The opinion that Forth doesn't climb the abstraction ladder well is popular, but I'd be tempted to qualify it as a misconception.
My own attempt[1] at a Forth that climbs that ladder is, I think, a good counter example. In my opinion, its HAL compares favorably to, for example, SBCL's native code compiler. Its almost-C compiler compares favorably to, I think, Tiny CC.
This misconception stems, I think, from the fact that you can very well reap the rewards of Forth in a low level environment without needing to "think in Forth". For example, by mastering immediate mechanics.
Someone who hasn't invested the effort to twist their mind to Forth-think will, yes, end up having troubles climbing the abstraction ladder.
This is not unlike, I think, "macro heavy" lisp, which many lispers actively avoid. But at the same time, much of lisp's power comes from it.
My own attempt[1] at a Forth that climbs that ladder is, I think, a good counter example. In my opinion, its HAL compares favorably to, for example, SBCL's native code compiler. Its almost-C compiler compares favorably to, I think, Tiny CC.
This misconception stems, I think, from the fact that you can very well reap the rewards of Forth in a low level environment without needing to "think in Forth". For example, by mastering immediate mechanics.
Someone who hasn't invested the effort to twist their mind to Forth-think will, yes, end up having troubles climbing the abstraction ladder.
This is not unlike, I think, "macro heavy" lisp, which many lispers actively avoid. But at the same time, much of lisp's power comes from it.
[1]: http://duskos.org/