Handling multiple data types in Forth
           Journal of Forth Application and Research, v. 6, no. 1, (1990), 65-76.


view/download (pdf)  

This paper deals with the problem of introducing multiple data types into a Forth system while preserving the simplicity of the language.  Forth is built around an untyped stack. The introduction of several data types, particularly of different size, would normally require either alteration of Forth to use strong typing and a typed stack; or the introduction of a large variety of new stack operations. This paper provides a simpler method for handling multiple data types. The method it describes for handing temporaries (unnamed intermediate results of computation) has been used in all of my subsequent research systems.