Differences between Smart Pascal and Free Pascal (Lazarus)

We have positioned towards the beginning of the table a few syntax differences that beginners are likely to encounter. More experienced programmers will be interested in the more general fundamental differences that follow.

Table 1. Some Differences between Smart Pascal and Free Pascal
Language feature	Free Pascal/Lazarus	Smart Pascal
Array constants	Round brackets	Square or round brackets
Type inference	none	`var MyInt = 15;`
In-line variable declarations	not possible	`for var i := 1 to 3 do` (You can also declare a variable within begin/end blocks).
Char variable	`var MyChar: char;`	No char variable type. Use a string to represent a single character.
Dynamic array	Widely used, but no inbuilt routines	Powerful, with inbuilt routines such as Push (to add an element to the end), Pop (to remove the last element), Clear, Copy, Delete, IndexOf, Swap and Reverse
Random	`MyRandomInt := Random(10);`	`MyRandomInt := RandomInt(10);`
writeln	Takes multiple arguments of different types e.g. `writeln(‘Answer: ’, MyInt);`	Takes one string e.g. `Console.Writeln(‘Answer: ’ + intToStr(MyInt));`
Field widths and display of reals	`Writeln(MyReal : 6 : 2)`	not possible
Input key codes	ASCII	JavaScript (Some are the same as ASCII).
Asm block	Assembler asm ADD Int1, 5 SUB Int2, 30 end;	JavaScript asm document.location.href="http://www.pp4s.co.uk/"; end;
Sets	Lots of functionality	Limited functionality
Pointers	See use of pointers in linked lists	No pointers
File handling	Easy to write and read local files	Very different: see Storing and Loading Data
Graphics	Several approaches including Canvas, Graph or WinGraph and SDL	Very different, using HTML5 Canvas
Generics	Generics	no generics
List of Objects	TList	TObjectList

Developing graphical web pages including 3D, input from keyboard and mouse and storing and loading data