BlaisePascal

Open-source Pascal-to-C++ transpiler with Pascal semantic compatibility. Self-contained distribution with bundled Zig compiler and runtime. Think in Pascal. Compile to C++

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README

Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal™

Think in Pascal. Compile to C++.

An open-source Pascal-to-C++ transpiler with perfect Delphi semantic compatibility. Self-contained distribution with bundled Zig compiler and complete runtime library.

🎩 Why "Blaise Pascal"?

Named after the 17th-century French polymath Blaise Pascal—mathematician, physicist, and inventor of one of the first mechanical calculators—and the programming language that bears his name. Like its namesakes, Blaise Pascal™ embodies clarity, elegance, and the marriage of theoretical beauty with practical innovation. We honor Pascal's legacy by keeping the Pascal language alive and thriving in the modern age.

✨ Features

🎯 Pascal Dialect - A modern Pascal dialect compatible with Delphi where possible. Transpiles fundamental Pascal syntax with clean, predictable C++ output. Best thought of as its own flavor of Pascal optimized for C++ compilation.
⚡ Modern C++23 - Generates clean C++23 code with modern LLVM backend. Leverages spaceship operator, std::format, and std::println for optimal performance.
🏗️ Smart Architecture - Dumb transpiler, smart runtime. Simple token mapping keeps the transpiler maintainable while a sophisticated runtime preserves exact Pascal semantics.
📦 Self-Contained - Everything included - Blaise transpiler, Zig compile, and complete runtime library. Just unzip and go, no additional downloads needed.
🌍 Cross-Platform - Compile for Windows, Linux, and macOS from any platform using bundled Zig build system with consistent behavior everywhere.
🔒 Zero Conflicts - All runtime code in bp namespace with fully-qualified names. Perfect isolation from external libraries like raylib, SDL, OpenGL.

🚀 Quick Start

1. Download & Extract

Download the latest release and extract to any directory. Everything you need is included:

Blaise.exe - The transpiler
bin/res/zig/ - Zig compiler with LLVM
bin/res/runtime/ - C++ Pascal runtime library

2. Create a New Project

bash

# Create a new program project
blaise.exe init MyProgram

# Or create a library project
blaise.exe init MyLib --template library

3. Write Your Pascal Code

Edit the generated source file in src/MyProgram.pas:

pascal

program MyProgram;
begin
  WriteLn('Hello from Blaise Pascal!');
end.

4. Build & Run

bash

# Navigate to your project directory
cd MyProgram

# Build the project (transpile + compile)
blaise.exe build

# Run the compiled executable
blaise.exe run

📝 Usage

Basic Commands

bash

blaise init <name> [--template <type>]  # Create new project
blaise build                             # Build project
blaise run                               # Run executable
blaise clean                             # Clean build artifacts
blaise zig <args>                        # Pass args to Zig compiler
blaise version                           # Show version
blaise help                              # Show help

Project Templates

program - Executable program (default)
library - Shared library (.dll on Windows, .so on Linux)
unit - Static library (.lib on Windows, .a on Linux)

🎛️ Compiler Directives

Control your build settings using compiler directives in your Pascal source:

Cross-Platform Compilation

pascal

{$TARGET x86_64-linux}
program MyProgram;
begin
  WriteLn('Cross-platform!');
end.

Supported targets:

{$TARGET x86_64-windows} - Windows 64-bit
{$TARGET x86_64-linux} - Linux 64-bit
{$TARGET aarch64-macos} - macOS ARM64
{$TARGET native} - Current platform (default)

Optimization Levels

pascal

{$OPTIMIZATION Debug}        // Debug build (default)
{$OPTIMIZATION ReleaseSafe}  // Safe optimized build
{$OPTIMIZATION ReleaseFast}  // Fast optimized build
{$OPTIMIZATION ReleaseSmall} // Size optimized build

Application Type (Windows)

pascal

{$APPTYPE GUI}      // No console window
{$APPTYPE CONSOLE}  // Console application (default)

External Libraries

pascal

{$INCLUDE_HEADER <raylib.h>}
{$LIBRARY_PATH .\lib}
{$LINK raylib.lib}

🏗️ Architecture

THE LAW

pascal

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???                                                               ???
???  WRAP EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE WRAPPED IN THE C++ RUNTIME       ???
???                                                               ???
???  Make the transpiler DUMB.                                    ???
???  Make the runtime SMART.                                      ???
???                                                               ???
???  All runtime lives in namespace bp { ... }                    ???
???  ALWAYS use fully-qualified names: bp::Integer, bp::WriteLn   ???
???  NEVER use 'using namespace bp;'                              ???
???                                                               ???
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Three-Layer Design

pascal

Pascal Source (.pas)
        ???
    DelphiAST (parsing)
        ???
  Blaise Transpiler (token mapping)
        ???
  Generated C++23 (.cpp)
        ???
    Zig/LLVM (compilation)
        ???
   Native Executable

The transpiler is a dumb token mapper - It walks the AST and maps Pascal tokens to C++ tokens with bp:: prefixes. That's it.

All semantic complexity lives in the C++23 runtime - The bp namespace contains wrapped types, operators, and Pascal RTL functions that preserve exact Pascal semantics.

📚 Language Coverage

Core Types

Integer, Cardinal, Int64, UInt64
Boolean, Char, String (UTF-16, 1-based indexing)
Single, Double, Extended
Records, Enumerations
Arrays (static & dynamic), Sets, Pointers

Control Flow

if..then..else
while..do, repeat..until
for..to..do, for..downto..do
case..of..else
break, continue, exit

Operators

Arithmetic: +, -, *, /, div, mod
Comparison: =, <>, <, >, <=, >=
Logical: and, or, not, xor
Bitwise: shl, shr
Set operations: in
Pointers: @, ^

Program Types

Programs (executables)
Units (modules)
Libraries (DLLs/shared objects)
Uses clause, Exports clause
Initialization/Finalization

Exception Handling

try..except..end
try..finally..end
Exception types and messages

Runtime Library

I/O: WriteLn, Write, ReadLn, Read, File I/O
Strings: Length, Pos, Copy, UpperCase, LowerCase, Trim
Conversions: IntToStr, StrToInt, FloatToStr, StrToFloat
Math: Abs, Sqrt, Sin, Cos, Tan, Round, Trunc
Memory: GetMem, FreeMem, New, Dispose
System: ParamCount, ParamStr, Halt
And much more...

💡 Example

Pascal Source:

pascal

program Hello;
var
  name: String;
  age: Integer;
begin
  name := 'World';
  age := 42;
  
  WriteLn('Hello, ', name, '!');
  WriteLn('Age: ', age);
end.

Generated C++23:

cpp

#include "runtime.h"

void ProgramMain() {
    bp::String name;
    bp::Integer age;
    
    name = "World";
    age = 42;
    
    bp::WriteLn("Hello, ", name, "!");
    bp::WriteLn("Age: ", age);
}

int main() {
    ProgramMain();
    return 0;
}

🔧 Advanced Usage

Using External C/C++ Libraries

Blaise Pascal works seamlessly with external libraries thanks to the isolated bp namespace:

pascal

program RaylibDemo;

{$INCLUDE_HEADER '<raylib.h>'}
{$LIBRARY_PATH .\lib}
{$LINK libraylib.a}

const
  SCREEN_WIDTH = 800;
  SCREEN_HEIGHT = 450;

begin
  InitWindow(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, 'Blaise Pascal + raylib');
  SetTargetFPS(60);
  
  while not WindowShouldClose() do
  begin
    BeginDrawing();
    ClearBackground(RAYWHITE);
    DrawText('Hello from Blaise Pascal!', 190, 200, 20, LIGHTGRAY);
    EndDrawing();
  end;
  
  CloseWindow();
end.

Build Configuration

Create a project-specific build configuration by using compiler directives:

pascal

program MyGame;

{$TARGET native}
{$OPTIMIZATION ReleaseFast}
{$APPTYPE GUI}

{$INCLUDE_HEADER <raylib.h>}
{$LIBRARY_PATH .\lib}
{$LINK raylib.lib}

begin
  // Your game code here
end.

📖 Documentation

For comprehensive documentation, visit:

Design Document - Complete architecture and design philosophy
Language Coverage - Detailed feature list
Examples - Sample projects

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Development

The project is structured as follows:

src/compiler/ - Blaise Pascal compiler (Delphi source)
bin/res/runtime/ - C++23 runtime library
bin/res/zig/ - Bundled Zig compiler
examples/ - Example projects
docs/ - Documentation

📄 License

Blaise Pascal is licensed under the BSD 3-Clause License. See LICENSE for details.

🌐 Links

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with ❤️ for the Pascal community
Uses DelphiAST for Pascal parsing
Powered by Zig and LLVM for C++ compilation

Live chat for Free Pascal, Lazarus, Delphi and every Pascal programmer.

BBlaisePascal

Member rating

README

Blaise Pascal™

🎩 Why "Blaise Pascal"?

✨ Features

🚀 Quick Start

1. Download & Extract

2. Create a New Project

3. Write Your Pascal Code

4. Build & Run

📝 Usage

Basic Commands

Project Templates

🎛️ Compiler Directives

Cross-Platform Compilation

Optimization Levels

Application Type (Windows)

External Libraries

🏗️ Architecture

THE LAW

Three-Layer Design

📚 Language Coverage

Core Types

Control Flow

Operators

Program Types

Exception Handling

Runtime Library

💡 Example

🔧 Advanced Usage

Using External C/C++ Libraries

Build Configuration

📖 Documentation

🤝 Contributing

Development

📄 License

🌐 Links

🙏 Acknowledgments

BlaisePascal