Wanting to learn Pascal

Vidar · 29 May 2013 at 14:27

Hi Guys,

With wanting to study computer science at university and only having a shaky knowledge of VB at best I want to get myself up to speed.

So as it's one of the easiest for a noob to learn, I want to learn pascal first. Can someone please recommend me some good learning materials to sink my teeth into, books, websites etc?

Any help would be really appreciated.

A.N.Other · 29 May 2013 at 15:31

I started programming with Pascal (then Object Pascal and later Delphi) and although it was great to learn with at the time, at the time I also thought floppy disks were the business. It's obviously not changed, but I'm really not sure I'd encourage anyone to learn Pascal now. I'd really struggle to find a practical application to learning Pascal - in honesty it's a bit of a dead end.

Python is generally considered a good learning language that teaches structure and good coding practice. It's as easy or as difficult as you need it to be, and there are many great guides out there and a much more active user base for learning.

aln · 29 May 2013 at 15:33

They taught us pascal in college. There is no merit to this. Learn python.

AJK · 29 May 2013 at 15:36

Vidar said:
With wanting to study computer science at university and only having a shaky knowledge of VB at best I want to get myself up to speed.

"Up to speed" with what? If you know which CS course(s) you're likely to apply for, then you might be best off learning a language that features on the course?

What do you actually want to do with the language you learn? Desktop or web programming, apps, etc? Learn something appropriate to what you want to do.

A.N.Other · 29 May 2013 at 15:41

^ This is good advice. Unfortunately it almost guarantees you'll be doing Java, though, like every other comp sci graduate, so you'll have to stand out in a different way ...

Vidar · 29 May 2013 at 15:52

To be honest I'm not sure what I will actually be doing with any languages I learn... Apart from having a strong interest in studying comp science, in particular artificial intelligence, I'm a total novice.

I just want to get into a position where I am at least comfortable with the basics and can learn and see where my interests take me...

HecFam · 29 May 2013 at 16:04

From doing pascal in college, from what i can remember it was a real pain getting a pascal download to actually work. They seemed to all require slightly different settings to get a piece of code that worked on one, to run on another.

But it is a very basic language, I used a non visual version and i wouldn't say there was anything "interesting" or anything more so that would help generally since you already know VB.

Most exciting thing i done was trying to remake Pokemon in ASCII. Its an ok place to start, if you're new to it. But since you already know some stuff, im not too sure if it would be worth it.

PooBrain · 29 May 2013 at 16:16

Pascal was a flop and no point learning it now lol. Go the Python route my friend.

Try Codecademy.

AHarvey · 29 May 2013 at 16:25

I'm not a programmer, just have an interest in it but I wouldn't bother with Pascal and I would start with Python.

As above, use codeacademy to get the basics down, lots of free resources online as well. Then once you feel comfortable with it, pop over to https://www.udacity.com/ as they have some excellent courses for free, including ones on programming self driving cars etc

Xelene · 29 May 2013 at 19:59

Pascal is actually a decent language. It's barely used in real life but that doesn't make it a bad thing to learn. If you do pick it up, you'll probably have a great background in Procedural techniques, which are the foundation of programming.

Jamie23 · 29 May 2013 at 23:23

It enforces some good programming practices but that's about it. Haven't seen anything interesting written in it so wouldn't recommend. The python route is good or you could find out what language your uni use and get a head start in that.

Inferno99 · 30 May 2013 at 01:08

Pascal, a blast from the past - i do miss it, along with COBOL.

If you plan in going into CS then i do recommend C++/Java as suitable alternatives. Both are just as easy to learn provided you don't jump ahead of yourself.

gregorius · 30 May 2013 at 07:55

I'll add my strong recommendation to start with Python. Move on to C++/Java once you're solid on that.

Hagar · 30 May 2013 at 16:16

I learnt programming through pascal / turbopascal at college in Warrington on a Saturday morning course and went onto Delphi. Subsequently I went over to VB.net and the other .net languages in Studio but only as a self taught amateur coder. Pascal was good for training in routines etc. but little used in the mainstream now I suspect.

Now I mainly use php for the web and rarely get into stand alone application coding.

annaharris · 31 May 2013 at 12:33

You'd be surprised. Not a lot of people know Pascal or COBOL anymore. There is no more future of Pascal and COBOL.

FredFlint · 31 May 2013 at 19:09

I learned Pascal at collage, it’s a good language and it’s still used more than you would think. I then moved to C then C++ and also used ASM. My first programming job was with a company that had developed its application in Delphi so knowing Pascal helped a lot.
There is an IDE call Lazarus that is like Delphi which uses Pascal and it free and works on Windows and Linux, you can find out more here: http://www.lazarus.freepascal.org/index.php

gregorius · 31 May 2013 at 19:55

annaharris said:
You'd be surprised. Not a lot of people know Pascal or COBOL anymore. There is no more future of Pascal and COBOL.

I read an interesting blog recently about legacy systems in the banking infrastructure. Maybe there is a future for Cobol programmers; but then again, maybe that's not the sort of career the OP was after

Thrash · 1 Jun 2013 at 01:24

There is a fair bit of Delphi code still out there in the business world. However, it is legacy stuff, which is being replaced, so the opportunities for a Delphi developer are getting thinner on the ground. I wouldn't be wasting too much time with it now, get into .NET, Java, C++ or objective-c as that's where the development jobs are.