[fpc-pascal]FP newbie

[Peter Vreman]

>>> #2. Does the exception handling architecture provide easy
>>> to the call stack and other potentially useful information
>>> about the exception?


Yes, the frame pointer is passed


>>>
>>> #3. Is there (planned) support for object serialization?
>>>
>>> #4. Is there (planned) support for object persistence (like
>>> J2EE container based persistence)?
>>
>> I'll let these pass.
>
> ok... guess the answer would be no, then!

Not everybody knows all parts of the compiler/rtl/fcl. These are FCL
questions that michael or maybe one of the lazarus ppl can answer better.



>>> #5. Is there (planned) support for garbage collection on
>>> objects and/or pointers?
>>
>> It doesn't make much sense to create a compiler for an
>> efficient, static, language, and then slow it down by
>> mutilating it with a dog slow GC.
>>
>> There has been some academical interest/discussion in trying
>> to make a proof of concept hierarchy (so a separate object
>> hierarchy not based on tobject) that can be garbadge collected,
>> but that certainly plans to do that outside
> the current classes
>> hierarchy, with no or minimal compiler support.
>>
>> However all people that were discussing that are much to busy
>> for that, so, unless an external contributor pops up, don't hold
>> your breath.
>
> OK, I understand you point. This leads me to another set of intriguing
> questions.
>
> #A. Does FP support other class hierarchies other than those
>     starting at TObject? I mean, any FP object is a TObject,
>     right? I wonder if it would be possible to create a new
>     object hierarchy from scratch, not based on TObject.
>

This is not supported. The compiler requires knowledge about TObject for
things like AfterConstruction and BeforeDestruction.


> #B. Reflection support, as far as I understand, starts at
>     TPersistent and relies on published properties. Is there
>     any chance this could be made more flexible- I mean, let
>     TObject properties support reflection?

That will break compatibility with Delphi. Compatibility with Delphi is
the most important issue, because that is what ppl expect how things work.


> #C. Is there (planned) support for class attributes?
> #D. Is there (planned) support for class templates?


When it is not in Delphi then it is not (planned or) supported


> #E. Is there (planned) support for wxWindows? I think this
>     is a terrific abstraction layer for GUI. The best is
>     that it is stable (10+ years), works on many plataforms,
>     and as FP/Lazarus, it is OS. But it still doesn't have
>     a Pascal port.

The core developpers have no time for creating the bindings. But if
somebody else creates them we can include them.


> #F. I haven't seen any links or pages through which I could
>     volunteer to help with FP/Lazarus- where do I find that?

You can use the mailing lists. When you help FPC/Lazarus with a lot of
patches you can get cvs write access. There is no standard procedure, it
is not a professional job for which you have an interview and to sign a
contract.


Peter