[ColorForth] Newbie questions

[Leslie Snively <les@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

	I've found a PC on which colorForth boots and runs - somewhat as 
expected.  However, there are parts don't seem to work, and I'm not sure 
if that's due to the hardware I'm running it on, or if I'm not 
understanding some aspects of using colorForth.  Following is a 
description of what's happening, and any guidance or suggestions would 
be appreciated.  Thanks, in advance.
	The editor and keyboard all behave as described in the Users 
Guide.  Some words execute as expected such as 'save' and 'dump'.  
However, many of the words that appear as though they have been loaded 
don't seem to function.  For example, after entering numbers on the 
stack, using 'drop' or 'swap', and most stack operators, appear to have 
no effect; executing the word causes the word to be followed by a '?' 
suggesting that the word is not recognized.
	As I currently understand color.com, block 18 causes certain other 
blocks containing macros and word definitions to be loaded.  And, I 
assumed that block 18 was loaded as part of the boot process.  However, 
that doesn't appear to be happening.  I tried manually loading blocks 
such as 24 that contain many of the useful macros and word definitions.  
The ones in the loaded blocks still didn't seem to be available, 
resulting in the '?' after their invocation, suggesting, strongly, that 
I'm not understanding some of the basics.
	I also tried adding my own words to one of the unused blocks.  
However, it didn't result in something that worked either, again acting 
as though it didn't recognize the new word I created.
	Finally, showing my ignorance even more blatantly, what's the 
difference between a 'macro' and an ordinary word definition?  Why is it 
that some apparently integral words are redefined as macros?  What are 
the advantages or requirements for doing this?
	My apologies to the list for probably missing something that is 
obvious to everyone else.  However, I'd like to join the growing ranks 
of colorForthers rather than just being a wannabe, and I seem to be 
having trouble getting there on my own.

Leslie Snively

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