Additional Information
Professional open-source cross platform IDE powered by Free Pascal
| Latest Version | Lazarus 3.6 |
| Requirements |
macOS 10.12 Sierra or later |
| Updated | October 02, 2024 |
| Author | Lazarus and Free Pascal Team |
| Category | Developer Tools |
| License | Open Source |
| Language | English |
| Download | 173 |
Overview
Lazarus for Mac is a Delphi compatible cross-platform IDE for Free Pascal. It includes LCL which is more or less compatible with Delphi's VCL. Free Pascal is a GPL'ed compiler that runs on Linux, Win32, OS/2, 68K, and more. Free Pascal is designed to be able to understand and compile Delphi syntax, which is OOP.
Lazarus for macOS is the part of the missing puzzle that will allow you to develop Delphi like programs in all of the above platforms. Unlike Java which strives to be a write-once run anywhere, Lazarus for Mac and Free Pascal strives to write once compile anywhere. Since the exact same compiler is available on all of the above platforms it means you don't need to do any recoding to produce identical products for different platforms.
The app is being developed to be totally and completely API independent. Once you write your code you just link it against the API widget set of your choice. If you want to use GTK+, great! If you want it to be Gnome compliant, great! As long as the interface code for the widget set you want to use is available you can link to it. If it isn't available, well you can write it.
Lazarus for macOS is the part of the missing puzzle that will allow you to develop Delphi like programs in all of the above platforms. Unlike Java which strives to be a write-once run anywhere, Lazarus for Mac and Free Pascal strives to write once compile anywhere. Since the exact same compiler is available on all of the above platforms it means you don't need to do any recoding to produce identical products for different platforms.
The app is being developed to be totally and completely API independent. Once you write your code you just link it against the API widget set of your choice. If you want to use GTK+, great! If you want it to be Gnome compliant, great! As long as the interface code for the widget set you want to use is available you can link to it. If it isn't available, well you can write it.
- The installer, with all required files available
- Easy Drag & Drop Form designer to create powerful layouts
- Automatic synchronization between GUI-Forms and code
- Powerful code editor with syntax highlighting and code completion
- Navigate pascal source code
- Refactoring tools
- Integrated build system and debugger. Run, test and debug your projects from the IDE
- Open Source. You can add or modify existing code and components to meet your requirements
- Package system allows installing 3rd party add ons for more components or to extend the IDE
- Several database frameworks to meet your requirements
- Reporting and Charting
- A choice of Networking libraries available.
- Utf8 and i18n support. Translate your projects.
- Many more components. Build-in and for download
For example. Let's say you are creating a product on Windows using the standard Windows widgets. Now you want to create a Linux version. First, you decide what widget set you want to use. Let's assume you want to use gtk+. So you copy the code over to your Linux development machine, compile, and link against the gtk+ interface unit. That's it. You've now just created a Linux version of the Windows product without any additional coding.
If the code is standard Delphi pascal and it uses the standard components found in Delphi then the answer is yes. If it uses some specific database, OCX, or DCU then the answer would be no. These items are specific to Windows and would only work on and within Windows. However, if you are only looking to create a Windows product using Free Pascal and the app then the answer would be yes. This hasn't been added to the LCL yet but it should be possible in the future.
The FCL (Free Pascal Component Libraries) and the LCL (which will eventually become part of the FCL) are licensed under a modified LGPL. In a nutshell, this means that you can write your own proprietary software that just links to these libraries. You can sell your application without the need to supply or make available your code. However, as with the compiler if you make modifications to the FCL or LCL you must make those changes available to the general public and the world.
Features and Highlights
Cross-Platform
It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and many other platforms. Even on Raspberry Pi! The programs you create also runs on these platforms. Enjoy the same experience on your favorite OS. See Installing app for OS-specific instructions for installation.
Powerful, Fast
The program is a capable IDE for handling large projects. Its compiler FPC is being constantly developed to improve performance. As an example for the project size the IDE can handle, and the performance of the resulting application: The IDE itself is developed using the tool.
Drag and Drop Form Designer
It has a graphical form designer with guidelines for aligning with adjacent components. There are numerous components for almost every software imaginable, already ready to be used. Further components can be added to the IDE by Package Files (LPKs).
Cross-platform
The app form designer uses LCL (Lazarus Component Library) which is specially designed for cross-platform usage. Building your project for different platforms will give you a native look and feel on each platform. There are no changes to the project needed.
Modern, Object-oriented language
It uses Free Pascal as its language which is an Object Pascal dialect. It is constantly developed to integrate new features that can be expected in modern programming languages.
Easily Extendable
Hundreds of developers are developing and maintaining their Libraries and Packages (LPKs). You can find almost any kind of library that you may need.
