Forths

Forths may refer to different things, most commonly to the programming language Forth and, less commonly, to the ordinary adverb forth used in English. The plural form forths is rarely used in standard English, and speakers typically use forth as an uninflected adverb or the verb phrase go forth.

In computing, Forth (often capitalized as Forth) is a stack-based, extensible programming language created in the late 1960s by Charles H. Moore. Programs in Forth are built from a sequence of words. New words can be defined to extend the language, making it highly configurable for its host system. The language uses a data stack and an optional return stack to hold operands and control information, and it employs postfix (reverse Polish) notation. Forth emphasizes portability and compact runtime footprints, which has made it popular for embedded systems, real-time control, robotics, and space missions. Numerous implementations exist, covering diverse architectures; many include interactive shells and compiler loops that allow iterative development.

History and impact: Forth inspired a family of stack-based languages and influenced the design of extensible, domain-specific languages. Despite diminishing mainstream use, it remains active in niche fields and hobbyist communities, with open standards and a range of public-domain and commercial implementations.