Jon Foster wrote:
Hi guys!
I recently became aware of your project. Is GPC currently being developed? The last "stable" release was two years ago. Are Delphi classes and exceptions going to become a reality anytime soon? I wouldn't mind working with some pre-stable code if they are. If they aren't what are the GPC alternatives?
GPC is actively developed. The last development release is gpc-test-20041017. You may find it at:
http://www.gnu-pascal.de/beta/
For the list of features implemented since the last stable release look at:
http://www.gnu-pascal.de/gpc/h-news.html
For the list of fixed bugs:
http://www.gnu-pascal.de/gpc/Fixed-Bugs.html
Delphi compatibilty features are on wish list, but other features got higher priority. I had looked at Delphi classes and they should be easy to add. However, if you want to port Delphi code unchanged to GNU Pascal, then you need much more features (AnsiString, exceptions, ...). Exceptions are highly wanted, and may be easy to implement since the compiler already contains most of the support (other languages in GCC already have exceptions). Still, to plug into existing exception support requires gathering information about backend, and that may take long time.
Bottom line: do not bet that Delphi classes and exceptions will be quickly added to GPC (but also do not bet the opposite).
If you really look at plag-in Delphi replacement then Free Pascal (FPC) is much closer to Delphi then GPC.