Pascal
This section contains snippets of code written in Pascal, a high-level, strongly typed, procedural programming language that emphasizes structured programming. Pascal is widely used for teaching programming concepts, as well as for applications in embedded systems, software development, and game development. The following examples demonstrate various Pascal functionalities and best practices to help you understand and implement Pascal in your projects effectively.
History
The Pascal programming language was created by Niklaus Wirth in the late 1960s. Here is a brief history:
1970: Niklaus Wirth releases the first version of Pascal, designed as a teaching tool to encourage good programming practices and to be a structured alternative to the then-popular assembly language.
1971: The language is officially named Pascal, after the French mathematician Blaise Pascal.
1973: Pascal is standardized as ISO 7185, which helps it gain adoption in academic settings, especially in universities for teaching programming concepts.
1983: Object Pascal, an extension of Pascal with object-oriented programming features, is introduced by Apple as part of the development of the Macintosh computer and its programming environment.
1986: Turbo Pascal is released by Borland, providing a fast and efficient integrated development environment (IDE) for Pascal programming, which significantly boosted the language's popularity.
1990: Delphi, an object-oriented version of Pascal, is released by Borland, becoming highly popular for Windows application development.
2000: Free Pascal, an open-source Pascal compiler, is released, allowing Pascal to be used on modern platforms such as Linux, macOS, and Windows.
2010: Modern Pascal-based languages like Lazarus (for GUI development) and FPC (Free Pascal Compiler) gain traction in the open-source community.
2020: Pascal continues to be used in educational contexts and by developers working on legacy systems and specialized applications.
Pascal, while not as popular today as some modern programming languages, still holds significant value in both educational environments and niche software development areas.