Just yesterday the FPC Team has released the 2.1.4 version of their cross-platform compiler. They are dubbing this one the release candidate for version 2.2.0, which will be released in about 2 months time.

The purpose of this release is to get user feedback and bug reports from everyone that can pitch in to make it as stable as possible for the final 2.2.0 release. So the more that participate, the better the next major release will be!

They have also published [size=9px](for the first time as I can recall)[/size] a list of changes that you can find right here: List of 2.1.4 Changes

This version is actually quite monumental in that it's one of the first FPC versions to be released with as many new platforms supported.

Some new platforms include Windows CE, GameBoy Advance and Nintendo DS.

The big winner of this version however has to be the addition of Win64! Thats right, Free Pascal is the first open source compiler to support 64-bit Windows operating systems!

Another new and wonderful thing about this new version is the new internal linker that was added. It supports all 3 Windows platforms; Win32, WinCE and Win64. This results in smaller executables, less memory used during compilation, and faster compile times for programs using large frameworks like for example the Lazarus Component Library.

There are tons of new things in this version that would take way too long for me to do a write-up on. Your best bet is to either go see for yourself or see how well the new compiler performs yourself.


Nice work FPC Team! :thumbup:


[size=9px]More information about Free Pascal can be found at www.FreePascal.org![/size]