Hello, I'm new :D

[sabino]

Hello everyone! I'm new here and I'm fashinated in programming; I already know what a compiler is, what a library and a game engine are, performance, and some other concepts. I've read that Pascal is used both in learning  that in serious development. I'm mainly fashinated in game development, so I think I will have not to worry about resources because there are some Pascal game engines/libraries. I will not ask about features or achievements because I know that Pascal can do everything. My main doubt is: how is the Pascal performance compared to C? They are both compiled languages and they both support multi-threading. Are there notable performance issues by using Pascal instead of C?
PS. I would like to start doing some programming exercises and then start creating games. By the way, will FPC fully support Android platform?
Should my Pascal app be packed in a Java app? Thank you for your support, I really appreciate it! And, by the way, what book can I buy to learn Pascal?
Thank you. 

[Basile B.]

Performances are closed, depending on the compiler options of course. The fact is that in the compiled language family, performances are more or less equivalent, there is no big gap. The big gap exist when you compare a compiled lang to an interpreted lang.

Performances wont be a problem.

[Mike.Cornflake]

Welcome :-)

RE: Books - follow the links in my signature.  There's some good free ones there with good introductions to pascal programming (always a good idea to get the basics in).   

There's also a good set of tutorials on the LazPlanet blog (just google )

As for googling for help, Lazarus/FPC is very similar to Delphi.  While not all work, you'll find most of the examples and tutorials for Delphi around the Net will also apply.

We've also got a very full wiki here (see link on left hand side), and once you get started you'll find various answers on this forum.

Cheers

Mike

[Leledumbo]

My main doubt is: how is the Pascal performance compared to C? They are both compiled languages and they both support multi-threading. Are there notable performance issues by using Pascal instead of C?

Comparing language's speed is impossible. Comparing language IMPLEMENTATION's speed is possible. Languages don't run, languages don't generate executable code, implementations do. Which Pascal and C implementations are you referring to? FPC is certainly a magnitude faster than TCC, but is on par and a bit behind with GCC/Clang. If you wonder the real speed, try running Castle Game Engine games. Do you notice any performance issue? Certainly you will need a good graphics card since the games contain heavy 3D operations everywhere.

[Eugene Loza]

I'm mainly fashinated in game development, so I think I will have not to worry about resources because there are some Pascal game engines/libraries.

hi, sabino!
I'm using Lazarus for game development And I can tell you that Pascal game engines/libraries are not that good. The main problem is lack of decent documentation and tutorial. So, if you want to 'dive into game development' it might be better to check one of universal game development kit like Unity, Cry engine etc. They have been made free for low-income/non-commercial games, and as they say, there's lot of documentation and resources relative assets.
E.g. for me it was another story. I started pascal in early 1990s, so it's easier for me to hit the wall with my head trying to understand how the engine works, than to learn a new programming language plus a non-free (as in freedom) engine.

[cpicanco]

For some game applications like high performance rendering asm assembly code can give you significant differences in speed, for better, of course. But I heard people talking about it. I am not a professional as well.

[cpicanco]

Can I enter in this newbie  boat and ask you if you ever tried OpenGl or OpenCv in a Lazarus/Free Pascal environment? I am interested in some interfaces between computer vision and behavioral sciences.

[sabino]

@Eugene Loza-> I have heard about ZenGL, Andorra2D, Castle engine, Terra engine and nxPascal. What are tou using?
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Can I buy a book about Delphi to learn to program with FPC?