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Free Pascal VS C (programming language)

Compare Free Pascal VS C (programming language) and see what are their differences

Free Pascal logo Free Pascal

Free Pascal (aka FPK Pascal) is a 32 and 64 bit professional Pascal compiler.

C (programming language) logo C (programming language)

C is a general-purpose computer programming language.
  • Free Pascal Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-29
  • C (programming language) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-31

Free Pascal features and specs

  • Cross-platform Compatibility
    Free Pascal supports a wide range of platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and more. This allows developers to write code that can be compiled and executed on multiple operating systems without extensive modifications.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source compiler, Free Pascal is freely available for use and modification. This openness encourages community collaboration and continuous improvement of the software.
  • Strong Community Support
    Free Pascal has a dedicated and active community, providing extensive documentation, forums, and user support, which can be invaluable for troubleshooting and learning.
  • Compatibility with Delphi
    The compiler aims to be highly compatible with Delphi, making it easier for Delphi developers to transition their applications to Free Pascal with minimal changes.
  • Rich Set of Libraries
    Free Pascal comes with a comprehensive set of libraries and tools, allowing developers to create a variety of applications, from small utilities to complex software systems.

Possible disadvantages of Free Pascal

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For developers unfamiliar with Pascal, the language and its concepts may present a learning challenge compared to more modern languages such as Python or JavaScript.
  • Limited GUI Toolkit Support
    While Free Pascal does support some GUI toolkits, it may not have as robust or modern GUI options compared to other programming environments, which can be a limitation for developing desktop applications.
  • Less Popular
    Pascal is not as widely used in the programming community as other languages like Java or Python, which can result in fewer third-party tools, libraries, and resources.
  • Performance Overheads
    While Free Pascal is generally efficient, there can be some performance overheads compared with compilers specifically optimized for newer languages and architectures.
  • Limited Modern Language Features
    Free Pascal might lack some of the modern programming features found in newer languages, which can be a disadvantage for developers looking to use the latest paradigms and practices.

C (programming language) features and specs

  • Efficiency
    C programming language is known for its performance efficiency due to minimal runtime and direct mapping to machine instructions.
  • Portability
    Programs written in C can be compiled and run on various platforms with minimal modifications, making it highly portable across systems.
  • Rich Library Support
    C provides a vast collection of libraries that offer numerous functions for tasks ranging from mathematical computations to input-output operations.
  • Flexibility
    C provides a versatile framework for writing various applications, including system software, and is suitable for low-level programming.
  • Control
    C offers extensive control over system resources and memory, which allows for efficient system programming and hardware manipulation.
  • Well-Established Standards
    C has a well-defined standardization (ANSI C), which helps maintain consistency and reliability across different applications and platforms.

Possible disadvantages of C (programming language)

  • Low-level Abstraction
    C offers little abstraction from hardware, making it necessary for programmers to manage memory and system resources directly.
  • Complex Syntax
    C programming language has a somewhat complex syntax that may be difficult for beginners to grasp.
  • Manual Memory Management
    C requires explicit memory management, increasing the risk of memory leaks and buffer overflows if not handled properly.
  • Limited Error Handling
    The language provides limited support for error handling, often requiring codes to be written for error checking manually.
  • No Built-in Object-Oriented Programming
    C does not inherently support object-oriented programming paradigms like classes and inheritance, which are prevalent in modern programming.
  • Security Vulnerabilities
    The lack of built-in security features can expose programs to vulnerabilities such as buffer overflow attacks.

Free Pascal videos

Tin 8. Bài Thực hành 1: Làm quen với Free pascal.

C (programming language) videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Free Pascal and C (programming language))
Programming Language
51 51%
49% 49
IDE
95 95%
5% 5
OOP
38 38%
62% 62
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Free Pascal seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 2 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Free Pascal mentions (2)

  • AoC 2015 in multiple languages: Day 3 Pascal
    I used Free Pascal which I was quite impressed with. It supports multiple dialects and many targets. Source: over 3 years ago
  • One Commander – a new Windows 10 file browser
    As a tangent, I found it fascinating that Double Commander is developed with Free Pascal and Lazarus. https://github.com/doublecmd/doublecmd/wiki/Development https://freepascal.org/ https://www.lazarus-ide.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago

C (programming language) mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of C (programming language) yet. Tracking of C (programming language) recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Free Pascal and C (programming language), you can also consider the following products

Lazarus - Lazarus is a cross-platform IDE for the Free Pascal compiler.

C++ - Has imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features, while also providing the facilities for low level memory manipulation

Python - Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.

Rust - A safe, concurrent, practical language

PascalABC.NET - The new generation Pascal programming language that combines simplicity of classic Pascal, a great number of modern extensions and broad capabilities of Microsoft .NET Framework

Go Programming Language - Go, also called golang, is a programming language initially developed at Google in 2007 by Robert...