An introduction to the Beetle Forth virtual processor

ABSTRACT

Beetle is a virtual processor designed for the Forth language. It uses a modified, byte-stream code designed for efficient execution which is binary portable between implementations. It has been implemented in C and assembler. The C implementation is completely machine independent with the exception of interactive input and output; the assembler version runs the supplied Forth compiler at up to half the speed of the corresponding native code compiler and generates more compact code. Beetle is designed to be embedded in other programs; a simple debugger has been written to demonstrate this ability. Beetle can be configured to perform bounds checking on all memory references. A standard library is implemented; access to native code routines is also possible, allowing Forth and C programs to call each other.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization

General Terms:
Design, Languages