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I was introduced to Froth via [Factor](https://factorcode.org https://factorcode.org) (which I discovered as a jEdit user as both have the same initial author).

I was introduced to Froth via [Factor](https://factorcode.org https://factorcode.org) (which I discovered as a jEdit user as both have the same initial author). Factor is a garbage collected higher order Forth that makes it more fun to program in (example: 'quotations', basically pushing lambdas on the stack). If I am doing coding puzzles I do it in Factor. Some might argue that it's not a real Forth because it's not as close to the metal... but you could rewrite Factor in Forth and then the distinction would be gone (think Lisp reader macros). I recommend people curious give it a try.

samatman 4y ago
Factor is an interesting and opinionated language, I agree that it's worth grokking and playing around with. I don't consider it a Forth, nor does it need to be. Factor is borrowing from Joy, Lisp, and Smalltalk, the result has a very different flavor. Nothing wrong with that. The closeness to the metal is basic to the Forth experience, doing interesting things in Factor and in Forth uses completely different mechanisms. I suggest reading Programming a Problem-Oriented Language[0] by Chuck Moore, because it's among the best memoirs by an influential computer programmer, but also to get a feel for what Forth is all about, what makes it distinctive. [0]: http://www.forth.org/POL.pdf http://www.forth.org/POL.pdf