In response to a constant flood of questions from those just getting started in programming, we offer the following list of Questions and Answers. Hopefully, this will answer enough of the beginners questions to get him started programming. This list will be augmented as needed by the incoming questions.

What is a compiler?
This is not a silly question. We were all beginners at one time and asked the same question. The following answer is provided for those that have no programming experience.

A computer cannot understand the spoken or written language that we humans use in our day to day conversations, and likewise, we cannot understand the binary language that the computer uses to do it's tasks. It is therefore necessary for us to write instructions in some specially defined language, in this case Pascal, which we can understand, then have that very precise language converted into the very terse language that the computer can understand. This is the job of the compiler.

A Pascal compiler is itself a computer program who's only job is to convert the Pascal program from our form to a form the computer can read and execute. The computer prefers a string of 1's and 0's that mean very little to us, but can be very quickly and accurately understood by the computer. The original Pascal program is called the "source code", and the resulting compiled code produced by the compiler is usually called an "object file".

One or more object files are combined with predefined libraries by a linker, sometimes called a binder, to produce the final complete file that can be executed by the computer. A library is a collection of pre-compiled "object code" that provides operations that are done repeatedly by many computer programs.

Any good compiler that you purchase will provide not only a compiler, but an editor, a debugger, a library, and a linker. Online documentation and help files are usually included, and many compilers have a tutorial to walk you through the steps of compiling, linking and executing your first program.

Where can I get a Pascal compiler?
There are several available at varying prices. The recommended place to look is at Bloodshed Software for a complete list of all available Pascal compilers. Good supply sources are large, well stocked computer stores and some bookstores, but since Pascal compilers are not readily available, you will probably need to contact the manufacturer of the compiler. Any of the internet search engines will find several Pascal compilers that execute on your system.

Where can I get a free Pascal compiler?
You can get an excellent free Pascal compiler at http://www.freepascal.org/ for a fairly wide variety of platforms.

Where should I start?
Start with the Coronado Enterprises Pascal tutorial. Read the text associated with each example program, compile and execute each example program, and modify the program in some way to be sure you understand the concepts taught with that particular program. After completing a few chapters begin to write some small programs of your own design just to gain the experience of programming.  You will probably surprise yourself at how fast you progress.

Frequently asked questions about Pascal
Q&A will be added to Frequently asked questions about Pascal as needed. This list is expected to grow over time.

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