FreePascal and X5000

UPDATE: since revision 45802 Free Pascal is not also compatible with X5000 processor, thanks to work by ChainQ. Support for X5000 start with Free Pascal 3.2.2.

–

Because I got this question already some times, and I do not want to write it again and again, I just make this blog post that I can simple point to at any time 😉

Why my Programs does not work on AmigaOS4 X5000?

The problem is, that FreePascal itself does not know the X5000 CPU, and it seems to be not a normal PowerPC, but needs some special care. I heard something about special alignment problems. I don’t have a X5000, Charlie doesn’t have a X5000 and we do not know whats special about it to fix that issue. Besides, we both are not really using OS4, we both use Classic and MorphOS and I use additionally a big Part AROS (mainly i386 a bit ARM).

As some might notice, long time there was no working AmigaOS4 FreePascal, because I did not have any OS4 capable computer. I used mainly AROS, Charlie used mainly MorphOS and both we used some kind of Amiga68k and that was exactly the work shares we did in FreePascal. Charlie asked and explained some times that there could be an AmigaOS4 port (an older Version was still inside) if someone would step up as Maintainer for it. We didn’t want to do, we had AROS and Amiga68k and MorphOS already. Which is already much to work on. Besides OS4 is a completely different kind of fish (because of the Interfaces).

Then one day this thread came along and if you follow the thread you can see, Charlie decided to make the initial OS4 implementation and someone said, he will step up as maintainer, but sadly this didn’t happen. I’m too much of a FreePascal Amiga guy to let that port in such sorry state and started to implement the rest nevertheless, making me the maintainer for OS4, even I had no interest to be. Of course I’m a big fan, that all four platforms are now supported by FreePascal and due our continuing work on it, they are 99% compatible. (e.g we hid the OS4 Interfaces away, so you do not need to care about that when writing your software)

Recently I bought a AmigaOS4 computer (thanks again to the one sold me that, its working nicely), because in UAE it’s not really usable. But I only use it to test FreePascal, my programs the installer and so on. But for that a some thousands Euro machine would be overkill (and also waste of space). I try to keep the FreePascal AmigaOS4 at least somehow working but not more. In the end the message stays:

If you are interested in Pascal and Amiga(OS4) and want to help with the compiler doing a better job on X5000 (or any other computer as well) you can just do it, it’s open source, send us a patch. If you want to step up as maintainer for AmigaOS4, even better, contact ChainQ/Charlie or me, of course we will happily help. Do not fear, you will not be left alone.