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B
A pbForth Downloader

pbFORTH is a interesting, funky programming environment, but there are not many tools available for it. This appendix
contains source code for a program downloader, written in Java. A program downloader enables you to develop your
pbFORTH programs in a text editor and download them all at once to the RCX. This means you have a saved copy of your
program that is easy to browse and modify.

The program downloader presented here is a "smart" one; it analyzes the responses from pbFORTH to see if any errors occur
as the download is progressing. If pbFORTH complains about something, the downloader tells you about it.

System Requirements

To compile and run this program, you'll need the Java Development Kit (JDK) version 1.1 or later (see
http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.2/ for the latest version). You'll also need the Communications API, a standard extension
API that enables Java programs to use the serial and parallel ports of a computer (see http://java.sun.com/products/javacomm/).

Usage

The program downloader is called Download. It's very simple to use—you just need to supply the name of the Forth source
code file. For example, you can download a file like this:

c:\>java Download thermometer.f
............................
c:\>