Delphi Programming/Introduction
How to Get Started Developing in Object Pascal using Delphi or Lazarus
[edit | edit source]All you need for programming in Object Pascal is an IDE for the Object Pascal programming Language. The number one commercial choice for Pascal development is Delphi.
To get a demo of or to buy Delphi, see http://www.embarcadero.com. If you prefer a free open-source IDE, see Lazarus at http://www.lazarus.freepascal.org. Choose one of those links and download and then install the IDE.
You should know that there are some differences between Delphi and Lazarus:
- Delphi provides two frameworks, the VCL and Firemonkey, for developing applications.
- Lazarus provides a very similar, but not compatible framework called LCL for developing applications.
- There is a wide variety of third-party and open-source components, a much larger set of components, and tools, and add-ons that work with Delphi, as you might expect for a large commercial application.
- Lazarus has a smaller, but active community that you can find online.
- Delphi has a larger community around it than Lazarus, which you can also find online. There are many blogs, forums, and user groups.
There are also many similarities:
- Delphi and Lazarus both support the Object Pascal language with Objects, for object-oriented programming.