Go to file
Benjamin Pollack 4ef42357e1 chloe/html: switch to HTML5 templates
Since XHTML is dead, and HTML5 isn't, switch to HTML5 templates for Chloe and
other key parts of our HTML subsystems. As part of this, I went through and
added DOCTYPE declarations to some of our examples as well.
2016-03-11 18:20:55 -05:00
Factor.app/Contents Factor.app: new icons. 2015-11-04 10:27:13 -08:00
basis chloe/html: switch to HTML5 templates 2016-03-11 18:20:55 -05:00
build-support Build: fix semver_into so that it doesnt misparse versions like "2.3.4" 2015-12-03 00:46:21 +01:00
core compiler.units: changes dynamic vars so that they are stack parameters instead 2016-03-09 23:24:42 +01:00
extra chloe/html: switch to HTML5 templates 2016-03-11 18:20:55 -05:00
misc FUEL: improved fontlocking 2016-03-11 07:36:23 +01:00
unmaintained Fix comments to be ! not #!. 2015-09-08 16:15:10 -07:00
vm Build: never dynlink with gui libs 2016-03-11 05:17:04 +01:00
work Add file to work dir to ensure it gets checked in 2008-09-12 04:36:32 -05:00
.dir-locals.el automatically sets up the Factor coding style for Emacs users 2014-04-21 22:32:30 -07:00
.gitignore .gitignore: ignore more .gch files 2015-09-27 00:19:44 -07:00
GNUmakefile GNUMakefile: Save entire git id. 2015-08-04 16:28:41 -07:00
Nmakefile VM: always use undecorated names when loading ffi functions 2015-09-02 21:54:41 +02:00
README.md README: https links instead of http. 2016-03-05 11:42:46 -08:00
license.txt Remove copyright notice from license 2009-04-21 16:25:04 -05:00

README.md

Factor

Factor is a concatenative, stack-based programming language with high-level features including dynamic types, extensible syntax, macros, and garbage collection. On a practical side, Factor has a full-featured library, supports many different platforms, and has been extensively documented.

The implementation is fully compiled for performance, while still supporting interactive development. Factor applications are portable between all common platforms. Factor can deploy stand-alone applications on all platforms. Full source code for the Factor project is available under a BSD license.

Getting Started

Building Factor from source

If you have a build environment set up, then you can build Factor from git. These scripts will attempt to compile the Factor binary and bootstrap from a boot image stored on factorcode.org.

To check out Factor:

  • git clone git://factorcode.org/git/factor.git
  • cd factor

To build the latest complete Factor system from git:

  • Windows: build-support\factor.cmd
  • Unix: ./build-support/factor.sh update

Now you should have a complete Factor system ready to run.

More information on building factor and system requirements.

To run a Factor binary:

You can download a Factor binary from the grid on https://factorcode.org. The nightly builds are usually a better experience than the point releases.

  • Windows: Double-click factor.exe, or run .\factor.com in a command prompt
  • Mac OS X: Double-click Factor.app or run open Factor.app in a Terminal
  • Unix: Run ./factor in a shell

Learning Factor

A tutorial is available that can be accessed from the Factor environment:

"first-program" help

Some other simple things you can try in the listener:

"Hello, world" print

{ 4 8 15 16 23 42 } [ 2 * ] map .

1000 [1,b] sum .

4 iota  [
    "Happy Birthday " write
    2 = "dear NAME" "to You" ? print
] each

For more tips, see Learning Factor.

Documentation

The Factor environment includes extensive reference documentation and a short "cookbook" to help you get started. The best way to read the documentation is in the UI; press F1 in the UI listener to open the help browser tool. You can also browse the documentation online.

Command Line Usage

Factor supports a number of command line switches:

Usage: factor [Factor arguments] [script] [script arguments]

Common arguments:
    -help            print this message and exit
    -i=<image>       load Factor image file <image> (default factor.image)
    -run=<vocab>     run the MAIN: entry point of <vocab>
        -run=listener    run terminal listener
        -run=ui.tools    run Factor development UI
    -e=<code>        evaluate <code>
    -no-user-init    suppress loading of .factor-rc
    -roots=<paths>   a list of path-delimited extra vocab roots

Enter
    "command-line" help
from within Factor for more information.

You can also write scripts that can be run from the terminal, by putting #!/path/to/factor at the top of your scripts and making them executable.

Source Organization

The Factor source tree is organized as follows:

  • build-support/ - scripts used for compiling Factor (not present in binary packages)
  • vm/ - Factor VM source code (not present in binary packages)
  • core/ - Factor core library
  • basis/ - Factor basis library, compiler, tools
  • extra/ - more libraries and applications
  • misc/ - editor modes, icons, etc
  • unmaintained/ - unmaintained contributions, please help!

Community

Factor developers meet in the #concatenative channel on irc.freenode.net. Drop by if you want to discuss anything related to Factor or language design in general.

Have fun!