Links
Online Books and Tutorials
- Learn Pascal by Tao Yue
- This clearly written Pascal tutorial includes programming assignments and solutions.
- Pascal Programming by Victor John Saliba
- The author was 19 years old when he finished writing these lessons. This website is presented impressively and has won awards.
- The Pocket Guide to Pascal by Joseph S. Dorward
- The identifier of each of these programs is followed by the requirement for input and/or output e.g. program multiply(INPUT, OUTPUT);. This is not needed by Lazarus or Delphi, but is accepted by them. If you add {$Apptype Console} and uses SysUtils; after the program statement and readln; just before end., these programs should run in both Lazarus and Delphi.
- Pascal Programming Tutorials by Sheepdog Software
- Do not be put off by the “no frills” appearance of this site. The tutorials begin with straightforward examples, giving plenty of detail. They cover interesting extras such as playing sounds, and progress to advanced material. Some examples use the crt unit, which is present in Lazarus but not in Delphi. The crt unit includes the ClrScr procedure to clear the screen and the GoToXY procedure to position the cursor before writing to the screen. There are useful links to resources on other websites, often covering difficult topics.
- How to Program in Pascal and Delphi by Sylvia Langfield
- Google Books has put online a significant number of pages from the Pascal section of this excellent book.
- Video Tutorials on Free Pascal by SchoolFreeware
- You can see the IDE in use and hear a commentary as statements are typed in then the programs run. You can also see the output from the programs.
- The Pascal Programming Language by Bill Catambay
- These pages have links to Pascal resources for a variety of operating systems, with many references to the Mac OS.
Online Help/Reference
- DelphiBasics
- This impressive site is most helpful for visual programming in Delphi because it gives form-based rather than console-based examples. It is packed with useful information about the Pascal language, however, and can be a useful source of help for console programs as you become more experienced. Ignore the “Show full unit code” option for viewing examples and use the writeln procedure instead of ShowMessage.
- Reference Guide for Free Pascal (Free Pascal is used by Lazarus.)
- These authoritative pages include plenty of examples and cover the basics through to advanced features of the languages. Differences from Delphi and Turbo Pascal are noted.
Online Dictionaries
Challenges
- Olympiad
- The British Informatics Olympiad, sponsored by Lionhead Studios, is a programming competition. In the first round, taken at their own school, students attempt to solve three challenging problems in three hours. The top fifteen competitors in the nation are invited to the final. The website has further details, past papers for download and some of the solutions.
- All Ireland Competition: Sample problems and solutions
- Some of the problems are straightforward, but you are advised to solve them completely within the time limit.
- Project Euler
- "Project Euler exists to encourage, challenge, and develop the skills and enjoyment of anyone with an interest in the fascinating world of mathematics." You are able to access a discussion thread for a particular problem once you have solved it. You may find algorithms that are more efficient than your own and it is interesting also to compare your code with solutions written in other languages.
Game Development
- Pascal Game Development
- Webmaster Jason McMillen ensures that the site is a good source of news (such as advances in Lazarus and Delphi), tutorials and discussions.
- PGDAnnual.com
- Game development competitions for the Pascal community
- Pascal Gamer Magazine
- The magazine, edited by Jason McMillen, is a free, downloadable publication covering game development and design with Pascal and Object Pascal development tools. A section of the site provides a showcase for past PGDAnnual competitions and, most usefully, source code for entries for Dogfight (the 2005 competition).
- Freepascal meets SDL
- An excellent site for learning how to use the Simple DirectMedia Layer
- NeHe Productions
- 3D demonstrations and tutorials
Examination Board Computing Resources
(Specifications, past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports)
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