Charles H. Moore
Encyclopedia
Charles H. Moore (born 1938) is the inventor of the Forth programming language.
(NRAO), Moore invented the initial version of the Forth language to help control radio telescope
s. In 1971 he co-founded (with Elizabeth Rather
) FORTH, Inc., the first, and still one of the leading, purveyors of Forth solutions. During the 1970s he ported
Forth to dozens of computer architectures.
In the 1980s, Moore turned his attention and Forth development techniques to CPU design
, developing several stack machine
microprocessors and gaining several microprocessor
-related patents along the way. His designs have all emphasized high performance at low power usage. He also explored alternate Forth architectures such as cmForth and machine Forth, which more closely matched his chips' machine languages. These later evolved in 1996 into colorForth for the IBM PC
.
In 1983 Moore founded Novix, Inc., where he developed the NC4000 processor. This design was licensed to Harris Semiconductor which marketed it as the RTX2000
, a radiation hardened stack processor which has been used in numerous NASA
missions. In 1985 at his consulting firm Computer Cowboys, he developed the Sh-Boom processor. Starting in 1990, he developed his own VLSI
CAD
system, OKAD, to overcome limitations in existing CAD software. He used these tools to develop several multi-core minimal instruction set computer
(MISC) chips: the MuP21 in 1990 and the F21 in 1993.
Moore was a founder of iTv Corp, one of the first companies to work on internet appliance
s. In 1996 he designed another custom chip for this system, the i21.
One of Moore's recent projects is the colorForth
dialect of Forth, a language derived from the scripting language for his custom VLSI
CAD
system, OKAD. In 2001, he rewrote OKAD in colorForth and designed the c18 processor.
In 2005, Moore co-founded and became Chief Technology Officer of IntellaSys, which develops and markets his chip designs, such as the seaForth-24 multi-core processor.
In 2009, he co-founded and became CTO of GreenArrays, Inc which is marketing the GA4 and GA144 multi-computer chips.
Biography
In 1968, while employed at the United States National Radio Astronomy ObservatoryNational Radio Astronomy Observatory
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center of the United States National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc for the purpose of radio astronomy...
(NRAO), Moore invented the initial version of the Forth language to help control radio telescope
Radio telescope
A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
s. In 1971 he co-founded (with Elizabeth Rather
Elizabeth Rather
Elizabeth Rather is the co-founder of FORTH, Inc. and is a leading expert in the Forth programming language.She became involved with Forth while she was at the University of Arizona, but working part-time for NRAO...
) FORTH, Inc., the first, and still one of the leading, purveyors of Forth solutions. During the 1970s he ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
Forth to dozens of computer architectures.
In the 1980s, Moore turned his attention and Forth development techniques to CPU design
CPU design
CPU design is the design engineering task of creating a central processing unit , a component of computer hardware. It is a subfield of electronics engineering and computer engineering.- Overview :CPU design focuses on these areas:...
, developing several stack machine
Stack machine
A stack machine may be* A real or emulated computer that evaluates each sub-expression of a program statement via a pushdown data stack and uses a reverse Polish notation instruction set....
microprocessors and gaining several microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
-related patents along the way. His designs have all emphasized high performance at low power usage. He also explored alternate Forth architectures such as cmForth and machine Forth, which more closely matched his chips' machine languages. These later evolved in 1996 into colorForth for the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
.
In 1983 Moore founded Novix, Inc., where he developed the NC4000 processor. This design was licensed to Harris Semiconductor which marketed it as the RTX2000
RTX2010
The RTX2010 radiation-hardened microprocessor manufactured by Intersil is a radiation hardened stack machine microprocessor which has been used in numerous spacecraft.-Characteristics:...
, a radiation hardened stack processor which has been used in numerous NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
missions. In 1985 at his consulting firm Computer Cowboys, he developed the Sh-Boom processor. Starting in 1990, he developed his own VLSI
Very-large-scale integration
Very-large-scale integration is the process of creating integrated circuits by combining thousands of transistors into a single chip. VLSI began in the 1970s when complex semiconductor and communication technologies were being developed. The microprocessor is a VLSI device.The first semiconductor...
CAD
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
system, OKAD, to overcome limitations in existing CAD software. He used these tools to develop several multi-core minimal instruction set computer
Minimal instruction set computer
Minimal Instruction Set Computer is a processor architecture with a very small number of basic operations and corresponding opcodes. Such instruction sets are commonly stack based rather than register based to reduce the size of operand specifiers. Such a stack machine architecture is inherently...
(MISC) chips: the MuP21 in 1990 and the F21 in 1993.
Moore was a founder of iTv Corp, one of the first companies to work on internet appliance
Internet appliance
An Internet appliance is a consumer device whose main function is easy access to Internet services such as WWW or e-mail. The term was popularized in the 1990s, when it somewhat overlapped in meaning with an information appliance, Internet computer, network computer, or even thin client, but now it...
s. In 1996 he designed another custom chip for this system, the i21.
One of Moore's recent projects is the colorForth
ColorForth
colorForth is a programming language from the Forth language's original designer, Charles H. Moore, developed in the 1990s. There was an earlier predecessor called 386 OK which appeared for sale at Silicon Valley Forth Interest Group meetings in 1992.An idiosyncratic programming environment, the...
dialect of Forth, a language derived from the scripting language for his custom VLSI
Very-large-scale integration
Very-large-scale integration is the process of creating integrated circuits by combining thousands of transistors into a single chip. VLSI began in the 1970s when complex semiconductor and communication technologies were being developed. The microprocessor is a VLSI device.The first semiconductor...
CAD
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
system, OKAD. In 2001, he rewrote OKAD in colorForth and designed the c18 processor.
In 2005, Moore co-founded and became Chief Technology Officer of IntellaSys, which develops and markets his chip designs, such as the seaForth-24 multi-core processor.
In 2009, he co-founded and became CTO of GreenArrays, Inc which is marketing the GA4 and GA144 multi-computer chips.
Publications
- "History of Programming Languages, Volume 2" (excerpt) 1996, ISBN 0-201-89502-1