You. Forth. Simplicity.

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This wiki remains, like the original forum, mainly for historical value. There is a new wiki which, while having less content, is more secure and oriented towards modern Retro implementations.

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Q What are word prefixes?
A This is a feature specific to RetroForth. Introduced in 9.2.0, the prefixes allow for working with variables and words in new ways. For example, variables can be fetched/stored by prefixing with @ and !. You can obtain the xt of a word by prefixing with ~. And, in 9.2.1, you will be able to compile a call to a macro (or any other word) by prefixing it with a `.

Q What are word classes?
A Word classes are a special type of word that is state-aware, and knows how to process other words based on the current system state. They can be aware of things other than just the compile/interpret state, and allow for a lot more flexibility than a simple immediate or inline bit in the dictionary header.

Q Can I develop GUI apps with RetroForth?
A Yes. We provide bindings for GTK 1.2, 2.x, and plain X11 in the library. You will need to use the Generic or Windows ports of RetroForth to use these bindings.

Q What is the best way to obtain RetroForth?
A On a Linux or Free/NetBSD system, I recommend trying the getretro script. This takes care of downloading, linking (if necessary) and setting permissions, as well as installing the retro binary to the appropiate location. In the near future, it will also obtain the retro-ffi (Generic) binary as well. Users on non Linux or BSD systems should grab the tarball from the RetroForth site, and use the proper binary for the host OS.

Q Do I need to compile RetroForth myself?
A No. In most cases, you will not need to compile RetroForth yourself. If you do, (for example, if you are writing a new port, or need to customize your copy), it's not too difficult though.

Q How do I compile RetroForth?
A First, download the source package from http://retroforth.org, then download the flat assembler for your OS. Set the permissions on the build script to +x, and then run ./build and follow the instructions it provides. You will need to be on a Linux or BSD type system for this to work. Cygwin and MinGW may suffice, but this has not been tested.

Q insert question here?
A