Virtual Pascal
Virtual Pascal is a compiler with Turbo -Pascal -like development environment for OS / 2 and 32 -bit Windows with cross-platform support for Linux and 32 -bit DOS extender. It supports the programming languages Pascal and Object Pascal.
History
1990 worked Vitaly Miryanov at the Institute of Cybernetics at the University of Kiev (Ukraine ) on a 32 -bit operating system that uses the at that time and for the conditions there still extremely expensive 486 PCs with multiple DOS boxes in multitasking mode on terminals could be. Vitaly's task was the development and maintenance of a debugger for the neighborhood, which was written entirely in assembly language.
The development in assembler was very tedious and prone to error if they also refined and efficient programs led. This was the occasion to begin in early 1993 to work on a Borland Pascal - compatible 32 -bit Pascal compiler for him.
In the meantime, IBM OS had / 2 brought out and Vitaly decided to use this platform as a new basis for its compiler. In addition to the pure compiler he wrote a text-mode development environment and a source - level debugger.
In January 1995, an alpha version of the system was completed. The compiler and the debugger was written entirely in assembly language, the development environment in Pascal, which was translated by the compiler itself. Another four months bugfixing eventually led to the release of Beta 3, which was spread worldwide, inter alia, on the FidoNet.
In the meantime, the situation in Ukraine had so deteriorated that Vitaly had to look for a way to find external support for his project. He found her in the person of Allan Mertner, head of software development FPRINT UK Ltd. , A company based in London. Within six months, then eventually all the bureaucratic obstacles were overcome and family Miryanov moved to London, where Vitaly began full-time work on Virtual Pascal.
Five months later Version 1.00 was completed. At this time, however, was OS / 2 already on the wane, so that a commercial success of the product did not materialize. FPRINT brought a version 1.1 on the market, but the cost of development not earned. For Virtual Pascal was initially used only FPRINT internally to compile a part of your own software for OS / 2. Vitaly began to work on other projects.
In 1999, a team of three FPRINT staff, Allan Mertner, Vitaly Miryanov and from Germany to them bumped Thomas Müller began, in their spare time to the development of Virtual Pascal to work. This eventually resulted in the completion of version 2.0 in August 1999, which, among many extensions for compatibility with Borland Pascal and Delphi also contained a compiler and development environment for 32- bit Windows.
In 2000 FPRINT was acquired by Peregrine Systems. Allan Mertner able to convince the decision-makers to give him the rights to Virtual Pascal, so that, finally, version 2.1 was released in September 2000. New in this version was a rudimentary support for Linux as a fourth target platform (next OS / 2, Win32, DOS 32-bit extender). As a financial success had become more than doubtful, this version was offered as freeware.
Since then the development has stagnated. The development team has fallen apart, Allan moved to Canada, Vitaly remained in London and Thomas went back to Germany.
In November 2003, a bugfix release Virtual Pascal 2.1 was released.
On April 4, 2005 Allan Mertner Virtual Pascal declared officially "died" for:
" I do not know if anyone Has noticed, but I am sad to report did Virtual Pascal has died a quiet death. It was born in 1995 and died in 2005 at the ripe old age ( for software) of 10 years. "
On July 3, 2007 Allan Mertner opened to provide a new communication platform, and download option available in Ning is a social network for the remaining users of Virtual Pascal. The original site had to be closed months earlier because of persistent hacker attacks and technical difficulties.