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Why Pascal is not my favorite programming language (1981) [pdf]

(doc.cat-v.org)
71 points susam | 1 comments | 13 Apr 25 14:16 UTC | HN request time: 0.201s | source
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HexDecOctBin ◴[13 Apr 25 16:21 UTC] No.43673899[source]▶
Why is it that Pascal is supposedly so good for Rapid Application Development? Is it simply a historical accident, or does Pascal have some features that make it easier? What features would need to be added to C to make C a viable language for RAD?
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graemep ◴[13 Apr 25 16:30 UTC] No.43673957[source]▶
I cannot see any reason why the RAD for Pascal (i.e. Delphi, and now Lazarus) could not exist for other languages. They just happen not to.

Imagine this - if those had not exists, would anyone say Pascal was a good RAD language.

I suppose what I might be missing is why Pascal was chosen as the language for Delphi.

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dardeaup ◴[13 Apr 25 16:32 UTC] No.43673970[source]▶
One aspect of Pascal that helps is compilation speed. Pascal's nature allows for single-pass compilers. It may not sound like a big deal, but it's a huge cumulative effect.
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1. graemep ◴[13 Apr 25 17:00 UTC] No.43674179[source]▶
That is a good point. Repeatedly waiting for compile of build steps is a productivity killer and I think especially relevant for RAD.

I played with Lazarus recently and the whole process of creating a simple GUI was so painless.