2 - Openware Misc/Forth Virtual OS/scripting language.

["Wayne Morellini" <waynemm@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm going to post a number of misc suggestions today (to catch up).
(before I go on the Faq thing is good Greg, I was going to suggest it to you 
myself, next email).

From:  Alan Grimes <alangrimes@starpower.net>

>Here's my counterproposal:

>http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/

>I have overhauled the crap out of my website. Now I am seeking experienced
>programmers to act as consultants to help me design a new computing
>environment that will completely abstract the hardware/any OS environment.
>It will provide an elegant and efficient means for executing programs on a
>wide variety of platforms.

Actually I have had something up my sleeve for years, so I am going to offer 
some sugestions.

I have thought about doing a misc virtual code based on the misc processor 
instruction set before, but I have my own alternative to work on instead.

========================

What we need is an open freeware vitual misc/Forth engine that can be used 
as an internet plugin and operate on multiple machines.  It shouldn't be 
based on the x21 instruction set but be suitably abstracted so that programs 
written for it would quickly translate and quickly execute on Misc and other 
stack based forth processors, while execution on other processors may suffer 
slightly (though their engineers should have wasted a few thousand 
transistors to give them stack support anyway).

The language should be a simplified stripped down version of forth (as cm 
forth was or colour forth is).

Tip Number 1:
The VOS should only include functions that are likely to be used by more 
than one program on a users system (if programmers want it they can add it 
to their own code), or definetly be used (file system, window system).  
Limit functionality to definites allow programmers to add there own.

Tip0:
Keep it simple/easy s..  See nmext message on what is simple (tommorow 
maybe).

Tip 2:
Make it fast and compact, none of this thrashing about interpreted code like 
Java did.  Load and translate to machine code and then execute.

Tip3:
Make all OS and routines in machine code for PC (for fast execution).

Tip4:
Compile Size should be under 1 Megabyte (for easy download over the web, and 
to impress people;).

Tip 5:
Have restricted access to a standard OS's API (either Linux or Windows, pref 
not Java, make a chioce).  The reson why is that the host's native (C or 
Machine code) routines will be faster than can be programmed in the virtual 
OS, and they have already done the programming and loaded it for you.  This 
also gains access to their hardware abstraction (Direct X, OPENGL, resource 
management and windowing system) system services and hardware device drivers 
(the big thing that kills new OS is writting device drivers and software).  
Also, if Linux was used, the nessacary linux routines could be made to work 
under a windows environment (through rewritting and recompilation) and be 
loaded with the vos.


By having it as a Web OS plug in you gain a pratical use and exuse for 
writting Forth code.  By gaining a popular PC market you also gain software 
support for Misc processors on the side.

Tip 6:
Restrict the host OS API available based on requirements of tip 1.  Also the 
more you make available the more complex it is, the more of say "Linux" you 
have to port to a say a: "Misc" machine, the bigger the memory foot print, 
the more complex the programs will be.

Tip Last:
Even with these short cuts you have a lot of work to do.  Vos is a complex 
art with a lot of problems.

There maybe more but I'm not feeling the best at the moment.


Wayne.
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