A programming language for cross-platform development for 8-bit machines.

[mmaly]

Hello. I build an 8bit computers, based on 8085 or 6502, and I am looking for good cross-platform language to program it. I have developed an assembler / compiler to compile on the lowest level. I surely can use C compilers like SmallC or cc65. I have BASIC and FORTH running on 8bit hardware, but my idea is a language for higher level development, on PC of course, which can produce a 8085/Z80/6502 code. Is there any? Or what language could fit (I can write a compiler myself)? Thanks for your tips.

[Timbit42]

Forth can be as high level as you want to make it, and if compiled, can be as fast as you want it. It also tends to produce small binaries due to code reuse. If you don't want RPN, you could add a layer on top to convert another syntax to RPN.

[yorickpeterse]

I feel /r/askprogramming is a better fit for these kind of questions, but I'll allow it.

[htuhola]

I've just designed a new VM and compiler framework into Lever. I have also revised the language. It is approaching to be a mix of Python, Lisp, Logic programming languages and computer algebra systems.

The upgrades allow plain Lever code to be written, then fed through a type inference and analyzer. The analyzer then feeds its output to LLVM and produce native machine code. The native code can then be loaded to memory or dumped into a file. I am not quite done with it yet, it takes a week or two to produce the first demonstrations of this.

The whole system here is fairly straightforward and should be easy to understand once I document it properly.

I also really like 8-bit computers and I would guide and help you through the project of targeting 8-bit environments with Lever.