Freepascal 2.2.0 released!

[paul_nicholls]

Hi guys :-)
I am relaying the message I got from the freepascal elists:

The Free Pascal Compiler team is pleased to announce the release of FPC
2.2.0!

An overview of most changes is available below, but some highlights are:

* Architectures: PowerPC/64 and ARM support
* Platforms: Windows x64, Windows CE, Mac OS X/Intel, Game Boy
Advance, and Game Boy DS support
* Linker: fast and lean internal linker for Windows platforms
* Debugging: Dwarf support and the ability to automatically fill
variables with several values to more easily detect uninitialised uses
* Language: support for interface delegation, bit packed records and
arrays and support for COM/OLE variants and dispinterfaces
* Infrastructure: better variants support, multiple resource files
support, widestrings are COM/OLE compatible on Windows, improved
database support

Downloads are available at http://www.freepascal.org/download.var

Enjoy!

The Free Pascal Compiler Team



************************************************** ****************************
What's New in 2.2.0
************************************************** ****************************

Free Pascal 2.2.0 contains a lot of bug-fixes and new features. The work on
Free Pascal 2.2.0 started halfway during the year 2005. A lot has been improved
since then.

Please also see http://wiki.freepascal.org/User_Changes_2.2.0 for a list
of changes which may affect the behaviour of previously working code, and
how to cope with these changes.

Platforms:
* New platform: Win64. FPC is the first open source compiler for 64-bit
Windows operating systems.
* New processor architecture: 64-bit PowerPC
* PowerPC/64 support for Linux
* Mac OS X on Intel (i386) is now supported
* New platform: Windows CE (Windows Mobile)
* New platform: Nintendo Game Boy Advance
* New platform: Nintendo DS
* Native support for ARM-platform
* GO32V2 DOS platform got a long needed update

Compiler:
* Internal linker for win32, win64 and wince, resulting in smaller
executables, less memory used during compilation, and faster compile
times for programs using large frameworks like for example the Lazarus
Component Library.
* Generics (experimental)
* Bit packed arrays and records
* Resourcestrings can now be smartlinked, resulting in smaller executables
* Multiple resource files support
* pointer[low..high] syntax to pass C-style pointer arrays to procedures
using open arrays
* Interface delegation
* Proper safecall implementation
* Wide strings are COM/OLE compatible on Windows
* Added several speed optimisations, for example:
* Compiler can omit stack frames (x86 and ARM)
* Compiler can store records in registers
* Tail recursion expansion
* Register renaming optimizations
* Improved optimizer for ARM CPU
* Compiler can initialise local variables, function results, and "out"
parameters with several values (command line parameters -gt till -gtttt)
to help find uses of uninitialised variables
* Compiler can now properly deal with paths > 255 characters in all cases
* Dwarf debug format support
* Reduced memory usage during compilation
* Lot of small bugs and compatibility fixes

RTL:
* Heap uses less memory
* Improved variants support
* Improved currency support
* Exception handling can be used without SysUtils unit
* Lot of small bug and compatibility fixes

FCL:
* Improved database support
* The obsolete sqlitedataset, interbase, fpodbc, ddg, mysqldb3 and mysqldb4
units are removed
* Lot of small bugs and compatibility fixes

Packages:
* Added a new fppkg package manager
* Improved database support
* Added Delphi compatible RichEdit unit
* Apple universal interfaces updated to r204 of the common FPC/GPC/MW
interfaces
* Lot of small bugs and compatibility fixes

Free Vision:
* Now uses resourcestrings

IDE:
* Evaluate window
* Improved HTML rendering
* Improved xterm support
* Small bug fixes

Misc:
* Improved documentation
* Better cross compilation support

For a detailed list of reported bugs that are fixed in this release see the
bugtracker report at http://www.freepascal.org/mantis/changelog_page.php


_______________________________________________
fpc-pascal maillist - fpc-pascal@lists.freepascal.org
http://lists.freepascal.org/mailman/listinfo/fpc-pascal

[WILL]

Yeah, there were looking at releasing this week weren't they?

You know THESE will make most existing FPC/Laz users drool... :twisted:

Internal linker for win32, win64 and wince, resulting in smaller
executables, less memory used during compilation, and faster compile
times for programs using large frameworks like for example the Lazarus
Component Library.

Resourcestrings can now be smartlinked, resulting in smaller executables

[JSoftware]

I'm such a feature creep so I've been toying around with generics since 2.1.4 came. The only thing needed for this to be a truly nice feature is private nested classes

[{MSX}]

we're also on slashdot

http://developers.slashdot.org/devel...0/213217.shtml

[Legolas]

Uargh! Game Boy DS... ops: The DS scene will laugh very loud :lol:

[paul_nicholls]

I posted this to www.gamedev.net as well

http://www.gamedev.net/community/for...opic_id=463610

cheers,
Paul

[savage]

Great to see the game related stuff making it into the main branch and release, even if they got the terminology slightly wrong with the DS.

All that is left is PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 support.
No resting for you Legolas .

[Legolas]

Not really
I will have some forced rest, because my laptop's video card is passed away yesterday (R.I.P.) :cry:

[jdarling]

[OFFTOPIC]
Speaking of hardware, my Wife and Kids PC just shot craps and now she wants me to buy her a new laptop. Low budget (under $600 US) what would be the best choice? All they do is play kids flash games and surf the internet.
[/OFFTOPIC]

Can't wait till Lazarus is updated to match that feature set

[WILL]

Low budget (under $600 US) what would be the best choice?

Heck, get them my laptop! Seriously it would be around how much you propose. When I got this thing from Future Shop it was about $800 CAD. I was on a strict budget when I got it otherwise I obviously would have got something with a faset processor, but it can play AoE III at decent settings nad enough space provided that you don't download too much media... Though I can download a fair bit and have some room left over.

Toshiba Satellite M70[-CL1 <-- mine]
Intel Celeron M 1.6GHz w/ 512MB RAM
60 GB HDD, Combo Dual-Layer DVD writer
ATI Radeon XPRESS Video Card (1.1 Shader, 128MB default aperture)
wide-screen LCD (goes up to 1280x800)
3 USB slots, 1 PCMCIA, S-Video/standard monitor plugs, hardline modem and RJ-45
Wifi Atheros NIC
nice built-in stereo speakers
comes with WinXP Home SP2 and has a GREAT keyboard layout imho.

Can't wait till Lazarus is updated to match that feature set

Hell yeah! I've been waiting for a Lazarus update!

we're also on slashdot

These guys are comedians. Apparently Java and .NET are the new Pascal. BWAhahahahahahahahahah-faint-...hahahhahahahahah... ok done. :|

I'm gonna go make some GameBoy DS games now.