RE: prog for no OS. language?

["M. Edward Borasky" <znmeb@aracnet.com>]

> hello,
>
> I had a quick question. Say I want to write a program
> to run without an OS, what language/tools do i need?

Well ... *my* personal preference for such things is Forth :-). Forth runs
even on such "tiny" machines as 8051 micro-controllers and there are
probably a dozen good Forth environments, ranging in cost from free to
thousands of US dollars. I have Forth, Inc. SwiftForth for Windows, but for
what you want, you might head over to

http://www.taygeta.com/forthcomp.html

for a comprehensive list of Forth compilers and tutorial information. There
is a Gnu / GPL Forth called "gforth" that will run on Linux (and Windows)
but I've never used it, so I can't comment on it. Other Forth folk have told
me that it's inferior to their own pet versions.

Obligatory warning for those with families: like Linux kernel hacking, Forth
hacking on small computers that can barely support a hex keypad, let alone
an OS, is *highly addictive*! <vbg>

: TARGET  FOOT FIND ;
: LOAD  BULLET FIND CHAMBER INSERT ;
: SHOOT  LOAD  TARGET  GUN AIM  TRIGGER PULL ;

--
M. Edward Borasky

znmeb@borasky-research.net
http://www.borasky-research.net