The Silver Coder on YouTube

[silvercoder70]

Hi everyone, I'm Tim! A developer with a passion for Pascal that stretches back 30 years, starting with Turbo Pascal in the late 1980s and then Delphi.

Life takes interesting turns, and these days I find myself as a parish admin with a tutoring side-hustle. But the developer fire still burns! That's why I launched "The Silver Coder," a YouTube channel dedicated to the world of Pascal. I delve into Lazarus, Free Pascal, and the broader Pascal family.

My channel goes beyond tutorials. It's about growth, mentorship, and building a strong foundation for your development success. I'm here to share my knowledge and help you unlock your coding potential.

What topics would you like to see covered? Let me know in the comments!

Interested in joining the journey? Check out The Silver Coder here: (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEDZT_VZ0oz-gt7Mf_hJp2A)

[Handoko]

Hello Tim,
Welcome to the forum.

I visited The Silver Coder, nice!

Video tutorials for Lazarus/Delphi are rare to be found, glad to know there is a new one. Someone please add it into the list:
https://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/Lazarus_videos

What topics would you like to see covered? Let me know in the comments!

Actually I have a very long list of topics but I think you should start with some general topics that suitable for beginners/newbies first, like:
- How Lazarus compare to Delphi
- How to convert Delphi source codes to Lazarus
- Writing simple GUI programs, like calculator, screen capture, etc
- Writing simple games, like pong, etc

Later, it would be nice if you can cover these topics:
- Prepare Lazarus cross compiler
- How to write Android applications using LAMW
- How to write database programs
- How to write programs that allow computers to communicate via LAN

Here are some links that maybe useful for you:
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Portal:HowTo_Demos
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Lazarus_For_Delphi_Users
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Code_Conversion_Guide
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Delphi_Converter_in_Lazarus
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Cross_compiling
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Portal:Android
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Databases
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Lazarus_Database_Overview

~~~ Edit ~~~
I saw you're good in C/C++/# and Python too, maybe you can talk about the similarity and differences how they compare to Pascal, and what are their advantages and disadvantages in your point of view.

[nouzi]

I saw you're good in C/C++/# and Python too, maybe you can talk about the similarity and differences how they compare to Pascal, and what are their advantages and disadvantages in your point of view.

هل تعتقد انها فكرة جيدة ؟
By Google
Do you think it's a good idea?

[Handoko]

I prefer to hear from someone who really has years of experience of using them.

Years ago, I wrote health articles and let Google indexed them. I was not a doctor nor a medical practioner. I just did some research on the web, then I could write.

[silvercoder70]

I still remember quite a bit of C/C++.

As far as python goes... I tutor in that language.

But years of experience .... No

That said, to my knowledge python replaced pascal as an intro language at Uni?

There is a lot more that could be said, but will leave that for a later time.

[silvercoder70]

Thank you for the suggestions. Really appreciate it.

[silvercoder70]

hello all, new video (Journey to the dark side: There is nothing new under the sun (Ep 4)) on YouTube - https://youtu.be/xekUY2tVtwQ where TFPExpressionParser (part of FPC) is added to the calculator that was started in the prev. video.

The code can be found on GitHub - https://github.com/silvercoder70/fpc-calculator

[silvercoder70]

Hello Tim,
Welcome to the forum.

I have started on one of your ideas with the calculator. Will look at the others over time

[Handoko]

Nice!
And thank you for sharing the source code.

But I saw you used AnchorDockPanel, as you also mentioned it in the brief recap. The problem is, AnchorDockPanel is not installed/activated on default Lazarus installation, novice users won't able to download and try your code. It would be good if you have a tutorial about installing AnchorDockPanel and/or explain it in the video note section.

[silvercoder70]

Yeah... I worked that part out after I put up the code. Sigh

[silvercoder70]

Safeguard Your Object Pascal Code: Initialization and Error Handling

Nobody likes dealing with bugs after their software is out in the wild. That's where defensive programming comes in. Starting with solid variable initialization is your first line of defense. Learn how to prevent those nasty surprises, handle those tricky constructor exceptions, and master the art of dealing with pesky nil pointers in Object Pascal.

References:
Initialised Variables - https://www.freepascal.org/docs-html/...
Declarations - https://www.freepascal.org/docs-html/...

https://youtu.be/0bIY3LHNZJo?si=pm3s1p4WfMtqAm8w

[indydev]

Thank you for doing this. One of the problems we have is the lack of Lazarus content on YouTube. Tons of C#, Python etc.

Content Suggestions:

The example code from various CCR units:
  lgenerics
  PascalContainer
  etc. (any gems you find in there)

Maybe cover generics first.
The MVVM pattern for Lazarus is a little different than for Delphi. But the example from that book is online: 

MVVM in Delphi.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4842-2214-0

The sourcecode of the book can be found at:
https://github.com/apress/mvvm-in-delphi

There's a forum discussion here

  https://forum.lazarus.freepascal.org/index.php/topic,65825.0.html

where user cdbc covers some ground on the subject and provides some units.

Of course games are always good. Maybe a simple bitblit game without a game engine, and then one with a game engine.

Just suggestions. Anything added is a plus.

[silvercoder70]

Woohoo!

Thanks for the ideas. I will add them to my list!

[silvercoder70]

Learn how to use generics to create reusable and type-safe code - this video provides a clear and concise introduction to generics in Free Pascal that you can use out of the box. Let me know if you want to see more videos on generics...

https://youtu.be/je6Wx4CI7ac

Links:
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Generics
https://github.com/silvercoder70/code-examples/
example6.lpr + uPerson.pas

#generics #freepascal #programming #coding #tutorial #beginner #softwaredevelopment #developers

[paweld]

You have several memory leaks in your code.


Some comments:
- if the item is a class then use TFPGObjectList or TFPGMapObject, otherwise you have to take care of releasing the item yourself.
- as you create a class, you must also release it (LPersonInterator)
- with FGL, you can use an iterator, eg.

Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]

1. for i := 0 to LPersonList.Count - 1 do
2.     Writeln('Person Name: ', LPersonList.Items[i].Name_, ', Age: ', LPersonList.Items[i].Age);  

revised version:

Code: Pascal  [Select][+][-]

1. program example6;
2.  
3. {$mode objfpc}{$H+}
4.  
5. uses
6.   {$IFDEF UNIX}
7.   cthreads,
8.   {$ENDIF}
9.   Classes, SysUtils, CustApp
10.   { you can add units after this }
11.   , fgl, uPerson;
12.  
13. type
14.   TPersonList = specialize TFPGObjectList<TPerson>;  // <--auto free items, fix memory leak
15.  
16. var
17.   LPersonList: TPersonList;
18.   LPersonInterator: specialize TFPGListEnumerator<TPerson>;
19.   LPerson: TPerson;
20.  
21. begin
22.   LPersonList := TPersonList.Create;
23.   LPersonList.Add(TPerson.Create('Malcolm', 30));
24.   LPersonList.Add(TPerson.Create('Bob', 19));
25.   LPersonList.Add(TPerson.Create('Alice', 30));
26.   LPersonList.Add(TPerson.Create('Charlie', 30));
27.  
28.   LPersonList.Sort(@ComparePerson);
29.  
30.   LPersonInterator := LPersonList.GetEnumerator;
31.   while LPersonInterator.MoveNext do
32.   begin
33.     LPerson := LPersonInterator.Current;
34.     Writeln('Person Name: ', LPerson.Name_, ', Age: ', LPerson.Age);
35.   end;
36.   LPersonInterator.Free;   // <-- fix memory leak
37.   LPersonList.Free;
38.   Readln;
39. end.
40.  
41.  
42.  
43.