Introduction
There are multiple ways to develope a Pascal based application. In this documentation we list the most common choices.
GUI / RAD
If a graphical user interface is needed, the most common choices are Lazarus or Delphi. With those tools its also possible to program an application without an gui.
You can program one application and ship it to multiple platforms like linux, macOS or even Android.
Lazarus
Lazarus is a free cross-platform visual integrated development environment (IDE) for rapid application development (RAD) using the Free Pascal compiler. Its goal is to provide an easy-to-use development environment for programmers developing with the Object Pascal language, which is as close as possible to Delphi.
Software developers use Lazarus to create native-code console and graphical user interface (GUI) applications for the desktop, and also for mobile devices, web applications, web services, visual components and function libraries for a number of different platforms, including Mac, Linux and Windows.
A project created by using Lazarus on one platform can be compiled on any other one which Free Pascal compiler supports. For desktop applications a single source can target Mac OS, Linux, and Windows, with little or no modification. An example is the Lazarus IDE itself, created from a single code base and available on all major platforms including the Raspberry Pi. Source
Delphi
Delphi is a software product that uses the Delphi dialect of the Object Pascal programming language and provides an integrated development environment (IDE) for rapid application development of desktop, mobile, web, and console software,[3] currently developed and maintained by Embarcadero Technologies.
Delphi's compilers generate native code for Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux (x64).[4][5][6]
Delphi includes a code editor, a visual designer, an integrated debugger, a source code control component, and support for third-party plugins. The code editor features Code Insight (code completion), Error Insight (real-time error-checking), and refactoring. The visual forms designer has the option of using either the Visual Component Library (VCL) for pure Windows development or the FireMonkey (FMX) framework for cross-platform development. Database support is a key feature and is provided by FireDAC (Database Access Components). Delphi is known for its fast compilation speed, native code, and developer productivity. Source
Non-GUI
FreePascal
Free Pascal Compiler (FPC) is a compiler for the closely related programming-language dialects Pascal and Object Pascal. It is free software released under the GNU General Public License, with exception clauses that allow static linking against its runtime libraries and packages for any purpose in combination with any other software license. Source