[fpc-pascal]Free Pascal - general commet / suggestions

[Alan Mead]

--- Paschal Mushubi <bs260 at ncf.ca> wrote:
> because I can find free easy to use
> libraries to accomplish a lot of what I need to do which is usually
> developing Oracle
> database apps.
> Unfortunately I can't find the libraries (units) I am looking for.
> Has 
> someone tried to mimic the STL for example?
> If I knew FP well I could write a unit that does this 
> http://otl.sourceforge.net/otl3.htm#toc for example.
> or develop a generic database access layer like Perl DBI. 

I agree.  FPC is indeed a great language and I enjoy using it when I
need complex data types or fast execution (e.g., statistical
estimation).  But it's not the only tool in existance.  Perl has a
clear advantage in terms of available software, including the DBI.  I
doubt that FPC will ever catch up.  But no matter, I just use Perl
when it's a better choice.

I would hazard a guess that the installed FPC base using Oracle is
miniscule.  If you are earnest in wanting to write such a library,
this list will be happy to help you with the FPC issues you might
encounter.  We've had previous discussions about SQL topics.  In
abstract, I'd be interested in this but I wouldn't have any way to
test such code since the requirements to run even a demo version of
Oracle are slightly beyond me.

>Shouldn't effort be put in developing Internet aware 
> libraries targeting the web 
> instead of the traditional desktop? Any Internet site developed in
> FPC. 
> That wouldn't be a bad advertisement.
> I have browsed the site http://www.freepascal.org but I get the 

Sometimes advertisement is subtle.  I believe the FPC website IS
powered by FPC; FPC is certainly available for CGI and other web
applications and if you have a specific need that doesn't seem to be
met this list may well be able to point you towards a solution.

That said, I don't think the FPC community feels that chasing current
hype like .NET is a high priority.  Established and important
technologies appear because someone (like you or I) needs to use them
and decides to use them with FPC.

-Alan

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