This information is current as of the 2006-11-12 build.
The Basics
- A fully-functional interactive Forth — write, compile, test, and
debug right on the Propeller.
- Program size limited only by available RAM.
- Optimized library routines for multiplication (32x32 → 64) and
division (32/32 → 32 bit quotient and remainder).
- Performs most tasks at 1/5 to 1/10 the speed of optimized assembly
— 10x faster than SPIN.
- Small memory footprint (around 8KiB for the base system with all
optional word sets included).
Programming Conveniences
- Interactive, incremental compiler runs on the Propeller itself.
- All functions are available in an interactive interpreted mode, which
is handy for testing algorithms or feeling out new peripherals.
- Provides modern structured programming amenities, with several handy loop
constructs and structured exception handling via catch and
throw.
Multitasking
- Can run independent Forth (or native) tasks separately on each core.
- Cooperative multitasking allows multiple tasks to run on each
core, limited only by available RAM.
- Uses techniques from realtime operating systems to achieve low-overhead,
high-speed task switching in relatively little RAM. (In testing, each
core can easily handle 100 independent tasks.)
Propeller Enhancements
- Provides words for starting and stopping Cogs, accessing semaphores,
moving data in and out of Cog-local RAM, and accessing the complete
set of registers.
ANS-Like
- All words present in both PropellerForth and ANS Forth are implemented
according to the ANS spec.
- Can be brought to full ANS compliance with a user library (not included
for space reasons).
Tinkerers Welcome
- Includes full sources for the standard library, and all aspects of the
system can be modified or redefined at runtime.
- The kernel itself is open source, and the authors welcome enhancements or
fixes from all users.
