Notes from the February 2001 Meeting

Forth Tools

Features

• Uses Forth design philosophy
• Minimalistic
• Well-factored
• Interactive
• Tested
• Documented (source code)
• ANSI or sub-ANSI Standard
• Of general use - reusable

Examples

• Math routines
• User interface

  User choice / prompts

  Screen display

  Graphics

  Line drawing

• Serial port

  Initialization

  Modem

  Using strings

• Multitasking
• Interrupts

Internet Commercial Hardware

• AMD-NET186 - 80186 board with RJ45, DMA, Ethernet, 512K RAM, and Flash - $186
  http://www.amd.com/products/epd/desiging/evalboards/4.net186eva/index.html
• Triscend TE512 chip - like 8052 and AMRForth
  http://www.triscend.com/products/IndexE5.html
  http://www.triscend.com/products/dse5csoc.pdf
• Rabbit CPU and Ethernet - RabbitLink Card
  http://www.zworld.com/eg2100.html
• JK Microsystems - UFlashTCP - Embedded Ethernet Computer
  http://www.jkmicro.com/uflash.html
• Some $300 HTTP <--> Serial interface box, can serve 64 webpages
• Ethernet interface boards - PCMCIA, ISA, PCI
• Mosaic Industries - Smart Touch Controller
  http://www.mosaic-industries.com/newproduct.html

Interfacing to the Internet

• Protocols

  PPP / SLIP

  HTTP

  FTP

  TCP/IP

• CGI: files

  GFORTH

  PFE

  Wil Baden's FORTH

  Swift FORTH

HTML / XML

• Create webpages / graphics

From Robert Nash

Tutorial on CGI with non-traditional languages:
Web Servers and Dynamic Content
Dan Teodor, Linux Journal, February 2001, pg. 172.

Typical use of Forth as a CGI:
http://www.taygeta.com/links/trace.fth
http://www.forth.org/links/fig_reg.fth

Interfacing an Ethernet chip to a uP, using ARP:
Circuit Cellar online article:
The Ethernet Development Board, Part 1: Putting it all Together
Fred Eady, October 2000, http://www.chipcenter.com/circuitcellar/october00/c1000fe1.htm
Part 2., November 2000 - http://www.chipcenter.com/circuitcellar/november00/c1100fe1.htm

Rabbit Season, Part 3: Network Analysis
Fred Eady, Circuit Cellar, November 2000, pg 48
Related articles also at: http://www.circuitcellar.com

Teenie Weenie serial to ethernet Web Server:
http://www.siteplayer.com
Also see review at: http://www.chipcenter.com/networking/products

$50 Ethernet development board uP interface (w/downloadable manual):
http://www.edtp.com

PIC Interface to 3COM 3C509B ISA Ethernet card:
http://www.rof.net/yp/alphaone/activities/electronics/3C509B

PIC Interface to ISA Ethernet card:
A winning Combination
Edward Cheung, Circuit Cellar, October 2000, pg. 12.

Several low-cost Ethernet interfaces:
Designing Web Appliances on a Shoestring
Warren Webb, EDN Magazine, April 13, 2000, pg. 89.
http://www.ednmag.com/ednmag/reg/2000/04132000/08df2.htm

Low cost web server using NE2000-compatible Ethernet controller:
A $25 Web Server
Steve Freyder, et. al., Circuit Cellar Online, July 1999
http://www.chipcenter.com/circuitcellar/july99/c79bl1.htm

Four-part series of articles on Embedded RT-Linux:
Ingo Cyliax, November 1998 to March 1999 Circut Cellar
(may also be available at http://www.circuitcellar.com/online)

From Kevin Appert

Ethernet/Serial Interface from Intelligent Instrumentation
http://www.instrument.com/cat/edas/serial/sedas.htm

Newport Electronics has introduced panel meters, controllers, and signal conditioners with "Embedded Web Server"
http://www.newportus.com/

Busware has an DIN-rail-mount Ethernet Serial Gatway which goes from one 10-base-t IP-ARP, UDP, TCP, SNMP and TFTP to one RS-232/RS-422/RS-485. They give out serial port redirecting software for PCs so you can talk to your application as if it were hooked up to a serial port.
http://www.buswaredirect.com/

Bob Nash uses a similar (not DIN-rail) 10-base-T to RS232 box from Moxa. They make 4, 8, or 16 port boxes as well.
http://www.moxa.com/

Websites

• Secure and Reliable Embedded Systems
  http://eecs.wsu.edu/~res

• Linux BBS / Outlook replacement
  http://www.citadel.org

• Free Capture and Layout software
  http://www.cadsoft.com

Using Forth