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There are NOT a lot of choices of languages when it comes to that.

Not true. In addition to Objective C and Swift you can program for iOS in, for example, Object Pascal or C++ or C# or JavaScript.

new standard bytecode

That will be WebAssembly. With WebAssembly and a compiler that supports it you can conceivably take a desktop application, compile it to wasm and run it in your web browser.

We really need something like XUL or XAML made in to a web standard.

I don't think we do. For a WebAssembly application we can use 2D canvas or WebGL for the GUI. Any development environment built for making cross platform GUI applications (like Qt or Delphi) is in a good position to take advantage of WebAssembly in this way once wasm makes its way into browsers.

During my CS Associates Degree work - we used MASM 5.0, Borland Turbo C++ 3.1, & Borland Turbo Pascal 5.0 - doing single unit (.pas) programs (.c & .h in C/C++)...

Then "projects" in C++ came & I said "WTF What are ALL of these files & why won't the .c one compile fully?"

Hence colliding with projects for the 1st time in an OOP language!

Which lent itself to object frameworks & RAD development tools (my 1st being VB & later one that has been my fav. ever since, Delphi) to create Windows apps FAST!

(Way faster than using resources studios & binding controls to function + procedure interfaces events the OLD stodgy manual way passing object references to them - before that, it was a huge 'framework' to build a primitive Win3.x style window as I saw guys who'd been @ it longer than me THEN doing).

* Too bad you never used Delphi -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro...

(It, like VB before it, made GUI construction a snap & then the Object.Property & method that acts on it takes over - building apps is designing your interface for functionality FIRST then double-clicking each control finding the event you want to program for it (e.g. click, doubleclick etc.)).

At 1st it seems like a HUGE hurdle (it is) but you take to it like a fish to water W/ THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR IT THAT MAKE IT EASIER (got nicer around 1993 on that way for Win16/32 devs).

APK

P.S.=> You'd have liked it probably, I know I do!

Oh, here & there I'll write up a console-mode/tty term/DOS style app (I write them to be fast, pretty doesn't matter, & usually to process data for say, filters, fast from lists I import online that I build into programs hardcoded (faster than listbox loads for example) like this built in Delphi -> APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-4 32/64-bit http://start64.com/index.php?o...

I wrote 7 small "dos type" apps to build that faster (for making false positives filters & removing bloating junk in hosts datasources have (comments))... apk

but with the costs of Delphi and that its been around so long and still going means someone is using it.. but who ???

From Embarcadero: - http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... From Lazarus/FPC wiki: - http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal... - http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal... - http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal...

But it don't support pointer arithmetic.

Both Free Pascal and Delphi can do pointer arithmetic.

Pascal sucks because it has Exit in both FPC and Delphi? Maybe you should read up on Object Pascal. It's a nice language.

Circa 1986 or so, you wouldn't have thought "kind of a dead language, nobody uses it for anything anymore"

I don't think that circa 2015. You should check out Free Pascal, Lazarus, and Delphi. After using a lot of languages, tools, libraries and IDEs, I still haven't seen anything do rapid application development better than Delphi.

Just use the Exit statement. See Free Pascal's wiki page on Exit and also Embarcadero's docwiki for Delphi. You can also use the built-in result variable to set a function's result value.

Pasca is still in existence, see: http://www.embarcadero.com/pro...

Use Object Pascal. It's a better language to work with than C++. Free Pascal with Lazarus is a good, open source option. Alternatively there's Delphi which also has good cross platform support (Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, but not Linux yet and maybe Windows 10 Mobile soon).

"Read 'em & weep" -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro...

APK

P.S.=> As far as 64-bit on Windows? I can personally PROVE it does that too, with actual proof, right here -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

... apk

It's a shame Delphi doesn't get the attention it deserves. It's an elegant, cross-platform environment.

There are plenty of ways to get cross-platform w/o using a web browser. Embarcadero

Doesn't look cross platform to me. For example: it appears as if there is no Linux support. The iOS support is a native app which put you at the whim of the Apple approval process. I don't consider that to be cross platform. Web apps aren't subject to that process.

There is no market for linux applications - the key word being "Market". You can't make a living selling your software, unlike BSD, OSX, Windows, iOS, and the Android runtime. Also, your claim that "it's subject to Apple's whims" is so bogus it's not a joke. This applies to ANY product being developed for iOS - your claim was that there were no cross-platform tools, which you are now trying to back up with lies by not just moving the goalposts, but by using made-up definitions that nobody else recognizes. It's really insulting.

or for 2d/3d games, etc, there's Unity, which also supports iOS and Android, PS3/4, XBox360/One, Blackberry, Windows, Linux, Apple, etc.

There are 2 reason to continue to use a browse: one is "because that's what we've been doing so far," the other is "we don't want to learn how to write real code". The "we target it because everyone has a browser" argument is bogus - browsers have been used to download and install programs for ages.

Your first objection isn't always the case. I am aware of development teams who have never developed for the web before and are now starting to because it's a viable platform for rich applications.

As for writing "real code"? How condescending and patently untrue. Downloading an application is not the same thing as developing once and running on multiple platforms.

So how is that web platform doing without an internet connection? Also, there's no viable market for Linux applications - the key word being "market", like in "we can sell a million copies and make tons of money."

And people who are just now turning to the web platform are SO far behind the times that they are not credible examples, unless you're looking for examples of still-living dinosaurs.

As for writing "real code"? How condescending and patently untrue. Downloading an application is not the same thing as developing once and running on multiple platforms.

Of course it's not the same. Never said it was. It's better. And contrary to your claim the tools are now out there to allow developers to support multiple platforms. Unlike web applications, which run on only one platform - the web browser. Good luck with that when the server goes down or you have a high-latency (or no) connection, or the company building the web app is no longer in business. In that last case, you're dead in the water, whereas even some of those old dBASE apps are still running today.

They're called web monkeys for a reason. Most of them cannot write real code. They're like a million monkeys banging on a million keyboards and throwing whatever comes out against the wall to see what sticks, like monkeys do with their poo.

But they sure do love their "google for it and cut-n-paste mad skillz" But they can't run with the big dogs.

There are plenty of ways to get cross-platform w/o using a web browser. Embarcadero

Doesn't look cross platform to me. For example: it appears as if there is no Linux support. The iOS support is a native app which put you at the whim of the Apple approval process. I don't consider that to be cross platform. Web apps aren't subject to that process.

or for 2d/3d games, etc, there's Unity, which also supports iOS and Android, PS3/4, XBox360/One, Blackberry, Windows, Linux, Apple, etc.

There are 2 reason to continue to use a browse: one is "because that's what we've been doing so far," the other is "we don't want to learn how to write real code". The "we target it because everyone has a browser" argument is bogus - browsers have been used to download and install programs for ages.

Your first objection isn't always the case. I am aware of development teams who have never developed for the web before and are now starting to because it's a viable platform for rich applications.

As for writing "real code"? How condescending and patently untrue. Downloading an application is not the same thing as developing once and running on multiple platforms.

Application development tools from Embarcadero are the development solution of choice for millions of software developers. Build and deploy industrial strength business ready truly native connected apps for Windows, Mac, mobile, and the Internet of Things, fast. Build apps using the same source codebase without sacrificing app quality, connectivity or performance. With native app support across all major platforms, developers can reach the largest addressable digital markets in the world.

or for 2d/3d games, etc, there's Unity, which also supports iOS and Android, PS3/4, XBox360/One, Blackberry, Windows, Linux, Apple, etc.

There are 2 reason to continue to use a browse: one is "because that's what we've been doing so far," the other is "we don't want to learn how to write real code". The "we target it because everyone has a browser" argument is bogus - browsers have been used to download and install programs for ages.

"Delphi XE7 is the fastest way to develop highly connected applications for Windows, OS X, Android, iOS, Gadgets, and Wearables." -> -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... & on BOTH 32 + 64-bit fronts...

* AND, it could do .NET even BEFORE Ms' Visual Studio could oddly enough (not so oddly though on that particular note: Ms hired away BOTH of Delphi's designers in Mr. Anders Heijelsberg (sp?) & Chuck Andrzewski - who took another GREAT THING from Delphi & put it into Visual Studio in Data Containers)

APK

P.S.=> Another reason WHY I stuck by it from as far back as 1997, in of all places, a competing trade journal "Visual Basic Programmer's Journal" Sept./Oct. issue entitled "Inside the VB5 Compiler Engine" iirc - PERFORMANCE SUPERIORITY on nearly ALL fronts, Delphi 2.0 vs. MSVB5 + MSVC++ 5.2 in 32-bit:

STRING SUITE:

Delphi = .275ms
MSVC++ = .500ms
MSVB = 4.091ms

---

MATH SUITE:

Delphi = 1.523ms
MSVC++ = 2.890ms
MSVB = 7.071ms

---

API GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

Delphi = .269ms
MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = 292

---

TEXTBOX FORM LOADING SUITE:

MSVC++ = .012ms
Delphi = .069ms
MSVB = .072ms

---

ACTIVE X FORM LOADS:

MSVB = .114ms
Delphi = .495ms
MSVC++ = .778ms

---

NATIVE TO LANGUAGE GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = .455ms
Delphi = .503ms

---

In the 6 tests given, Delphi won the majority (overwhelmingly in fact, in what ALL PROGRAMS DO, math & strings work + graphics strong showing #1, & only 1 "outright loss" (2 second places))...

I used it to create this recently:

APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit:

http://start64.com/index.php?o...

It's 100% free, no strings attached, & The BEST in the security antimalware & antispyware business currently per a very recent test of antivirus/antispyware/antimalware efficacy http://www.av-test.org/en/news... per that VERY recent test's results, also host & RECOMMEND my program for hosts -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl...

If THAT tells you anything as to what you can produce using Delphi/Object-Pascal!

... apk

"Delphi XE7 is the fastest way to develop highly connected applications for Windows, OS X, Android, iOS, Gadgets, and Wearables." -> -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... & on BOTH 32 + 64-bit fronts...

* AND, it could do .NET even BEFORE Ms' Visual Studio could oddly enough (not so oddly though on that particular note: Ms hired away BOTH of Delphi's designers in Mr. Anders Heijelsberg (sp?) & Chuck Andrzewski - who took another GREAT THING from Delphi & put it into Visual Studio in Data Containers)

APK

P.S.=> Another reason WHY I stuck by it from as far back as 1997, in of all places, a competing trade journal "Visual Basic Programmer's Journal" Sept./Oct. issue entitled "Inside the VB5 Compiler Engine" iirc - PERFORMANCE SUPERIORITY on nearly ALL fronts, Delphi 2.0 vs. MSVB5 + MSVC++ 5.2 in 32-bit:

STRING SUITE:

Delphi = .275ms
MSVC++ = .500ms
MSVB = 4.091ms

---

MATH SUITE:

Delphi = 1.523ms
MSVC++ = 2.890ms
MSVB = 7.071ms

---

API GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

Delphi = .269ms
MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = 292

---

TEXTBOX FORM LOADING SUITE:

MSVC++ = .012ms
Delphi = .069ms
MSVB = .072ms

---

ACTIVE X FORM LOADS:

MSVB = .114ms
Delphi = .495ms
MSVC++ = .778ms

---

NATIVE TO LANGUAGE GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = .455ms
Delphi = .503ms

---

In the 6 tests given, Delphi won the majority (overwhelmingly in fact, in what ALL PROGRAMS DO, math & strings work + graphics strong showing #1, & only 1 "outright loss" (2 second places))...

I used it to create this recently:

APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit:

http://start64.com/index.php?o...

It's 100% free, no strings attached, & The BEST in the security antimalware & antispyware business currently per a very recent test of antivirus/antispyware/antimalware efficacy http://www.av-test.org/en/news... per that VERY recent test's results, also host & RECOMMEND my program for hosts -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl...

If THAT tells you anything as to what you can produce using Delphi/Object-Pascal!

... apk

"Delphi XE7 is the fastest way to develop highly connected applications for Windows, OS X, Android, iOS, Gadgets, & Wearables." -> -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... & on BOTH 32 + 64-bit fronts...

Blew MS away there + on more levels (.NET & performance).

* ...&, it could do .NET - BEFORE Ms' Visual Studio could "oddly" (not oddly though on that: Ms hired BOTH of Delphi's designers in Mr. Anders Heijelsberg(sp?) & Chuck Andrzewski(sp?) - who took a GREAT THING from Delphi & put it in Visual Studio - Data Containers)

APK

P.S.=> Another reason WHY I stuck by it from as far back as 1997, in of all places, a competing trade mag "Visual Basic Programmer's Journal" Sept./Oct. issue titled "Inside the VB5 Compiler Engine" iirc - PERFORMANCE SUPERIORITY on nearly ALL fronts, Delphi 2.0 vs. MSVB5 + MSVC++ 5.2 in 32-bit:

STRING SUITE:

Delphi = .275ms
MSVC++ = .500ms
MSVB = 4.091ms

---

MATH SUITE:

Delphi = 1.523ms
MSVC++ = 2.890ms
MSVB = 7.071ms

---

API GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

Delphi = .269ms
MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = 292

---

TEXTBOX FORM LOADING SUITE:

MSVC++ = .012ms
Delphi = .069ms
MSVB = .072ms

---

ACTIVE X FORM LOADS:

MSVB = .114ms
Delphi = .495ms
MSVC++ = .778ms

---

NATIVE TO LANGUAGE GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = .455ms
Delphi = .503ms

---

In the 6 tests Delphi won a majority (overwhelmingly in what ALL PROGRAMS DO, math & strings work + graphics strong showing #1, & only 1 "outright loss" (2 seconds))...

I used it to create this:

APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit:

http://start64.com/index.php?o...

It's Free, works, & BEST in the security antimalware/antispyware business per past July's recent test of antivirus/antispyware/antimalware efficacy http://www.av-test.org/en/news... per that VERY test's results, also host & RECOMMEND my program for hosts -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl...

THAT tells you little something as to what you can produce using Delphi/Object-Pascal for ANY major platform pretty much!

... apk

"Delphi XE7 is the fastest way to develop highly connected applications for Windows, OS X, Android, iOS, Gadgets, & Wearables." -> -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... & on BOTH 32 + 64-bit fronts...

Blew MS away there + on more levels (.NET & performance).

* ...&, it could do .NET - BEFORE Ms' Visual Studio could "oddly" (not oddly though on that: Ms hired BOTH of Delphi's designers in Mr. Anders Heijelsberg(sp?) & Chuck Andrzewski(sp?) - who took a GREAT THING from Delphi & put it in Visual Studio - Data Containers)

APK

P.S.=> Another reason WHY I stuck by it from as far back as 1997, in of all places, a competing trade mag "Visual Basic Programmer's Journal" Sept./Oct. issue titled "Inside the VB5 Compiler Engine" iirc - PERFORMANCE SUPERIORITY on nearly ALL fronts, Delphi 2.0 vs. MSVB5 + MSVC++ 5.2 in 32-bit:

STRING SUITE:

Delphi = .275ms
MSVC++ = .500ms
MSVB = 4.091ms

---

MATH SUITE:

Delphi = 1.523ms
MSVC++ = 2.890ms
MSVB = 7.071ms

---

API GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

Delphi = .269ms
MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = 292

---

TEXTBOX FORM LOADING SUITE:

MSVC++ = .012ms
Delphi = .069ms
MSVB = .072ms

---

ACTIVE X FORM LOADS:

MSVB = .114ms
Delphi = .495ms
MSVC++ = .778ms

---

NATIVE TO LANGUAGE GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = .455ms
Delphi = .503ms

---

In the 6 tests Delphi won a majority (overwhelmingly in what ALL PROGRAMS DO, math & strings work + graphics strong showing #1, & only 1 "outright loss" (2 seconds))...

I used it to create this:

APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit:

http://start64.com/index.php?o...

It's Free, works, & BEST in the security antimalware/antispyware business per past July's recent test of antivirus/antispyware/antimalware efficacy http://www.av-test.org/en/news... per that VERY test's results, also host & RECOMMEND my program for hosts -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl...

THAT tells you little something as to what you can produce using Delphi/Object-Pascal for ANY major platform pretty much!

... apkb

"Delphi XE7 is the fastest way to develop highly connected applications for Windows, OS X, Android, iOS, Gadgets, & Wearables." -> -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... & on BOTH 32 + 64-bit fronts...

Blew MS away there + on more levels (.NET & performance).

* ...&, it could do .NET - BEFORE Ms' Visual Studio could "oddly" (not oddly though on that: Ms hired BOTH of Delphi's designers in Mr. Anders Heijelsberg(sp?) & Chuck Andrzewski(sp?) - who took a GREAT THING from Delphi & put it in Visual Studio - Data Containers)

APK

P.S.=> Another reason WHY I stuck by it from as far back as 1997, in of all places, a competing trade mag "Visual Basic Programmer's Journal" Sept./Oct. issue titled "Inside the VB5 Compiler Engine" iirc - PERFORMANCE SUPERIORITY on nearly ALL fronts, Delphi 2.0 vs. MSVB5 + MSVC++ 5.2 in 32-bit:

STRING SUITE:

Delphi = .275ms
MSVC++ = .500ms
MSVB = 4.091ms

---

MATH SUITE:

Delphi = 1.523ms
MSVC++ = 2.890ms
MSVB = 7.071ms

---

API GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

Delphi = .269ms
MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = 292

---

TEXTBOX FORM LOADING SUITE:

MSVC++ = .012ms
Delphi = .069ms
MSVB = .072ms

---

ACTIVE X FORM LOADS:

MSVB = .114ms
Delphi = .495ms
MSVC++ = .778ms

---

NATIVE TO LANGUAGE GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = .455ms
Delphi = .503ms

---

In the 6 tests Delphi won a majority (overwhelmingly in what ALL PROGRAMS DO, math & strings work + graphics strong showing #1, & only 1 "outright loss" (2 seconds))...

I used it to create this:

APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit:

http://start64.com/index.php?o...

It's Free, works, & BEST in the security antimalware/antispyware business per past July's recent test of antivirus/antispyware/antimalware efficacy http://www.av-test.org/en/news... per that VERY test's results, also host & RECOMMEND my program for hosts -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl...

THAT tells you little something as to what you can produce using Delphi/Object-Pascal for ANY major platform pretty much!

... apk

Object Pascal is quite a nice language. The open source Free Pascal compiler targets many platforms and Lazarus gives you an IDE and frameworks for building GUI applications with Free Pascal. Delphi only runs on Windows, but can cross compile to OS X, iOS and Android for making multiplatform applications. See the changes since Delphi 7 for the current state of Delphi and the Delphi roadmap. The Delphi and Pascal subreddits are also pretty good resources.

Object Pascal is quite a nice language. The open source Free Pascal compiler targets many platforms and Lazarus gives you an IDE and frameworks for building GUI applications with Free Pascal. Delphi only runs on Windows, but can cross compile to OS X, iOS and Android for making multiplatform applications. See the changes since Delphi 7 for the current state of Delphi and the Delphi roadmap. The Delphi and Pascal subreddits are also pretty good resources.

Object Pascal is quite a nice language. The open source Free Pascal compiler targets many platforms and Lazarus gives you an IDE and frameworks for building GUI applications with Free Pascal. Delphi only runs on Windows, but can cross compile to OS X, iOS and Android for making multiplatform applications. See the changes since Delphi 7 for the current state of Delphi and the Delphi roadmap. The Delphi and Pascal subreddits are also pretty good resources.

I wrote it using Borland Delphi Object Pascal http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... & thus, it can be ported to MacOS X or ANDROID *very* easily (or to Linux easily enough using FreePascal & the Lazarus IDE for it also really) - only thing's I'd have to alter would be drive letter vs. mounted devices.

Any streaming socket code can import remote data from websites. That's *not* something "unique" to Windows alone.

Hosts are multiplatform. Basically, this app can also EASILY be so, per the above.

(Additionally - It wouldn't hurt to filter DNS-side, taking its data & writing it to a DENY/ALLOW dns rules table as you're thinking of doing though...)

APK

P.S.=> The host file you'd import & create wouldn't be mine (that's 3,465,210++ entries long, mostly blocking vs. adbanners &/or known bad domains/subdomains & took me 18++ yrs. to build it to that size - you'd end up with one that's more current data only, & around 250k worth of entries for blocking)... apk

Java's single-inheritance class system is very similar to that in Object Pascal except Pascal did not have interfaces.

Object Pascal also has interfaces.

No separate header files: Interface declaration and implementation in the same source file.

Yes, if you want. But if you're using object interfaces then the interface declaration can be in a separate unit if you prefer.

For instance, "++i" is a more immediately recognizable idiom than "i := i + 1". You don't have to slow down to notice that the same variable is being both referenced and changed.

In Pascal you can use Inc(i) to increment i by 1 instead of "i := i + 1". You can also increment i by larger increments or by type size if i is a pointer type. It's a standard feature of the run-time library.

there's pretty much no useful libraries/frameworks/tooling

You should check out the free trial of Delphi. The VCL is useful, FireMonkey is useful, the parallel programming library is useful, the bluetooth library is useful, just to name a few useful things.

there's pretty much no useful libraries/frameworks/tooling

You should check out the free trial of Delphi. The VCL is useful, FireMonkey is useful, the parallel programming library is useful, the bluetooth library is useful, just to name a few useful things.

there's pretty much no useful libraries/frameworks/tooling

You should check out the free trial of Delphi. The VCL is useful, FireMonkey is useful, the parallel programming library is useful, the bluetooth library is useful, just to name a few useful things.

there's pretty much no useful libraries/frameworks/tooling

You should check out the free trial of Delphi. The VCL is useful, FireMonkey is useful, the parallel programming library is useful, the bluetooth library is useful, just to name a few useful things.

If you got an enum, you can declare a set of that enum, for example:

type
    TParam = (pAaa, pBbb, pCcc);
    TParams = set of TParam;

You can then easily check for membership: if pBbb in Params then ...

However the real power comes from being able to do set operations using + (union), - (difference), * (intersection) and the less than/greater than operators for testing for sub-/supersets, see the documentation for details.

For example, if you want to check if neither pAaa nor pCcc is in Params, you can do

if (Params * [pAaa, pCcc]) = [] then ...

[] is an empty set.

"Forcing" individual devs isn't it: Go to the compiler makers. Make it so THEY have YOUR API's/SDK's available in THEIR compilers.

(That way, individuals HAVE a choice...)

E.G.-> Borland (Embarcadero) does JUST about *every* platform there is under the sun in Delphi XE7 (not blackberry though), so there's an opportunity (it's a great tool for development, best there is) -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro...

APK

P.S.=> The compiler maker, in turn, can benefit as well (as does the individual developer, with more options on HIS end too)... apk

The biggest one I remember (that several pointed out) was that the length of an array was part of its type, and a function that took an array argument had to specify the array length

OK, that's no longer true. Dynamic arrays have been a feature in Pascal for a long time. You can find out their length with Length(array), their lowest index with Low(array) and their highest index with High(array). Free Pascal has a wiki page on dynamic arrays and so does Embarcadero. Delphi XE7 introduced some new ways of working with dynamic arrays.

What platform CAN'T you target with it? Pretty much everything/anything http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... - & you're right on inline assembly (which from Delphi XE3 onward, you have that option again as you did in say, Delphi 2-7).

Circa 1997-1998, what took me from C/C++ & VB (my "then favorites")? Delphi! Sure - I did a lot of C++ or VB (even Access) projects, but nothing touched Delphi to get C++ (heck, better, proof's below) power & speed + abilities (except for multiple inheritance model)... & to build it as fast/easy as VB too?? You couldn't TOUCH that combination!

What else convinced me? A test resultset from (of all places) "VBPJ" (Visual Basic Programmer's Journal) issue Sept./Oct. 1997 "Inside the VB5 Compiler"...

There, I saw Borland Delphi LITERALLY "knock-the-chocolate" outta MS' offerings, overall, in performance...

Specifics below (the most important, overall? Again - imo @ least - What they ALL do - math & strings!):

---

STRING SUITE:

Delphi = .275ms MSVC++ = .500ms MSVB = 4.091ms

---

MATH SUITE:

Delphi = 1.523ms MSVC++ = 2.890ms MSVB = 7.071ms

* AGAIN - note what I said above? Even while I was a HUGE fan of MS' Visual Studio?? I couldn't "argue with the numbers" here, & gravitated towards a BETTER coding environs in Delphi, by far, for performance alone!

---

API GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

Delphi = .269ms MSVC++ = .293ms MSVB = 292

---

TEXTBOX FORM LOADING SUITE:

MSVC++ = .012ms Delphi = .069ms MSVB = .072ms

---

ACTIVE X FORM LOADS:

MSVB = .114ms Delphi = .495ms MSVC++ = .778ms

---

NATIVE TO LANGUAGE GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

MSVC++ = .293ms MSVB = .455ms Delphi = .503ms

---

In the 6 tests given, Delphi won the majority (overwhelmingly in fact, in what ALL PROGRAMS DO, math & strings work)...

* "Argue with the numbers..."

(I couldn't... & switched to it as my primary personal favorite development tool, & haven't switched since!) APK

P.S.=> Between being able to target *ANY* major player hardware platform there is, AND speed + abilities that either rival OR EXCEED those of MSVC++? Hey - can you blame me for liking Delphi & Object Pascal, the best?? apk

Wait a minute... APK. Not trolling. You've... you've actually posted something that's not entirely a waste of space!?

...

I need a drink.

What platform CAN'T you target with it? Pretty much everything/anything http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... - & you're right on inline assembly (which from Delphi XE3 onward, you have that option again as you did in say, Delphi 2-7).

Circa 1997-1998, what took me from C/C++ & VB (my "then favorites")? Delphi! Sure - I did a lot of C++ or VB (even Access) projects, but nothing touched Delphi to get C++ (heck, better, proof's below) power & speed + abilities (except for multiple inheritance model)... & to build it as fast/easy as VB too?? You couldn't TOUCH that combination!

What else convinced me? A test resultset from (of all places) "VBPJ" (Visual Basic Programmer's Journal) issue Sept./Oct. 1997 "Inside the VB5 Compiler"...

There, I saw Borland Delphi LITERALLY "knock-the-chocolate" outta MS' offerings, overall, in performance...

Specifics below (the most important, overall? Again - imo @ least - What they ALL do - math & strings!):

---

  STRING SUITE:

  Delphi = .275ms
MSVC++ = .500ms
MSVB = 4.091ms

---

  MATH SUITE:

  Delphi = 1.523ms
MSVC++ = 2.890ms
MSVB = 7.071ms

* AGAIN - note what I said above? Even while I was a HUGE fan of MS' Visual Studio?? I couldn't "argue with the numbers" here, & gravitated towards a BETTER coding environs in Delphi, by far, for performance alone!

---

  API GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

  Delphi = .269ms
MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = 292

---

  TEXTBOX FORM LOADING SUITE:

MSVC++ = .012ms
  Delphi = .069ms
MSVB = .072ms

---

  ACTIVE X FORM LOADS:

MSVB = .114ms
  Delphi = .495ms
MSVC++ = .778ms

---

  NATIVE TO LANGUAGE GRAPHICS METHODS SUITE:

MSVC++ = .293ms
MSVB = .455ms
  Delphi = .503ms

---

In the 6 tests given, Delphi won the majority (overwhelmingly in fact, in what ALL PROGRAMS DO, math & strings work)...

* "Argue with the numbers..."

(I couldn't... & switched to it as my primary personal favorite development tool, & haven't switched since!)
APK

P.S.=> Between being able to target *ANY* major player hardware platform there is, AND speed + abilities that either rival OR EXCEED those of MSVC++? Hey - can you blame me for liking Delphi & Object Pascal, the best?? apk

To "start things off" w/ fact since 94% of the world's PC's & Servers combined use Windows? I wrote it for Windows users.

Secondly: Porting it would be *FAIRLY* trivial - how/why?

This -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro...

Using it, I can target JUST ABOUT *ANY* PLATFORM THERE IS - it's "up there" in the class of C/C++ in fact on those grounds and more!

(E.G.-> Delphi Object Pascal's outraced MSVC++, doubling it in MATH & STRINGS WORK in "Visual Basic Programmer's Journal" Sept./Oct. issue 1997 titled "Inside the VB Compiler" - where it swept the FLOOR with *BOTH* Microsoft's VB & VC++, by DOUBLE or more in math & strings especially - which EVERY program does, mind you - & 4-6 tests overall...)

APK

P.S.=> NOW, afaik, for Linux specifically, there's FreePascal & the Lazarus IDE for that port!

(They're almost an EXACT CLONE of Delphi's object pascal front end/ide, with a VERY similar instruction set)

AND - there USED to be Kylix, but Borland gave up on it, too bad...

STILL: All I'd *REALLY* have to "look out for" in the port, would be sockets differences (not a problem, I used a multiplatform componentset for that much) between *NIX sockets & WinSock2, - AND - drive letters, vs. mounted devices...

So - guess what?

That's NOT a LOT OF WORK for a port... apk

For me, I've found other tools to be more effective cross platform options even though they're not open source (or have only a few open source libraries as part of the standard library). It has its issues but Delphi XE7 can target Win32, Win64, OS X, iOS and Android. Maybe Windows Phone as well in future versions. I find modern Object Pascal to be very readable and quite elegant.

You're thinking about C++Builder.

Or RAD Studio, which combines both C++ and Delphi in the one product.

Sure Java exploded but it became the Honda Civic of languages while C is still around but Delphi is not.

The news of Delphi's death has been greatly exaggerated.

There may be object-oriented versions of Pascal now, but that's not the original language any more than C++ is C.

Wow have you been living under a rock? Delphi first released by the now defunct Borland and now released by Embarcadero Technologies is probably the best RAD language on the market, bar none.

On top of that it now generates native code for Windows, OSX, IOS, and Android. They even had a Linux version for a while called KyLix.

It is OOP Pascal and it is the fastest compiler on the market and generates native binaries for all the platforms. The resulting binaries are amazingly fast and are generally on par with C,C++ AND Java. You can write them as GUI apps or console apps, take your pick. The runtime is royalty free and their ultimate version comes with drivers for just about every SQL database on the planet.

You are right of course it is similar to the 80's and 90's in that companies that wanted to steal the sales of other companies simply created new fangled languages and marketed the hell out of them instead of embracing what works and adapting it to the new paradigms. The only reason you can't use Turbo Pascal to make web pages is the compiler was never updated for the functionality but it very well could have been. In fact its progeny Delphi is alive and well and building apps for almost every popular platform out there today including the web. As long as there is competition there will be someone who chooses to create from scratch rather than use someone else's tool.

The web is not a runtime environment.

The reason you can't use TurboPascal is because web pages run in the browser virtual machine, and TurboPascal code runs in the TurboPascal runtime environment linked into the native code TurboPascal application.

You could target TurboPascal to NACL/PiNACL in Chrome as a target runtime environment, but effectively to run it, you'd be doing a JavaScript call into a JavaScript extension that then ran as native code in a sandbox within Chome. You'd, as a result, lose most of the TurboPascal runtime libraries supplied by the compiler vendor, and you'd lose all third party libraries and components, if the third parties weren't willing to port them (I assume you realize that you don't have all the Photoshop plugins on Windows that are available on Mac, right?).

Web languages, n the other hand, are predominantly for programming code on a server to generate markup, which is then interpreted by the browser to render output, or they are intended to run in a really limited environment in the browser itself, usually as unextended JavaScript (and, in the case of things like iPad/iPhone/etc., they are *definitely* NOT extended, since a UIView extension is not allowed under the terms and conditions for interpreting web content, since it's a huge security hole that's easily exploited with a DNS hijack).

Basically, if you are thinking your browser is a "platform", or you are thinking "the web" is "a platform" in the traditional programming sense, as the OP obvious is, then you are an idiot.

Apologies, but we still have all those old tools. We just don't use them any longer. Because you can't use Turbo Pascal to make web pages, but you can use jQuery. .

Man Microsoft pulled a Rome to Borland's Carthage here. True you can't use Turbo Pascal but you can use Delphi the Indy Lib, and intraweb

http://www.embarcadero.com/pro...

http://www.indyproject.org/ind...

http://www.atozed.com/intraweb...

Really incredible tools for getting the job done better than so much of what is out there, they only have a couple problems

1. They aren't hip and score no points in games of buzzword bingo
2. They work.

You are right of course it is similar to the 80's and 90's in that companies that wanted to steal the sales of other companies simply created new fangled languages and marketed the hell out of them instead of embracing what works and adapting it to the new paradigms. The only reason you can't use Turbo Pascal to make web pages is the compiler was never updated for the functionality but it very well could have been. In fact its progeny Delphi is alive and well and building apps for almost every popular platform out there today including the web. As long as there is competition there will be someone who chooses to create from scratch rather than use someone else's tool.

Embarcadero (Borland) Delphi XE2 & C++ Builder -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro...

* Look @ that featureset & you can target pretty much everything & anything widely used today in PC's & Servers (MacOS X & Windows), + Android & iPhones!

(What more could you want?)

APK

P.S.=> It's LONG been my favorite tools for development (even moreso than Visual Studio) for a GOOD reason: Back in 1993-1997 I was primarily a Microsoft VB6 - MSVC++ developer on the job - then, of ALL PLACES in a competing industry trade journal, "Visual Basic Programmer's Journal" Sept./Oct. 1997 issue "Inside the VB5 compiler" (when VB got a watered-down C++ compiler that produced "stand-alone" executables) is what "turned the tide" for me!

Especially when Delphi won 7/10 tests (ranging in all types of programming tasks) & even DOUBLED msvc++ in MATH & STRINGS WORK (almost tripling it in strings, & face it - EVERY PROGRAM WORKS WITH THOSE)...

That tell you anything? It did me!

Being a competing trade rage, they *tried* to downplay that fact, only noting it in 1 line of a 4 page article, but the charts & graphs "told the tale" & the truth: Delphi, rocks! & their C++ Builder "ain't too shabby" either!

It's a combination of C++ & VB imo (very C++ OOP language, only REAL MAJOR diff.'s, pretty much, are instead of curly { } braces, you use BEGIN-END statements, each line ends in semi-colons, but pretty close to C++ in its Object Pascal 7.1 engines, + you can use "NESTED FUNCTIONS" inside procedures &/or other functions (which is GREAT for scope control, no other language I know of does it, & it makes hunting them down easier & faster too, without using object inspectors etc.) & yet you build in a VB form template easy paradigm for user screens in GUI apps... easy as it gets & FAST)

Overall, it beats the hell out of old-school C/C++ SDK work that took ages to do the same on those forms, that is certain...

Anyhow/anyways - there you go! It stole me away from MS stuff (though I use that @ work the most usually) for my personal projects & also employment paid ones too...

... apk

I'm not SURE what companies' compiler you used, but in Object Pascal you don't have to do that (& though it's been AGES since I used TP 7.0/Borland Pascal 7.1 wihich oddly enough I am looking @ the box as I write you since it sits on my compiler boxes shelf here).

I don't recall having to do THAT which you speak of either, & yes, as far back as Turbo Pascal 4 which iirc, was the 1st one I used in Academia in fact right up to 7 around 1992 iirc?)!

HOWEVER- you can globally IF you like & as you describe , but inside each function or procedure you can do locally scoped variables (just so you know)... & WHO would still use Pascal? I do, for one (of many out there). Here's a tiny example of what you can produce with it (around 50k lines of code) in even 64-bit targetting code:

APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ 32/64-bit:

http://start64.com/index.php?o...

Another replier to you notes a COOL FEATURE of Pascal imo - being able to "nest" functions inside procs OR functions (I do it quite a lot, for scope control basically & for easily hunting down where the function is more quickly too).

I saw a report, in of ALL places, "Visual Basic Programmer's Journal" Sept./Oct. 1997 issue titled "Inside the VB 5 Compiler" a competing trade rag no less, that showed DELPHI (Object Pascal 7.1 engine) absolutely "knocking the chocolate" out of BOTH MSVC++ &/or VB by HUGE MARGINS in performance (doubling or tripling even MSVC++ in Math & String work tests, & face it - EVERY PROGRAM DOES THOSE essentially).

They tried to "downplay it" but the graphs told the REAL story... numbers don't lie, & competing trade language magazine or not, they had to tell it how it is.

APK

P.S.=> For its very "latest/greatest" compiler & its complete featuresets, take a peek here -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... which shows them all since the entire "XE" series of them!

(Extollings the targets you can compile in 32-bit OR 64-bit for, & it ranges from EVERYTHING pretty much from PC's & Servers + smartphones etc. - et al)

... apk

I'm not SURE what companies' compiler you used, but in Object Pascal you don't have to do that (& though it's been AGES since I used TP 7.0/Borland Pascal 7.1 wihich oddly enough I am looking @ the box as I write you since it sits on my compiler boxes shelf here).

I don't recall having to do THAT which you speak of either, & yes, as far back as Turbo Pascal 4 which iirc, was the 1st one I used in Academia in fact right up to 7 around 1992 iirc?)!

HOWEVER- you can globally IF you like & as you describe , but inside each function or procedure you can do locally scoped variables (just so you know)... & WHO would still use Pascal? I do, for one (of many out there). Here's a tiny example of what you can produce with it (around 50k lines of code) in even 64-bit targetting code:

APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ 32/64-bit:

http://start64.com/index.php?o...

Another replier to you notes a COOL FEATURE of Pascal imo - being able to "nest" functions inside procs OR functions (I do it quite a lot, for scope control basically & for easily hunting down where the function is more quickly too).

APK

P.S.=> For its very "latest/greatest" compiler & its complete featuresets, take a peek here -> http://www.embarcadero.com/pro... which shows them all since the entire "XE" series of them!

(Extollings the targets you can compile in 32-bit OR 64-bit for, & it ranges from EVERYTHING pretty much from PC's & Servers + smartphones etc. - et al)

... apk

http://www.embarcadero.com/pro...

A while ago - here's the link to Turbo C++ 1.01: http://cc.embarcadero.com/item/26014

Other software in the archive (Turbo Pascal v1.0, v3.2, v5.5 & Turbo C version 2.01) is listed here:http://zyztems.myfreeforum.org/archive/antique-borland-compilers-free-from-the-edn-museum__o_t__t_100.html

I was all ready to post a snarky comment about not needing Visual Studio because I could do everything I needed in Delphi. So I quickly look it up since I haven't touched it in over 10 years and much to my surprise Delphi is not only still around but looks like it's thriving. Who knew?

Well, it's not free software and it's not even all that cheap, but there's always this.