OS 9 Development

All the long-time Apple hacks and OSX-lovers just had chest pains,
i'm sure, but i really like OS9 and it's so much faster than OSX
on my G4/800. Plus, all OS9 apps will run on any real Mac, i.e.
in classic mode. So, does anyone know where to download these:

"Free Pascal" for OS9 (would be v. 2.0.2 or earlier i think)
Gooey 1.2 (formerly called Marksman--a framework generator)
AppMaker (doesn't seem to be around anymore)

I have REALbasic 5.5 and it's great but i don't like it. I want
to use Pascal. I've been using Turbo Pascal in Win XP in VPC 6,
but that just cannot go on. Think Pascal is too old, CodeWarrior
is expensive and too complex, so i want to try Free Pascal.
There are OS9 links all over their pathetic site but they're all
bad. Thanks.

G3/G4, Mac OS 9.2.x

Posted on Jan 15, 2010 5:56 PM

Reply
10 replies

Jan 20, 2010 10:56 AM in response to paulpen

I tried several compilers from the beginning of the nineties. They build only 68k code what is probably not what you want and they crash in the debugger or always. I tried MetroWerks CodeWarrior Pro 4 Pascal PPC and that was the only thing that I could find that really worked on OS 9.2.2. The minimum install with complete functionality was 686 files. It fits in 8.1 MB.

Jan 22, 2010 9:25 AM in response to paulpen

It's already 21 years ago that I wrote a Pascal program. The teacher said: "If your boss wants that you write your programs in BASIC because that's the only thing that he understands, then you have write them in BASIC." Thus you must have Pascal.

If it has to be Pascal and it may not be CodeWarrior then I see no good solution.
1) OS 9 doesn't work on 68k computers.
2) Most Pascal compilers build only 68k code.
3) It's better to write PPC programs for OS 9.

There's a possibility to install a Pascal compiler in MPW, but I never saw that work and the interface is very strange.

Other possibility: Think Pascal 4.0 works in OS 8.1. If you buy an OS 8.1 Mac from eBay for 5 $ that could be a cheap solution.

Other possibility: install an OS 7.5.3 emulator on your XP computer.

Things that look like Pascal:

1) MacMETH is a Modula-2 compiler that works in OS 9.2.2, it has a debugger but no linker.

2) MacOberon 4 and MacOberon/F work in OS 9.2.2, but they have a strange interface.

3) MacOberonLite 1.0 from July 1993 works in OS 9.2.2. It's free, it has a very easy interface and it makes very small programs, but it generates 68k code and it has no debugger (you have to use MacsBug). I tried that in OS 7 in 1995 and it works also in OS 9.2.2.

Jan 31, 2010 6:56 PM in response to Cliff Huylebroeck

If Pascal is too old, then maybe try Metrowerks Modula-2 or Oberon. They look like Pascal.


Ah, i didn't mean to say Pascal was old. What i said was "Think (i.e. Symantec) Pascal" is too old, i.e. it only generates 68k code, not PPC code.

As for everyone else's suggestions, thanks, but I'm not interested in trying things w/o linkers, things with strange interfaces, things that poop on you, etc. It's hard enough to get started programming on Mac with a language/interface i'm familiar with, much less one that does any of the above. Basically, i'm familiar with Turbo Pascal (an extremely great programming environment, btw).

Btw, Think Pascal 4.5 runs just fine on my G4 in OS 9.2. But it still only creates 68k code. Basilisk is an interesting program, but again, only 68k.

Feb 17, 2010 8:30 PM in response to Cliff Huylebroeck

Were you asking a question..? I have never seen that error message. Maybe i upgraded to Think Pascal 4.5a1 or is it d4. I'd have to check--it's not on this computer.

Anyway, i've discovered TNTbasic which looks promising and does compile (apparently). Also trying to figure out Futurebasic which is now free and available at http://www.stazsoftware.com. Their site was down for awhile but is back up.

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OS 9 Development

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