title: BEHAVIOR
description:

?.?.???? BEHAVIOR                       CORE EXT
      ( xt1 -- xt2 )

Retrieve _xt2_, the execution token of the word currently associated
with the deferred word whose execution token is _xt1_.

An ambiguous condition exists if the word identified by _xt1_
is not a deferred word.

Rationale.

A.??.?.???? BEHAVIOR

This command is used to obtain the execution contents of a deferred
word. A typical use would be to retrieve and save the execution
behavior of the deferred word, set the deferred word to a new behavior,
and then later restore the old behavior.

If the deferred word identified by _xt1_ is associated with some
other deferred word, _xt2_ is the execution token of that other
deferred word. To retrieve the execution token of the word currently
associated with that other deferred word, use the phrase BEHAVIOR BEHAVIOR .

Experience:
  Many years of use in OpenBoot and OpenFirmware systems.

See:
TO DEFER

Notes:
Proposed for inclusion into the 2001 version of ANS Forth.


~~~tag[a href=behavior.txt]tag~~~see TC discussion~~~tag[/a]tag~~~