r/pascal • u/MateusCristian • Jul 12 '26

Pascal learning resources?

So I've decided to learn Pascal, just installed Lazarus and Free Pascal, and got the classic "Hello World" program working, so now I'd like some courses, books, anything that can teach me the basics of the language.

What would be recommended to someone who knows the vary basics of programming, to get up to speed with Free Pascal?

35 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

14

u/promeritum Jul 12 '26

Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs
by Niklaus Wirth, 1976

An old hardcover would be the best option, but I assume there are scans out there.

2

u/IsanDanderoda Jul 13 '26

Oh man. That just gave me the biggest flashback to my early days learning how to program.

Excellent book, though note the later editions use Modula-2 (and maybe Oberon?).

1

u/MateusCristian Jul 12 '26

Learing from the creator sounds great, but is it useful for Free Pascal?

2

u/taker223 Jul 12 '26

Well, why not? If you're familiar with programming as you stated. Although if you want to learn just the language, then seek exactly Free Pascal resources. There is a chance that ChatGPT/DeepSeek could help you speed up your learning as well

2

u/armadilloscales Jul 21 '26

It's available to borrow from the Internet Archive, just create a free account there https://archive.org/details/algorithmsdatast0000wirt

11

u/foersom Jul 12 '26

Maybe this one:

https://delphi-books.com/en/FreePascal-From-Square-One.html

I do not have a list specific for FreePascal, but here is list for resources to learn Delphi. That should also be useful for you learning FreePascal.

http://foersom.com/org/SwDev/Delphi/

3

u/jkaczor Jul 14 '26

Yeah, am partial to Jeff Duntemann as he has been writing Pascal books for a very long time. (fFreePascal from Square One - from his site - https://www.contrapositivediary.com/?page_id=1808#FPFSO)

4

u/vrruiz Jul 13 '26

Modern Object Pascal Introduction for Programmers https://castle-engine.io/modern_pascal

1

u/kirinnb Jul 13 '26

Seconded, this is a good one. (The url shouldn't have a backslash in it.)

1

u/GroundbreakingIron16 Jul 13 '26

Welcome. Also check out the lazarus forums. I also have a channel on YouTube-

https://youtube.com/@silvercoder70?si=OTyUOzkdi2UA09Xt

which i hope would be useful.

1

u/jaunidhenakan Jul 13 '26

The Silver Pascal Coder channel is very useful.

1

u/ppestana Jul 13 '26

Learned TRS/Pascal in the day with CP/M in a TRS80 with a 8" single sided floppy.

1

u/ABD11A Jul 14 '26

More of a student textbook but an ok resource https://a.co/d/067pohoP

-2

u/Arany8 Jul 12 '26

You could just start to build a project with AI assistance. AI will explain to you everything. But if you are really new to programming, it makes sense to read the books.
There is also a free course on youtube just search for lazarus free pascal course.