Though BASIC was mostly used on residence computer systems just like the Commodore VIC-20, it was potential to put in writing packages in different languages, akin to Forth. Conveniently, all it took to arrange a Forth improvement system was inserting the cartridge into the VIC-20 and powering it on, with the VIC-FORTH cartridge by [Tom Zimmer] being a well-liked alternative for the Commodore VIC-20. In a latest video, the [My Developer Thoughts] YouTube channel covers Forth improvement utilizing this cartridge.

Along with the video tutorial, the unique VIC-FORTH Instruction Guide can be accessible, along with the 1541 disk picture. In an upcoming video, the Commodore 64 model of the cartridge may even be coated, which is known as 64Forth, and which can be available to tinker with. For these all for studying extra about [Tom Zimmer] and his Forth-related work, a 2010 interview could possibly be attention-grabbing. This covers the opposite platforms which he developed an implementation for.

As for why Forth is perhaps attention-grabbing to builders and customers, this comes principally right down to the a lot decrease overhead of Forth in comparison with BASIC, whereas avoiding the pitfalls of ASM and resource-intensive nature of creating in C, as your entire Forth improvement system (compiler, editor, and so on.) comfortably matches within the restricted reminiscence of the typical 8-bit residence laptop.

(Due to [Stephen Walters] for the tip)