Lesson 1 - Introduction

What is the aim of this video series?

Being very impressed with 8th and it's capabilities, I decided that the world should know about it.

What I hope to achieve with these short and to-the-point video lessons is:

• teach you 8th bit by bit

• maybe "convert" you to 8th 

The setup for each video will be exactly the same:

• on the left side there is the 8th REPL for interactive development

• sometimes on the left side there is also an editor window for program source

• on the right side I display what I am telling about (this text area)

What is 8th?

8th is a remarkable development tool and programming language.

With only this tool (nothing else needed) one can develop:

1. mobile, desktop, server and embeddable apps

2. using a built-in cross-platform GUI with very easy specification

3. very fast, because there is a REPL

4. secure, encrypted apps

5. cost effective (only 8th is needed; no other tools)

Is 8th expensive?

No. 8th is a commercial product, but it is really cheap.

After buying a license, you can develop apps and deliver the same app to multiple platforms. There are no extra license fees per platform or per sold app.

Free version of 8th

There is also a free version of 8th.  The only restriction it has is that you cannot create encrypted apps.

Where can I find 8th?

There is a central website for 8th here: http://8th-dev.com/

Where can I contact the 8th community?

There is a nice and friendly forum here: http://8th-dev.com/forum/

The main developer of 8th is almost always around on the forum, except for the few moments that he sleeps. He always answers each question promptly. Bug fixes are done lightning fast, which is a real blessing.

How is 8th related to other programming languages?

In 1968, while employed at the United States National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Charles Moore invented the initial version of the Forth language to help control radio telescopes.

Forth has been used for many purposes, mostly as an embedded language in high end devices. It was (is) used by NASA and the DOD im America.

Forth is a stack based language and has very tight control over the hardware it runs on.

8th is a descendant of Forth, but has much more to offer. Also 8th is much easier to use, because it operates on a higher abstraction level than most Forth dialects.

Video

Watch the complementary video here