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From: "Rod Pemberton" <dont_use_email@xnohavenotit.cnm>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: Re: PICK changed from 1-based to 0-based?
Date: Sun, 29 Dec 2013 22:32:42 -0500
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On Sun, 29 Dec 2013 08:45:41 -0500, Andrew Haley  
<andrew29@littlepinkcloud.invalid> wrote:
> Hans Bezemer <the.beez.speaks@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Forth-83 is where Forth IMHO went wrong. [ ... ]

>> Turning "true" into an "all bits set" value [...]
>
> [...] but what possible damage did "all bits set" do?
>

It doesn't do any damage.  In fact, it helps.

Using "all bits set" for a TRUE flag allows a high-level language
to have both logical and binary operations, while only needing the
processor to support simple binary operations, such as AND OR XOR.
This, of course, is in the context of zero being logical false and
non-zero being logical true.


Rod Pemberton