Turbo Pascal 的 40 年，改变了整个 IDE 的编程恐龙
IDE Pascal
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自 Turbo Pascal 问世以来已过去 40 年，它凭借在其时先进的集成开发环境（IDE）和超越常规的性能，彻底改写了编程领域的格局。然而，我们现今并未广泛使用它，这是为何呢？


1983 年，Turbo Pascal 的问世，这代表了在 IBM PC 兼容机早期的程序设计工具工作方式的重大变化。相比于传统工作方式下耗时的磁盘访问和多次编译、链接过程，Turbo Pascal 能在内存中直接完成所有操作，让速度大幅提升，因此得名 “Turbo”。


后来在微软参与 C# 项目的 Anders Hejlsberg 被广泛称誉为这门语言的创造者。而 Borland 的老板 Philippe Kahn 第一时间就看中了这个一站式工具的潜力和需求所在。


Turbo Pascal 的价格也相对便宜 —— 在竞争对手可能要花费数百美元的情况下，Turbo Pascal 的零售价只有 49.99 美元。不过，要是客户打算分发二进制文件，其开发商 Borland 仍会额外收取费用。


尽管第一版的 Turbo Pascal 存在一些限制。例如，源代码文件不能超过 64 KB，且仅能为 DOS 和 CP/M 生成 .COM 可执行文件，尽管还支持其他架构和操作系统。它还能从单张软盘启动运行，在一个硬盘代价昂贵、且难以得到，单驱动器成为常态的时代，这省却了用户频繁更换磁盘的麻烦。


仅几个月后，Turbo Pascal 就推出了第二版，此版本进行了一些微小的改动，后续在 1986 年发布了第三版。然而，真正让 Turbo Pascal 有了翻天覆地变化的，是 1987 年的第四版。例如，取消了对 CP/M 和 CP/M-86 的支持，开始在 DOS 环境下生成 .EXE 格式的可执行文件，打破了 .COM 文件的限制。


第四版还引入了带有下拉菜单的全屏文字用户界面。到了 1988 年的第五版，我们看到了熟悉的默认蓝色背景编辑器。在本文作者看来，1989 年的 5.5 版是 Turbo Pascal 的巅峰之作。它引入了面向对象的编程特性，包括类和继承，以及一款逐步调试器。


第六版和第七版分别引入了对内联汇编和用于创建 Windows 可执行文件和 DLL 的支持，但第七版也标志着 Borland 的 Turbo Pascal 到达了终点。尽管后面仍推出了 Turbo Pascal for Windows，但它最终被 Delphi 所取代。


然而，如 Visual Basic 3 这样的工具的火爆，使得 Borland 在 Windows 系统下再未取得过像它在 DOS 下那样的辉煌。


至于 Turbo Pascal，最后 Borland 以免费软件的方式发布了几个版本，包括用于 DOS 的第 1 版，第 5.5 版和第 7 版。


或许这款语言曾引起 Pascal 语言的纯粹主义者们的反感，如今这个 IDE 与现代工具相比可能显得有些笨拙。但在 40 年前，它引发了一个新的开发时代，其影响至今仍能感受到。


*（题图：MJ/9d1f3b17-5b29-429d-8a86-e8520309d8d0）*




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via: <https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/40_years_of_turbo_pascal/>


作者：[Richard Speed](https://www.theregister.com/Author/Richard-Speed) 译者：[ChatGPT](https://linux.cn/lctt/ChatGPT) 校对：[wxy](https://github.com/wxy)


OK
# 40 years of Turbo Pascal, the coding dinosaur that revolutionized IDEs

## The legacy can still be felt today

It is 40 years since Turbo Pascal revolutionized the coding marketplace with a slick (for the time) Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and performance to spare. So why aren't we all using it today?

Turbo Pascal was released in 1983 and represented a shift from the traditional way programming tools worked in the early days of IBM PC compatibles. Rather than multiple compiler and linking passes that required time-consuming floppy disk access, Turbo Pascal did everything in RAM, making it considerably faster – hence the name "Turbo."

Anders Hejlsberg, who would later go on to join Microsoft as part of the C# project, is widely credited as creator of the language, with Borland boss Philippe Kahn identifying the need for the all-in-one tool.

It was also cheap – where the competition could cost hundreds of dollars, Turbo Pascal retailed for $49.99. However, its maker, Borland, wanted a little extra if a customer planned to distribute the binaries.

Version 1 had limitations. Source code files, for example, were limited to 64 KB. It would only produce .COM executable files for DOS and CP/M – although other architectures and operating systems were supported. It would also run from a single floppy disk, saving users from endless swapping in a world where single drives were the norm and a hard disk seemed impossibly exotic – and expensive.

[Version 100 of the MIT Lisp Machine software recovered](https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/31/mit_cadr_software_recovered/)[Nostalgic for VB? BASIC is anything but dead](https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/28/nostalgic_for_basic/)[The Stonehenge of PC design, Xerox Alto, appeared 50 years ago this month](https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/16/the_xerox_alto_50_years/)[GCC 13 to support Modula-2: Follow-up to Pascal lives on in FOSS form](https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/16/gcc_13_will_support_modula2/)

Version 2 came a few months later, with some minor modifications, and was followed by version 3 in 1986. However, it was with version 4, in 1987, that Turbo Pascal changed dramatically. For one, support for CP/M and CP/M-86 was dropped, and the compiler would generate .EXE executables under DOS, lifting the .COM restrictions.

Version 4 also introduced a full-screen text user interface with pull-down menus, and 1988's version 5 gave us the familiar default blue background for the editor. For this writer, 1989's version 5.5 was peak Turbo Pascal. Object-oriented programming features turned up, including classes and inheritance, and a step-by-step debugger.

Version 6 and 7 brought in inline assembly and support for the creation of Windows executables and DLLs respectively, but version 7 also marked the end of the line as far as Borland was concerned. Turbo Pascal for Windows would turn up, but was eventually superseded by Delphi.

However, the steamroller of tools such as Visual Basic 3 ensured that Borland never had the same success in Windows that it enjoyed under DOS.

As for Turbo Pascal, several versions were eventually released by Borland as freeware including version 1 for DOS, 5.5, and 7.

The language might have offended Pascal purists and the IDE seems a little clunky nowadays when compared to modern tools. However, 40 years ago it prompted a new era of development, one whose influence can still be felt today. ®

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