Chapter 39 Further Reading

Free Pascal

  • Free Pascal Documentation https://www.freepascal.org/docs.html The official reference, including the Language Reference, Programmer's Guide, Run-Time Library reference, and FCL (Free Component Library) documentation. Start with the Language Reference for the definitive description of all {$mode} directives and language features.

  • Free Pascal Wiki https://wiki.freepascal.org/ A community-maintained wiki with hundreds of articles covering everything from beginner tutorials to compiler internals.

  • Free Pascal Source Repository https://gitlab.com/freepascal.org/fpc/source The compiler's source code. Reading the compiler that compiled your programs is an education in itself — and it is all written in Pascal.

Lazarus

  • Lazarus IDE Documentation https://wiki.lazarus-ide.org/ The comprehensive wiki for the Lazarus IDE, covering installation, project management, form design, component creation, debugging, and cross-platform deployment.

  • Lazarus Online Package Manager — Package List https://packages.lazarus-ide.org/ Browse all available OPM packages with descriptions, versions, and license information.

  • Michaeel Van Canneyt and Mattias Gaertner, Lazarus: The Complete Guide (2011) Though published before many recent Lazarus features, this remains the most comprehensive book on Lazarus development. Covers the LCL architecture, database programming, component creation, and printing.

Delphi

  • Embarcadero Documentation https://docwiki.embarcadero.com/ The official Delphi documentation, including language reference, VCL/FMX framework documentation, and tutorials. Well-organized and comprehensive.

  • Marco Cantu, Object Pascal Handbook (2021) A comprehensive reference for the Object Pascal language as implemented in Delphi. Covers all language features including generics, anonymous methods, RTTI, and advanced record helpers. The most current Pascal language reference book available.

  • Delphi Community Edition https://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi/starter The free edition of Delphi for individuals and small businesses. A legitimate way to explore the commercial Pascal ecosystem.

Key Libraries

  • mORMot 2 Documentation https://github.com/synopse/mORMot2 The enterprise-grade ORM/SOA framework for Pascal. The documentation is extensive (over 2,000 pages) and covers architecture, performance, security, and deployment.

  • Castle Game Engine https://castle-engine.io/ Documentation, tutorials, and examples for the most complete Pascal game engine. Excellent for learning 3D programming in Pascal.

  • Brook Framework https://github.com/risoflora/brookframework A microframework for web development in Pascal. Good documentation and examples for building REST APIs and web applications.

  • Synapse Library https://synapse.ararat.cz/doc/help/ Documentation for the lightweight networking library. Clear, practical, with good examples.

Community

  • Free Pascal and Lazarus Forums https://forum.lazarus-ide.org/ The most active Pascal community. Browse the "Beginners" section for learning, "Third-Party" for library discussions, and "General" for news and announcements.

  • Reddit r/pascal https://www.reddit.com/r/pascal/ Growing community with news, project showcases, and discussions about both Free Pascal and Delphi.

  • Stack Overflow — Pascal Tags https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/freepascal https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/lazarus https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/delphi Active Q&A communities with knowledgeable answerers.

History

  • Niklaus Wirth, "The Development of Pascal" (1993) In History of Programming Languages II, ed. Thomas J. Bergin and Richard G. Gibson, pp. 97-120. Wirth's own account of creating Pascal, its design decisions, and its evolution.

  • Anders Hejlsberg Interview Collection Various interviews with Anders Hejlsberg (creator of Turbo Pascal, Delphi, and C#) available online. Search for "Anders Hejlsberg Turbo Pascal" or "Anders Hejlsberg Delphi" for insights into the decisions that shaped Pascal's commercial evolution.

Tools

  • fpcupdeluxe https://github.com/LongDirtyAnimAlf/fpcupdeluxe The essential tool for installing and managing Free Pascal cross-compilers. Provides a GUI for selecting target platforms and downloading the necessary binaries.

  • pas2js https://wiki.freepascal.org/pas2js Free Pascal's Pascal-to-JavaScript transpiler, enabling Pascal code to run in web browsers. An alternative to the WebAssembly backend for web-targeting Pascal development.