stack

c4a includes a T stack, with the same operations as the A stack.
Note that there are also additional words for the return stack.

WORD	STACK	DESCRIPTION
>t	(N--)	Push N onto the T stack.
t!	(N--)	Set T-TOS to N.
t@	(--N)	N: copy of T-TOS.
t@+	(--N)	N: copy of T-TOS, then increment T-TOS.
t@-	(--N)	N: copy of T-TOS, then decrement T-TOS.
t>	(--N)	Pop N from the T stack.
tdrop	(--)	Drop T-TOS

c4a WORD-CODE primitives

Stack effect notation conventions:

TERM	DESCRIPTION
SZ/NM/MD	String, uncounted, NULL terminated
A	Address
C	Number, 8-bits
WC	WORD-CODE, 32-bits
N/X/Y	Number, CELL sized
F	Flag: 0 mean0 false, <>0 means true
R	Register number
FH	File handle: 0 means no file
I	For loop index counter

The primitives:

WORD	STACK	DESCRIPTION
(lit)	(--WC)	WC: WORD-CODE for LIT primitive
(jmp)	(--WC)	WC: WORD-CODE for JMP primitive
(jmpz)	(--WC)	WC: WORD-CODE for JMPZ primitive
(jmpnz)	(--WC)	WC: WORD-CODE for JMPNZ primitive
(njmpz)	(--WC)	WC: WORD-CODE for NJMPZ primitive
(njmpnz)	(--WC)	WC: WORD-CODE for NJMPNZ primitive
(exit)	(--WC)	WC: WORD-CODE for EXIT primitive
exit	(--)	EXIT word
dup	(X--X X)	Duplicate TOS (Top-Of-Stack)
swap	(X Y--Y X)	Swap TOS and NOS (Next-On-Stack)
drop	(N--)	Drop TOS
over	(N X--N X N)	Push NOS
@	(A--N)	N: the CELL at absolute address A
c@	(A--C)	C: the CHAR at absolute address A
w@	(A--W)	W: the WORD at absolute address A
wc@	(N--WC)	WC: the WORD-CODE in CODE slot N
!	(N A--)	Store CELL N to absolute address A
c!	(C A--)	Store CHAR C to absolute address A
w!	(W A--)	Store WORD W to absolute address A
wc!	(WC N--)	Store WORD-CODE WC to CODE slot N
+	(X Y--N)	N: X + Y
-	(X Y--N)	N: X - Y
*	(X Y--N)	N: X * Y
/	(X Y--N)	N: X / Y (integer division)
/mod	(X Y--M Q)	M: X modulo Y, Q: quotient of X / Y
1+	(X--Y)	Increment TOS
1-	(X--Y)	Decrement TOS
<	(X Y--F)	F: 1 if (X < Y), else 0
=	(X Y--F)	F: 1 if (X = Y), else 0
>	(X Y--F)	F: 1 if (X > Y), else 0
0=	(N--F)	F: 1 if (N=0), else 0
and	(X Y--N)	N: X AND Y
or	(X Y--N)	N: X OR Y
xor	(X Y--N)	N: X XOR Y
com	(X--Y)	Y: X with all bits flipped (complement)
for	(N--)	Begin FOR loop with bounds 0 and N-1.
i	(--I)	N: Current FOR loop index.
next	(--)	Increment I. If I >= N, exit, else start loop again.
unloop	(--)	Unwind the loop stack. NOTE: does NOT exit the loop.
>r	(N--)	Push N onto the return stack
r!	(N--)	Set R-TOS to N
r@	(--N)	N: copy of R-TOS
r@+	(--N)	N: copy of R-TOS, then increment it
r@-	(--N)	N: copy of R-TOS, then decrement it
r>	(--N)	Pop N from the return stack
rdrop	(--)	Drop R-TOS
>t	(N--)	Push N onto the T stack
t!	(N--)	Set T-TOS to N
t@	(--N)	N: copy of T-TOS
t@+	(--N)	N: copy of T-TOS, then increment T-TOS
t@-	(--N)	N: copy of T-TOS, then decrement T-TOS
t>	(--N)	Pop N from the T stack
tdrop	(--)	Drop T-TOS
>a	(N--)	Push N onto the A stack
a!	(N--)	Set A-TOS to N
a@	(--N)	N: copy of A-TOS
a@+	(--N)	N: copy of A-TOS, then increment A-TOS
a@-	(--N)	N: copy of A-TOS, then decrement A-TOS
a>	(--N)	Pop N from the A stack
adrop	(--)	Drop A-TOS
emit	(C--)	Output char C
;	(--)	Compile EXIT, set STATE=INTERPRET
lit,	(N--)	Compile a push of number N
next-wd	(--L)	L: length of the next word from the input stream
immediate	(--)	Mark the last created word as IMMEDIATE
inline	(--)	Mark the last created word as INLINE
outer	(S--)	Send string S to the c4a outer interpreter
addword	(--)	Add the next word to the dictionary
timer	(--N)	N: Current time
see X	(--)	Output the definition of word X
ztype	(S--)	Print string at S (unformatted)
ftype	(S--)	Print string at S (formatted)
s-cpy	(D S--D)	Copy string S to D
s-eq	(D S--F)	F: 1 if string S is equal to D (case sensitive)
s-eqi	(D S--F)	F: 1 if string S is equal to D (NOT case sensitive)
s-len	(S--N)	N: Length of string S
z"	(--)	-COMPILE: Create string S to next "
	(--S)	-RUN: push address S of string
."	(--)	-COMPILE: execute z", compile ftype
	(--)	-RUN: ftype on string
find	(--XT A)	XT: Execution Token, A: Dict Entry address (0 0 if not found)
loaded?	(XT A--)	Stops current load if A <> 0 (see find)
fopen	(NM MD--FH)	NM: File Name, MD: Mode, FH: File Handle (0 if error/not found)
fclose	(FH--)	FH: File Handle to close
fdelete	(NM--)	NM: File Name to delete
fread	(A N FH--X)	A: Buffer, N: Size, FH: File Handle, X: num chars read
fwrite	(A N FH--X)	A: Buffer, N: Size, FH: File Handle, X: num chars written
fseek	(N FH--X)	N: Size, FH: File Handle, X: return from func
fsize	(FH--N)	FH: File Handle, N: file size
fpos	(FH--N)	FH: File Handle, N: current file read/write position
load	(N--)	N: Block number to load
load-next	(N--)	Close the current block and load block N next
blocks	(--)	Dump block cache
block-addr	(N--A)	N: Block number, A: Address in cache
flush	(F--)	F: True => clear cache
flush-block	(N F--)	N: Block number, F: True => clear cache entry
edit	(N--)	N: Block number to edit
system	(S--)	PC ONLY: S: String to send to system()
bye	(--)	PC ONLY: Exit c4a

c4a default words

Default words are defined in function sys_load() in file sys-load.cpp.
For details, or to add or change the default words, modify that function.