Description #
Oberon is a minimalist compiled programming language designed for clarity, reliability, and efficiency. It was created as part of an integrated operating system and language project aimed at educational and systems-level development.
History #
Oberon was created in 1986 by Niklaus Wirth and Jürg Gutknecht at ETH Zurich as a successor to Modula-2. It was part of Project Oberon, which included a language, operating system, and compiler — all designed for lean software systems. Wirth emphasized simplicity, type safety, and modularity, continuing his tradition from Pascal and Modula.
Hello World Code #
MODULE HelloWorld;
IMPORT Out;
BEGIN
Out.String("Hello, World!"); Out.Ln;
END HelloWorld.How to Run #
Option 1: Online
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/compile_oberon_online.php
Option 2: Local
- Use BlackBox Component Builder
- Or install Project Oberon emulator
Run via integrated IDE or emulator-based environment.
Key Concepts #
- Syntax style: Clean, Pascal-style
- Typing discipline: Strong, static typing
- Execution model: Compiled to native code or run in Oberon OS
- Common use cases: Teaching, systems programming, embedded software
- Toolchain or ecosystem: ETH Oberon System, BlackBox Component Builder
- Paradigms supported: Procedural, modular
- Compilation details: Directly compiled using built-in compiler in Oberon OS
- Strengths or quirks: Minimalism, tight coupling with its OS, single-pass compiler
- Libraries/frameworks: Limited; focuses on core system components
- Community/adoption: Mostly academic and retro computing circles
Try It Online #
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/compile_oberon_online.php
Fun Facts #
The entire Oberon system — OS, compiler, GUI, and apps — fit in under 1MB. Niklaus Wirth later rewrote Oberon entirely in Oberon itself, demonstrating self-hosting language design.
