r3: A Minimalist, Self-Hosted Stack Machine Language Inspired by ColorForth

The programming world has seen countless languages and environments come and go, but few attempt to strip computing back to its essentials while maintaining practical utility. r3, a new programming language and environment, takes this minimalist philosophy to heart, drawing inspiration from ColorForth and the broader Forth tradition to create something both radically simple and surprisingly powerful.

What Makes r3 Different

At its core, r3 is built around a minimalist virtual machine written in C that clocks in at approximately 40KB. This isn't just small for the sake of being small—it's part of a deliberate "zero bloat" philosophy that rejects massive standard libraries and complex toolchains in favor of something that can be understood, modified, and extended by a single developer.

The language operates on a stack machine model, which might sound intimidating to those unfamiliar with Forth-like languages, but r3's design makes it surprisingly approachable. The stack-based approach means operations work directly on values pushed onto a stack, creating a natural flow for certain types of programming tasks, particularly those involving graphics and game logic.

Technical Architecture

r3's architecture is built around several key components:

The VM Core: The heart of r3 is its ultra-minimalist virtual machine, designed for portability and speed. Currently supporting Windows and Linux, the VM provides the foundation upon which everything else is built.

Self-Hosted Compiler: Perhaps most impressively, r3 includes a self-hosted compiler written entirely in r3forth itself. Currently targeting Windows, this compiler represents a significant milestone in the language's development and lays groundwork for future direct-to-metal implementations that could bypass the VM entirely for maximum performance.

Dynamic Library Integration: r3 can load and call procedures from any dynamic library (.DLL on Windows, .SO on Linux), providing access to the vast ecosystem of existing C libraries while maintaining its minimalist core.

SDL2 Integration: The language uses SDL2 as its primary graphics and input library, making it particularly well-suited for game development and interactive applications.

Rich Ecosystem on a Minimal Foundation

What's remarkable about r3 is how much functionality it packs onto such a minimal foundation. The language provides a comprehensive suite of libraries for:

• Graphics & 2D: Sprites, tilemaps, fonts, animations, and stack-based sprites
• Advanced Logic: 3D engine capabilities, collision detection systems, and spatial hashing
• User Interface: Terminal-based UI and Immediate Mode GUI (immgui) systems
• Tooling: Integrated editors and a growing collection of games and demos

This ecosystem demonstrates that minimalism doesn't mean sacrificing capability—it means building only what's necessary and making it work exceptionally well.

Getting Started with r3

r3 offers flexibility in how you work with it. You can use the built-in integrated development environment, which automatically loads the main.r3 startup script and provides access to code editors, dictionary browsers, and live-coding tools. Alternatively, you can use r3 as a traditional compiler/interpreter, working in your favorite text editor and running scripts directly.

For Linux users, getting started requires installing SDL2 development libraries, then either running a precompiled binary or building from source. Windows users can simply download and extract the release—no installation required.

The development loop in r3 is designed for instant feedback, with the VM starting, compiling, and executing scripts in milliseconds. This rapid iteration cycle is particularly valuable for creative work and game development.

A Complete Creative Suite

r3 positions itself not just as a programming language but as a complete creative suite. The project includes numerous demos and games, with additional content available on the developer's itch.io page. The language's design makes it particularly well-suited for game development, with built-in support for graphics, audio, input handling, and game-specific logic.

The Philosophy Behind r3

The project embodies a philosophy that's increasingly rare in modern software development: understanding and controlling your entire computing environment. By keeping the core minimal and self-contained, r3 enables developers to truly understand how their programs work, from the lowest levels up.

This approach has historical precedent in the Forth programming language and its derivatives, which have long championed minimalism, interactivity, and programmer empowerment. r3 carries this torch forward while adding modern conveniences and capabilities that make it practical for contemporary development tasks.

Looking Forward

With its self-hosted compiler already in place and ambitions for direct-to-metal implementations, r3 represents an interesting experiment in balancing minimalism with practical power. The language demonstrates that it's possible to create a complete, capable programming environment that can fit in a fraction of the size of most modern development tools.

For developers interested in stack-based languages, game development, or simply understanding computing at a deeper level, r3 offers a compelling platform to explore. Its combination of minimalism, performance, and rich capabilities makes it worth watching as it continues to evolve.

The project is actively developed and welcomes contributions. Documentation is available in the /doc folder, including a cheatsheet, manual, and quick reference for SDL graphics programming. The YouTube channel provides video demonstrations of the language in action, showing everything from basic programming concepts to complete game development workflows.