Object Pascal
Pascal / Algol · 1985Actively developedPascal-family application development through Delphi and Free Pascal dialects.
Procedural · Object-oriented
Links
- Homepage
- https://www.freepascal.org/
- Reference / standard
- https://www.freepascal.org/docs.html
- Free Pascal / Lazarus forum
- https://forum.lazarus.freepascal.org/
- Wikipedia (English)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object_Pascal
Tracked release
- Version
- Free Pascal 3.2.2
- Artifact
- Compiler release
- Published
- 2021-05
- Source checked
- 2026-10-22
Use & ecosystem
- Suited for
- Web backends, Desktop applications, Mobile applications, CLI tools / automation
- Family / tradition
- Pascal / Algol
- Maturity
- Established
- Ecosystem breadth
- Focused
Long-lived commercial applications and maintained vendor/community toolchains support Established. Libraries are concentrated around application development and are not uniformly compatible across dialects.
Industry & practical use
Desktop business applications, database software and existing industrial applications are important uses. Delphi also offers mobile and service workflows.
Compilers, libraries & tooling
Delphi supplies an integrated commercial environment; Free Pascal and Lazarus offer an open-source compiler and GUI workflow. Component libraries and compiler extensions vary.
Platforms & deployment
- General toolchains
- Linux, Windows, macOS
- Specialized tooling
- Browser, Android, iOS
- Browser execution
- JavaScript
- Native cross-compilation
- Established toolchains
Native desktop support is conventional. Mobile support is compiler/SDK-specific; pas2js provides a separate JavaScript route rather than compiling every desktop component.
Free Pascal cross-compilers support multiple targets, with target libraries and linker setup. Delphi host–target restrictions differ.
Project health & support
Commercial Delphi development and the Free Pascal/Lazarus communities provide distinct support paths. An older stable compiler release does not alone establish abandonment.
Use, ecosystem & platform assessment reviewed 2026-10-22 · Sources below
History & origin
Apple developed Object Pascal extensions in the 1980s. Borland’s later Delphi dialect and the independent Free Pascal implementation became major practical branches; these dialects are related but not identical.
- Creators
- Apple, Larry Tesler, Niklaus Wirth, Borland
- Origin
- 1985 — Apple Object Pascal; Delphi’s dialect followed in 1995.
Influences & descendants
Influenced by
Influenced in this catalogue
- No linked entries yet.
Language features
- Typing
- Static
- Execution
- AOT
- Block structure
- Explicit delimiters
- Semicolons
- Context-dependent
- Lexical closures
- Partial
- Namespaced modules
- Yes
- Pattern matching
- No
- Macro system
- Textual macros in Free Pascal; implementation-dependent
Implementation notes
- Anonymous functions and lexical capture differ between Delphi and Free Pascal modes, so closures are marked Partial.
- Tracked release is Free Pascal, not a claim about the latest Delphi release.
Sources & references
- Project overview
- https://www.freepascal.org/
- Language / implementation reference
- https://www.freepascal.org/docs.html
- Free Pascal macros
- https://www.freepascal.org/docs-html/prog/progse5.html
Use, ecosystem & platform sources
- Project overview
- https://www.freepascal.org/
- Language / implementation reference
- https://www.freepascal.org/docs.html
See the classification definitions for implementation-dependent features. Influence links cover the entries documented here.