@c Copyright (C) 1996, 1997  Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c This file is part of the GPC manual.
@c For copying conditions, see the file gcc.texi.

@node Welcome
@unnumbered Welcome to GNU Pascal, @dots{}

@dots{} the free 32-bit Pascal compiler from the GNU family!

@c Since nobody complained, I put in my new "purpose" section here.
@c -- PG, 2 Aug 1996
@c Slightly modified to become an "introduction" -- PG, 5 Feb 1997
@c Renamed to "Welcome" -- PG, 31 Jul 1997

The purpose of the GNU Pascal project is to produce a Pascal compiler
(called GNU Pascal or GPC) which

@itemize @bullet
@item
combines the clarity of Pascal with powerful tools suitable for real-life
programming,

@item
supports both the Pascal standard and the Extended Pascal standard as defined
by ISO, ANSI and IEEE (ISO 7185:1990, ISO/IEC 10206:1991,
ANSI/IEEE 770X3.160-1989),

@item
supports other Pascal standards (UCSD Pascal, Borland Pascal, Pascal-SC)
in so far as this serves the goal of clarity and usability,

@item
may be distributed under normal GNU license conditions, and

@item
can generate code for and run on any computer for which the GNU C compiler
can generate code and run on.

@end itemize

Pascal was originally designed for teaching.  GNU Pascal provides a 
smooth way to proceed to challenging programming tasks without learning 
a completely different language.

The GNU Pascal compiler is part of the GNU Compiler family combining
a language independent part of the GNU Compiler (GCC) with a Pascal
specific front end.  Other compilers of the family currently include
compilers for the Ada, C, C++, Objective C, and FORTRAN languages.

This documentation contains

@itemize @bullet
@item
the GNU General Public License which informs you about your rights and
responsibilites when using, modifying and distributing GNU Pascal,
see @ref{Copying},
@item
other texts about Free Software and the GNU Project intended to answer
questions like ``what is GNU?'' you might have in mind now, see
@ref{Funding}, @ref{Look and Feel}, and @ref{Manifesto},
@item
a list of contributors where you can read who is responsible for all the
bugs and trouble you are going to have with GNU Pascal, see
@ref{Contributors},
@item
installation instructions,
see @ref{Installation},
@item
and the current version of a ``GNU Pascal manual'' intended to describe
how to use the compiler.  (Sorry about this---it's rather incomplete
and outdated.)
@end itemize

If you are familiar with Standard Pascal (ISO 7185) programming, you can
probably just go ahead and try to compile your programs.  (If something
does not work, see @ref{GPC bugs}.)  The ISO Extended Pascal Standard (ISO
10206) is only partially implemented into GNU Pascal, see @ref{Extensions}.

If you are a Borland Pascal programmer, you should probably start
reading the QuickStart guide from Borland to GNU Pascal, see
@ref{Borland Pascal}.  If you are curious about the Extended Pascal
Standard which is a standardized high-level Pascal, read the
comparision between ISO Extended Pascal and Borland Pascal,
@ref{Extended Pascal}.

In case you run into something which you consider a bug in GNU Pascal,
read the included bug list, @ref{GPC bugs}.  In that chapter you
can also find information how to report the bug and how to get quick help.

And, please, think about how you can contribute to the GNU Pascal
project, too.  Remember that we, the authors of GNU Pascal and of the
documentation you are reading right now, do not get money for this job.
Please support our work by contributing yours in form of example programs,
bug reports, documentation, or even actual improvements of the compiler.
A ``wish list'' is included; see @ref{How to Contribute}.

