[fpc-pascal]WoW

[Matt Emson]

> You might be right if Delphi's standard was fixed. However it still
fluctuates
> per version. Anything that doesn't break backwards compability could be
> in the next Delphi version. We saw that with Overloading :-)

It more often *adds* features, rather than take them away. It still supports
Objects (okay, so they are slightly broke), and Borland didn't promise
support past V2.

> Purely copying doesn't work. Tapping in into the sourcebase does. So it
should
> eat Delphi programs, but shouldn't be limited by what Delphi can.

True, and I like the FPC line. I still don't see the point of supporting
this standard that no other compiler supports in detriment to a standard
that is widely used on a daily basis. The actual Object Pascal Language has
changes fairly steadily over the years, but the pace has slowed down over
the last few compiler versions. Not a great amount has changes since v4, the
only major things in v6 have come about because of Kylix support.

> The implementation of the various forms of overloading by Borland is
pretty
> much proof of that.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that? Overlaying?? That changed quite
a bit, but that mas more a performance related thing. Overloading hasn't
changed syntactically since v4.

> That is what it pretty much does. The extensions are only a few %%. As
long
> as that balance remains sound, I don't see why that would spoil the
"broth"

I guess I just can't see why you'd need OBJFPC. It doesn't (from what I can
see) add anything to the mix.

> FPC 1.1 eats thousands (and sometimes already 10s of thousands!) lines of
> Delphi code without problems with the compiler (libraries are an entirely
> different chapter)

That's exactly what I want to hear :-) Now if I can only get my company's
star programmer to take a look at the FPC source base, he might hack you in
some support for interfaces. He seemed very interested in FPC until he found
out about the lack of interfaces. He's the type of person, however, who has
the ability to implement them.

> We don't have a legal version of the Delphi version. The original standard
> was available in paper and free to use.

If you own a copy of Delphi you'll have it. It's in the OPL Ref guide..
it'll probably be a PDF.

> The extended standard is too much work. But the original standard is
within
> reach. It only requires very few changes, and some RTL changes (that
shouldn't
> be enabled standard, only under IFDEF)

But if no one wants it, why implement it. You'll simply be doing it for the
sake of doing it, rather than for a good reason. You all keep complaining
about a lack of time - notice that this is going to eat into that time.

Matt