International Pascal Congress 2023

[dbannon]

.....
We have over 100k downloads for Lazarus 2.2.0. Add downloads from mirrors, and people using git. (The fpcupdeluxe thread has many users, so likely a lot of people using that)
Then add people who use FPC without Lazarus.

And, of course, people using FPC/Lazarus from their Linux distribution repo.

Davo

[Bogen85]

.....
We have over 100k downloads for Lazarus 2.2.0. Add downloads from mirrors, and people using git. (The fpcupdeluxe thread has many users, so likely a lot of people using that)
Then add people who use FPC without Lazarus.

And, of course, people using FPC/Lazarus from their Linux distribution repo.

Davo

 
Yes. This.

[dbannon]

I kind of find it hard to believe that anyone who is passionate about a programming language would not want to ever discuss it with other users but who knows..

Oh come on Joanna, there are  heaps of people who want to and do discuss FPC/Lazarus right here on the FPC/Lazarus forum.  Over 250 today, so far. 2800 odd one day in August last year.

And we discuss FPC/Lazarus here, sadly however, this thread, about a Pascal Conference, has been hijacked and turned into a IRC discussion.

Personally, I think its great that there is a new Pascal Conference. And Spain is a pretty reasonable place to hold it, I'd rather attend in Spain than NY, partly for the reason mentioned by PascalDragon. But we all need to be convinced its going to be a serious production and want to know who's behind it.

Davo

[440bx]

Actual conversations of people who use fpc about the compiler/language and code being produced are the only things things that matter in my opinion.

But the majority of those conversations lead nowhere.  Given that, there really doesn't seem to be any point in having that kind of conversation.

It also seems that a forum like this one is a much better avenue to have any kind of conversation, at least, if the conversation leads somewhere, there is a written record of it and, if it didn't lead anywhere there is a record of why it didn't.

[Sergio MT]

I’ve never been to a pascal conference.
Is this how conferences are usually advertised ?
by brand new accounts that have never posted here before by people without last names Claiming to be affiliated with a university presenting  links pointing to Unfinished websites claiming that something important will happen at some future date? The keynote speakers are anonymous as well.

Please forgive me if I’m being rude but I feel like this is some sort of a prank. I think some verification is in order such as an email address for Sergio that matches domain of the university.

Who wouldn’t like to take a vacation to Spain and meet other pascal programmers but is it really possible?

On a side note there was a new member in #fpc recently whose nick also featured an MT.  As in Ariel millennium Thornton

10:48:56 <Joanna> arielmt: is this your website ? https://thornton2.com/ArielMT/   
10:49:05 <arielmt> yep

 Strange coincidence is it not?

Hi!

It is not a prank it is very real. I have been working for more than a year designing the event. It is already approved by the University of Salamanca. This message is only the first news    so people can know the dates of the event.  Soon, much more.

Yes, I know all what you mention but sadly my days are too short. I will put https soon, but for me it was more important sending the first news because it is only html page.

Come!, for sure you will enjoy it!

Best regards!
Sergio

[Sergio MT]

Hola Sergio,

Your website does not seem to be accessible, at least at this moment, neither does your website have a security certificate, something very recommendable (and easy to implement with any free certificate), so that any search engine treats it as a suitable address.

Dear Pascal-world colleagues,

http://www.pascalcongress.com

Hi!

I know, I will do it soon, but now it is just html page

Best regards,
Sergio

[loaded]

The programmers I know in real life want absolutely nothing to do with pascal. Sometimes I feel like I’m the last person on earth who still likes pascal.

You shouldn't feel this way. The Pascal family is getting bigger every day.
At least, I added two more people to the ring;
My 15-year-old son @aydın and my 9-year-old son Akif.  Also, the people I know try to do everything with pascal.

[domasz]

Sometimes I feel like I’m the last person on earth who still likes pascal.

This is Abracadabra's fault. Once they bought Delphi from Borland they started the decline in popularity of Pascal.
Luckily FPC & Lazarus guys came and Pascal makes sense again.
I still love Delphi 7 but all the newer Delphis are just terrible- slow, with broken backwards compatibility and very expensive.

[kupferstecher]

I guess I’m surprised that the creators of fpc and Lazarus are not the ones arranging an event. Have they ever organized an event? I would be much more comfortable going to an event hosted by people I know about.

I don't know of it either, but there are yearly meetings by the German "Lazarusforum". So it's not like there is no meeting activity anywhere.

[BobDog]

The programmers I know in real life want absolutely nothing to do with pascal. Sometimes I feel like I’m the last person on earth who still likes pascal.

You shouldn't feel this way. The Pascal family is getting bigger every day.
At least, I added two more people to the ring;
My 15-year-old son @aydın and my 9-year-old son Akif.  Also, the people I know try to do everything with pascal.

Pascal is a great choice for beginners.
This was what pascal was invented for, teaching modular programming.
Basic was good, but spaghetti code initially.
Lazarus is an ide, a distraction, IMHO.
Some pascals have more or less disappeared, GNU, Virtual, Turbo.
Is anybody on the forum using vector pascal?
These things might be discussed in Spain.
The strict scoping rules are so different in pascal compared to say C or basic or C++.
But no matter, the modular aspect of pascal is important.
Saying that, too much pascal or basic will frighten youngsters off C++.
C and C++ are the building blocks of computer programming just now.
Is computer programming important to learn?
So many youngsters cannot code, but they are adept at using computers for other things.
A little knowledge of basic applied maths is good for programming.(a confidence booster)
Just like rote learning your arithmetic tables is a great confidence booster for Maths.
For a while in this country rote learning (the tables) was discouraged in education, thus there was a generation of kids who avoided doing maths.
But the tables have returned now in the main I believe.

[Bogen85]

Bogen85 I understand the concept that many users of a compiler could be uninterested in coming to irc or forums for help maybe because of their exceptional talent or pride

I kind of find it hard to believe that anyone who is passionate about a programming language would not want to ever discuss it with other users but who knows..

On the other hand whenever there is a large community of humans doing anything there will be a lot of activity.

Number of Downloads or nicks in an IRC channel don’t really constitute activity.
Actual conversations of people who use FPC about the compiler/language and code being produced are the only things things that matter in my opinion.

On a regular basis I discuss pascal with others.
Chat (discord and rocket chat). This Forum.
Sometimes IRC, and my time spent in IRC can vary, but since the early 2000s I've been more interested in other forms of online communication than IRC.

Occasionally in person with others who while they might not be Free Pascalers would still be interested in what I'm working on.

Just because you can't see where the conversations are taking place (such as in your IRC channel or this Forum) does not mean they are not taking place, whether it be in person or in their own online communication circles.

[Bogen85]

Bogen85 I understand the concept that many users of a compiler could be uninterested in coming to irc or forums for help maybe because of their exceptional talent or pride

I know plenty of technologists who are just learning and who are not all that talented who get all there help from either questions that have already been answered, or by reading documentation.
Many don't want the social interaction or the ridicule if they ask a question themselves, regardless of what language or tool it is.

Good pascal documentation. Open pascal forums with questions and answers that others can search. Videos made to teach aspects of Pascal.

All of these exist.

All are things that even beginners through experienced users of pascal can use to find answers, without having to socially interact.

[Sergio MT]

Are there plans to stream the presentations, or make recordings available?

No, there is not stream presentations or recordings plans except for special activities of the event, and that's on purpose. In my experience as a researcher, I have observed that a community, regardless of the field of research, must have a physical meeting. People have to come together, meet in person and establish real links for the community to be strong. I am trying to create what I believe will help create a strong community. It's not just about listening to a talk, it's about people getting to know each other personally so they can feel part of the community, people getting to know each other personally behind the projects and facilitating the possibility for people to create collaborations.

Best regards,
Sergio

[Sergio MT]

I would love to be able to participate in this!  I unfortunately have never left my country though...  and not sure how I feel about going overseas.  Come to NY USA!

I was living in NYC last course; I have just arrived from there I can confirm Salamanca it is much more cheaper    Come and you will enjoy it! Also, Euro is very cheap for Americans now !!

[ccrause]

Are there plans to stream the presentations, or make recordings available?

No, there is not stream presentations or recordings plans except for special activities of the event, and that's on purpose. In my experience as a researcher, I have observed that a community, regardless of the field of research, must have a physical meeting. People have to come together, meet in person and establish real links for the community to be strong. I am trying to create what I believe will help create a strong community. It's not just about listening to a talk, it's about people getting to know each other personally so they can feel part of the community, people getting to know each other personally behind the projects and facilitating the possibility for people to create collaborations.

Pity, I would like to see what others are doing with and to Pascal.