Free Pascal
Free Pascal is a free, open-source, cross-platform compiler for the Pascal and Object Pascal programming languages. It supports multiple processor architectures and operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and embedded systems. It is designed to be highly compatible with Borland Pascal and Delphi while adding modern features like generics and operator overloading.
Developers should learn Free Pascal for legacy system maintenance, educational purposes, or when working on cross-platform applications that require high performance and low-level control. It is particularly useful in academic settings for teaching programming fundamentals, in embedded systems development due to its efficiency, and for porting or maintaining older Pascal-based software across modern platforms.