Is Pascal computer language dead now? ( Sorry for my bad English)

Question

For what purposes is the Pascal computer language, which was used in the early days and is now being taught to school children to start computer programming, being used by programmers today?

Answer 1

Akila Madusanka 99% of the following article is wrong in my opinion and no Pascal is not dead but there are those whom jump on any bandwagon and would have others do the same.

https://successive.tech/7-dying-programming-languages-to-avoid-in-2021

Yes they evolve but do they ever truly die - No ! They are embedded in other quote unquote newer languages.

They are still taught because they still exist and still have a use in today's world.

c language is a great example of a 50 year old language which has evolved and is involved with so many modern day languages.

Yes you have the standard process as Martin Taylor pointed out but so many languages barrow from other languages so to say this or that language is dead is inaccurate imo.

I believe it was in the early 70s I first learned and used Pascal, maybe 73 or 1974.

btw a short acknowledgement of the history of Pascal :
https://www.britannica.com/technology/Pascal-computer-language

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal_(programming_language)

Answer 2

No need to be sorry, Akila Madusanka ☺. It's really hard to judge what's "dead" or not with all this retro craze going on. ESPECIALLY when it comes to inanimate stuff like: game consoles, computers, architectures/platforms programming languages and so on 😀😀😂.

But seriously, Pascal was invented mainly for students and it was a part of my school curriculum way back in the day. Also, I don't think there's many job offers for this language. So YES, it's pretty much "dead" in that regard.

I've no idea what they study now, but I genuinely hope it's not Pascal or Delphi ☺. I mean languages like Python, C#, JavaScript and many other modern languages are way more useful nowadays.

Answer 3

BroFar, good point, bur I think Skype isn't that popular anymore.

Nowadays there are so many alternatives to Skype. Every region has their favorite messenger and people love them for some specific features or the "audience" hanging out there. For example:

Telegram is marketed as "THE most secure" one.

Viber is the *homo sovieticus favourite. Also it is used to collect info on utility bills and other things. Companies simply assume if you have the Internet, you have that app installed as well. To make things worse, boomers spam you with congratulation GIFs everytime some stupid holiday occurs.

Zoom skyrocketed during pandemic. No doubt about that.

Lime is popular among Japanese culture fans because of its funny emojis.

In conclusion: I don't remember the last time I used Skype (got no one to talk to via it) and I also doubt they need a lot of junior coders. COBOL doesn't like noobs either ☺.

Answer 4

Pascal was the first language I learned many years ago, and it was a great beginner language, but it's not very widespread today. It got replaced mostly by C++ and Java among professional programmers, but it was definitely a great beginner language.

Answer 5

Vitya
I'm wondering about the curators of Skype and others
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/pascal/pascal_overview.htm

Answer 6

BroFar It's not because Pascal is dead. There are still a few programmers today that maintain their programs in Delphi. One example of that is "Total Commander", but in general, the language is replaced and not taught to new students for any kind of professional use.