Lazarus is a free, open-source integrated development environment (IDE) for the Free Pascal compiler. Providing rapid application development capabilities similar to Delphi, Lazarus enables creating native applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, and other platforms from a single codebase.
The visual form designer creates user interfaces by dragging and dropping components onto forms. The object inspector sets properties and attaches event handlers. Component palette provides buttons, text fields, lists, grids, and many other interface elements ready to use.
The code editor features syntax highlighting, code completion, parameter hints, and code templates for efficient programming. Integrated debugging includes breakpoints, watches, call stack inspection, and variable modification during runtime. The unit browser navigates between source files quickly.
Lazarus projects compile to native executables without runtime dependencies, producing fast, standalone applications. The same source code recompiles for different operating systems, achieving true cross-platform development. Console applications, services, and libraries are equally supported.
The LCL (Lazarus Component Library) provides platform-independent interface components that render using native widgets on each operating system. Custom components extend LCL with specialized functionality. Database connectivity through standard components handles MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and others.
Package management installs and updates third-party component libraries. The online package manager accesses hundreds of community contributions. Complete IDE customization through packages adds language support, version control integration, and other features.