• The main direction of where Pascal is heading: to the internet.
  • Long-term goals are: (2-5 year)
  • Making a Lazarus version available through a browser.
    Motivation:
    since we need to make the program available for students/teachers/pupils and starters we have to make it easy. So that means we have to have the following steps:
  • Make the FreePascal compiler available for the web – the compiler runs already under the web conditions.

The IDE for it (Lazarus) is a bit more difficult.

  1. Lazarus is yet to be created as a webapp. That will take an enormous effort:
  2. The IDE has to be redesigned: – we are working on that → Fresnel. FCL (Fresnel Component Library)
  3. As soon as Fresnel is ready we need to make the redesign of the Graphical outlook
  4. which means that the old layout etc. will still be kept available.
  5. All of this has to be done and keep everything backwards compatible.
  6. (One of our greatest achievements).
  7. To go a bit more in detail:
  8. Fresnel is developed as a LCL-version that is capable of making use of a graphical environment:
  9. For example Skia. But this renderer can be replaced and a different one chosen by the user.
  10. So that it is future proof.
  11. The architecture behind this is the basis for the new Lazarus.
  12. Each object will have a CSS property
  13. whether its a desktop application or not.
  14. I can be used on html design.
  15. It will all be available though the object inspector.
  16. The debugging will be twofold in the IDE as well in the browser.
  17. you can easily create forms for the web.
  18. You also can still use the LCL or even make a combination with the FCL (Fresnel Component Library)
  19. which can be very handy in some cases.
  20. We already have developed a special WebAssembly version for Pascal, and this will soon be debuggable.
  21. This means of course that we can run any developed app in the browser.
  22. Of course there are things we can’t discus here because that would go into to much detail.
  23. Since we have the ability to use FireMonkey we are capable of making use of some special enhancements we created for this and add this to Fresnel as well.
  24. So in future you will still have your Lazarus IDE for the desktop and be able to use it locally.
  25. The looks and feels may change but that completely depends on your own settings. You decide.
  26. We will not change the language because Pascal has proven to have all the characteristics it needs.