Factor is a concatenative, stack-based programming language with high-level features including dynamic types, extensible syntax, macros, and garbage collection. On a practical side, Factor has a full-featured library, supports many different platforms, and has been extensively documented.
The implementation is fully compiled for performance, while still supporting interactive development. Factor applications are portable between all common platforms. Factor can deploy stand-alone applications on all platforms. Full source code for the Factor project is available under a BSD license.
If you have a build environment set up, then you can build Factor from git. These scripts will attempt to compile the Factor binary and bootstrap from a boot image stored on factorcode.org.
To check out Factor:
- git clone https://github.com/factor/factor.git
cd factor
To build the latest complete Factor system from git, either use the build script:
- Unix:
./build.sh update
- Windows:
build.cmd
- M1 macOS:
arch -x86_64 ./build.sh update
or download the correct boot image for your system from
https://downloads.factorcode.org/images/master/, put it in the factor
directory and run:
- Unix:
make
and then./factor -i=boot.unix-x86.64.image
- Windows:
nmake /f Nmakefile x86-64
and thenfactor.com -i=boot.windows-x86.64.image
Now you should have a complete Factor system ready to run.
Factor does not yet work on arm64 cpus. There is an arm64 assembler
in cpu.arm.64.assembler
and we are working on a port and also looking for
contributors.
More information on building factor and system requirements.
You can download a Factor binary from the grid on https://factorcode.org. The nightly builds are usually a better experience than the point releases.
- Windows: Double-click
factor.exe
, or run.\factor.com
in a command prompt - macOS: Double-click
Factor.app
or runopen Factor.app
in a Terminal - Unix: Run
./factor
in a shell
A tutorial is available that can be accessed from the Factor environment:
"first-program" help
Take a look at a guided tour of Factor:
"tour" help
Some demos that are included in the distribution to show off various features:
"demos" run
Some other simple things you can try in the listener:
"Hello, world" print
{ 4 8 15 16 23 42 } [ 2 * ] map .
1000 [1..b] sum .
4 <iota> [
"Happy Birthday " write
2 = "dear NAME" "to You" ? print
] each
For more tips, see Learning Factor.
The Factor environment includes extensive reference documentation and a short "cookbook" to help you get started. The best way to read the documentation is in the UI; press F1 in the UI listener to open the help browser tool. You can also browse the documentation online.
Factor supports a number of command line switches:
Usage: factor [Factor arguments] [script] [script arguments]
Common arguments:
-help print this message and exit
-i=<image> load Factor image file <image> (default factor.image)
-run=<vocab> run the MAIN: en