3 The Factor programming language combines [powerful language
4 features](http://concatenative.org/wiki/view/Factor/Features/The%20language)
6 library](http://docs.factorcode.org/content/article-vocab-index.html). The
7 implementation is [fully
8 compiled](http://concatenative.org/wiki/view/Factor/Optimizing%20compiler)
9 for performance, while still supporting [interactive
10 development](http://concatenative.org/wiki/view/Factor/Interactive%20development).
11 Factor applications are portable between all common platforms. Factor can
13 applications](http://concatenative.org/wiki/view/Factor/Deployment) on all
14 platforms. Full source code for the Factor project is available under a BSD
19 If you are reading this README file, you either downloaded a binary
20 package, or checked out Factor sources from the GIT repository.
22 * [Learning Factor](http://concatenative.org/wiki/view/Factor/Learning)
23 * [System requirements](http://concatenative.org/wiki/view/Factor/Requirements)
24 * [Building Factor from source](http://concatenative.org/wiki/view/Factor/Building%20Factor) (don't do this if you're using a binary package)
28 * Windows: Double-click `factor.exe`, or run `.\factor.com` in a command prompt
29 * Mac OS X: Double-click `Factor.app` or run `open Factor.app` in a Terminal
30 * Unix: Run `./factor` in a shell
32 A tutorial is available that can be accessed from the Factor environment:
38 Some other simple things you can try in the listener:
43 { 4 8 15 16 23 42 } [ 2 * ] map .
48 "Happy Birthday " write
49 2 = "dear NAME" "to You" ? print
55 The Factor environment includes extensive reference documentation and a
56 short "cookbook" to help you get started. The best way to read the
57 documentation is in the UI; press F1 in the UI listener to open the help
58 browser tool. You can also [browse the documentation
59 online](http://docs.factorcode.org).
63 Factor supports a number of command line switches:
66 Usage: factor [Factor arguments] [script] [script arguments]
69 -help print this message and exit
70 -i=<image> load Factor image file <image> (default factor.image)
71 -run=<vocab> run the MAIN: entry point of <vocab>
72 -run=listener run terminal listener
73 -run=ui.tools run Factor development UI
74 -e=<code> evaluate <code>
75 -no-user-init suppress loading of .factor-rc
79 from within Factor for more information.
82 You can also write scripts that can be run from the terminal, by putting
83 ``#!/path/to/factor`` at the top of your scripts and making them executable.
85 ## Source Organization
87 The Factor source tree is organized as follows:
89 * `build-support/` - scripts used for compiling Factor (not present in binary packages)
90 * `vm/` - Factor VM source code (not present in binary packages)
91 * `core/` - Factor core library
92 * `basis/` - Factor basis library, compiler, tools
93 * `extra/` - more libraries and applications
94 * `misc/` - editor modes, icons, etc
95 * `unmaintained/` - unmaintained contributions, please help!
99 Factor developers meet in the `#concatenative` channel on
100 [irc.freenode.net](http://freenode.net). Drop by if you want to discuss
101 anything related to Factor or language design in general.
103 * [Factor homepage](http://factorcode.org)
104 * [Concatenative languages wiki](http://concatenative.org)