[fpc-pascal]Delphi/FPC cross-compile

[Michael.VanCanneyt at Wisa.be]

On Wed, 4 Aug 2004, Alan Mead wrote:

> My Delphi experience is limited to going through "Delphi for Dummies"
> a few years back, I was once a proficient Turbo Pascal 5 programmer. 
> I've been using FPC.. one of the things I really like about it is
> being able to compile the same code on Windows and Linux.
> 
> I've been given a copy of Delphi (8, altough I may exchange it for 7)
> and been asked to create a class that implements some non-visual
> functionality (it will perform searches on textual data, like
> Google.com).
> 
> I'm dreading giving up Linux compatibility.  Is it possible that I
> could create the required class in such a way that it can be compiled
> by both Delphi 7/8 and also by FPC?  If it's possible, is it
> *reasonable* that I do this as a Delphi novice? Got any tips on
> things to avoid?  I'm not even sure how I will do it without a
> command line....

It should be perfectly possible.

> 
> Any recommendations on a good book for my context?  

I haven't met a good book on Object pascal yet. Most books are focused on
Delphi's RAD aspect, and in particular, the GUI aspect. A major
shortcoming IMHO, but who am I...

> Using FPC and the
> FPC docs, I tried making a class over the weekend and I did something
> majorly wrong... I don't grok the difference between an object field
> and a class property.

Let's say that an object field can always be considered a class property,
but not the opposite. 

If the docs are not clear on this point, feel free to send me remarks.

Also, if you need assistance in writing cross-platform code, 
feel free to contact me in private. If I can help, I will.

Michael.