The future of Free Pascal

[marcov]

Ok. How about this one:

Most applications today are also split into multiple parts

And are so loosely coupled (e.g. over textual web protocols) that various parts can be in differnet languages.
 

[ArtLogi]

Imagine how bad the situation is in becoming years if that so called "internet of things" will roll out succesfully.  Someone just can put your firealarm off, stove on, toaster on and turn the freezer off and wait your house get on flames, if that not happen atleast your freezer just leaked on the floor.

...

If I am to contribute new ideas, I guess why not bring up the Internet of Things. I do not know if this is a hype or a dead end, but it is something I have not seen anyone bring up in this thread. I wonder if it might be possible to make FPC for embedded devices like Raspberry Pi, Arduino and similar devices.

The Arduino lacks a GUI and this might be a project that could bring real benefit. I'm also thinking about a complete framework that makes it easy to build a system from Arduinos or similar devices loaded with FPC/Embedded programs and make them communicate in a simple way. There are plenty of Arduinos and add-on boards but not so much in terms of framework and GUIs.

...

This man hacked the Modbus TCP protocol where he stayed in a hotel:

http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/40505.html


Also KNX is another protocol can be easly hack:

https://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-22/dc-22-presentations/Molina/DEFCON-22-Jesus-Molina-Learn-how-to-control-every-room-WP.pdf

At first all ideas starts with simple way and this simplicity must be change to complexity because of somebody want to make control them.

Actually I am still closing my jalousie (curtain) by hand... IoT is marketing ideas generaly not thinking what will be happen in emergency situations.

Laz/Fpc can provide to implement of your protocol in serial/tcp with by host OS's API.

Also there are some nice components for this:

LazSerial

LNet

EDIT: Word correction

[SymbolicFrank]

Ok. How about this one:

Most applications today are also split into multiple parts

And are so loosely coupled (e.g. over textual web protocols) that various parts can be in differnet languages.

"Write Once, Compile Anywhere."

[korba812]

The only thing missing in compiler are packages (like BPL in Delphi).
It is good that LCL uses native controls. I know that I do not have such control over the drawing as in the case of custom draw controls. I usually create database applications that use real people who may have poor eyesight. Usually, they set desktop environment first (like big fonts, high contrast). LCL application respects these settings. Some of them use tools like narrator (text to speech) that works in most of LCL controls. But it does not work for custom draw controls.

[Zoran]

Ok. How about this one:

Most applications today are also split into multiple parts

And are so loosely coupled (e.g. over textual web protocols) that various parts can be in differnet languages.

"Write Once, Compile Anywhere."

Should anywhere be taken so literally?? No, you actually cannot compile pascal code with a car.

[ArtLogi]

Ok. How about this one:

Most applications today are also split into multiple parts

And are so loosely coupled (e.g. over textual web protocols) that various parts can be in differnet languages.

"Write Once, Compile Anywhere."

Should anywhere be taken so literally?? No, you actually cannot compile pascal code with a car.

You can while sitting in the car, then you are compiling it in the car. 

[tr_escape]

Ok. How about this one:

Most applications today are also split into multiple parts

And are so loosely coupled (e.g. over textual web protocols) that various parts can be in differnet languages.

"Write Once, Compile Anywhere."

Should anywhere be taken so literally?? No, you actually cannot compile pascal code with a car.

You can while sitting in the car, then you are compiling it in the car. 

Also

Write once, compile to anywhere in somewhere: Means compile from supported OS to another operating system or system (like as embedded and has no operating system).

I can create in Linux to Windows like as :

https://github.com/mehmetulukaya/muterm

Also I can create in Windows to WinCE applications with Kol-Ce like as:

https://mehmetulukaya.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/lazarus-kol-ce-ve-windows-ce-uygulamasi/

In this case Lazarus is most powerful Pascal compiler.


EDIT: Some grammar issue

[SymbolicFrank]

If I have a project that requires something, I can write it myself. Whatever it is. It doesn't matter. That's not the issue.

I do like to choose FPC / Lazarus, when I have the choice. And it does tend to be the best / fastest choice. And for a bonus, it's free as well.

But it is very focused on single-task, database aware desktop applications. And while that certainly fit the bill of most applications I wrote 15 years ago, it doesn't anymore.

Almost every application, even if it is a simple tool, has interactions with many different platforms. From embedded, through databases to web. And I would really want to write it all in FPC / Lazarus. And regularly, I can, but only if I chop it up into multiple, independent applications, all with their own target. There is no awareness or interaction between them.


But, Frank, you're asking too much! That's not what Free Pascal is about! It is about porting the 15 year old VCL to as many platforms as possible, as LCL. And that's it!


Hm, yes, ok. So, no $3 WiFi targets, no splitting the workload between different tasks, and only a small chance of an independent GUI for embedded targets out of the box. DIY.

But still a large chance of implementing everything Delphi, even if it is extremely questionable if they have taken smart decisions about the developments in the last decade.


And the reason I choose FPC / Lazarus, is primary the rich library that is consistent and works out of the box.

That's also one of the reasons why I regard C++ as a language for masochists. Next to it being unreadable (the interpretation of everything depends on the scope and pre-processor) and encouraging you to shoot yourself in the foot. Not that I'm not often required to use it, because everyone and their manager thinks that's the smart choice, because it is what they think everyone else is using.

In C++ the choice is simple: you do have to write everything yourself. And in Lazarus, I have to write more and more myself as well.

[marcov]

"Write Once, Compile Anywhere."

So?  The question is if you really need 5 exactly the same webservers on the component systems rather than one web(app)server and various specialized clients. (and anyway I covered this under "lowest common denominator" already. Even if it works, it is fairly pointless. Nobody wants 8051 constraints on a PC and vice versa)

And as advanced as Lazarus is, it won't automatically add those roles for you

[Thaddy]

Nobody wants 8051 constraints on a PC and vice versa)

And as advanced as Lazarus is, it won't automatically add those roles for you

Would be nice to have 8051 support for embedded, though in the future 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_MCS-51

[tr_escape]

Nobody wants 8051 constraints on a PC and vice versa)

And as advanced as Lazarus is, it won't automatically add those roles for you

Would be nice to have 8051 support for embedded, though in the future 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_MCS-51

For now maybe this can help you:

http://turbo51.com/


For PIC Series :

http://justanotherlanguage.org/


I used in small PIC16F84A project , jal was helped me.

[Thaddy]

I already got and use turbo51 I guess Marco has that one too...

[Graeme]

But it is very focused on single-task, database aware desktop applications.

That is purely down to your choice. I use Free Pascal for all kinds of applications. That's what makes the Object Pascal language with a rich RTL and FCL so powerful. It is NOT a language designed for a specific task. You can write all kinds of applications equally well with it. eg: I've seen an operating system written in FPC (Object Pascal), a desktop environment with window manager for Linux, general desktop apps, console apps, daemon/service applications, database applications, web applications, mobile applications and the list goes on. Not many languages are so versatile, but that is what makes FPC and Object Pascal so great.

You saying "focused on a single task - database aware desktop applications".... that's your choice of applications, not something FPC or the Object Pascal language forces you to write.

[Thaddy]

In C++ the choice is simple: you do have to write everything yourself. And in Lazarus, I have to write more and more myself as well.

Well, C++ is almost as expressive as Object Pascal, Silly. C++ isn't very portable (basically it is one big set of macro's on top of C) between platforms or compilers. Now lean backwards and choose the tool(s) for the job at hand. That will always be the case. Or turn to scripting bar none, like php, and forget about performance.

[SymbolicFrank]

@Graeme:

I know, and I do. If I have the choice and it fits, I use FPC / Lazarus. I really like it. I would like to use it for just about any programming task.

What I mean is, that it beats any other development platform for writing rich, desktop applications that display and manipulate database information.

And it has a lot of other highlights, most of them contributions from developers that needed a specific functionality. I always feel a bit ashamed that I don't take the time to make the things I write into generic libraries and upload them. But that tends to be more work than creating the functional modules and classes in the first place.

And it's probably just me that I want to build Next Gen applications. Because most code bases and methodologies tend to be more than 15 years old. I would say that the only new thing I encounter is SCRUM.

So, I'll focus on what Marco said. I m thinking about how and what. And it's unlikely I can use it at my next job anyway.


@Thaddy: I often use C++. C++ Builder is fine, C++ with just std and Boost is a lot of work.