Re: why is it called a buffer

Tinkerer wrote:
> Hello, I'm just starting forth..
> The word buffer: has me worried.
> The docs say its purpose is to allocate a temporary buffer
> How temporary? Is there some limitation to its use, or is it just
> another way of saying 'heap' as opposed to 'stack' ?

The word "buffer" has historical roots in hardware. As used in software, 
it implies only a storage area in memory; on a disk, it would be called 
a file.

Both "heap" and "stack" imply particular organizations, but "buffer" 
doesn't. (A "circular buffer", on the other hand, is an efficient 
software way to simulate a hardware first-in, first-out buffer, among 
other uses. :-) )

Don't try to read too much into the lingo.

Jerry
-- 
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.
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