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Oberon System 3

Hacker Approved

Recommended as a tiny, fast, self-hosting system and simple language that runs on Raspberry Pi. Critics call the language dated and not well suited to systems programming.

Summarized from 60 comments.

Recommended as a tiny, fast, self-hosting system and simple language that runs on Raspberry Pi. Critics call the language dated and not well suited to systems programming.

recommend
25
criticize
6
months recommended
11 of 13

Why people love it

  • Runs on Raspberry Pi and small boards · 5

    Very cool, and I know what I'm going to do w/ my son's old rPi3

    Jun 2026 · comment

    It's refreshing to see Oberon getting some love on the Pi.

    Apr 2026 · comment

    Oberon System 3 works on Raspberry Pi

    Jun 2026 · comment
  • Tiny, fast, self-hosting system · 4

    The system is up extremenly fast (compared to Linux), but then it takes pretty long to find the USB hub and the keyboard/mouse.

    Apr 2026 · comment

    Oberon is both smaller and more capable than both of its predecessors.

    Aug 2026 · comment

    It is almost unbelievably tiny, it is fast, and it is self-hosting.

    Apr 2026 · comment
  • Simple, pleasant programming environment · 3

    Oberon is a very nice, fun and cozy system and environment for programming.

    Apr 2026 · comment

    Oberon is a very nice, fun and cozy system and environment for programming

    Apr 2026 · comment

    is beautiful for the power it hides behind its simplicity

    Aug 2026 · comment
  • Good for study and experiments · 2

    The Project Oberon System is very well suited for these kinds of experiments.

    Aug 2026 · comment

    Both are very valuable for studying and experimenting.

    Dec 2025 · comment

What people warn about

  • Language design seen as dated · 3

    Oberon is absolutely a horrible language. It's an example of how you can screw up a good language by insisting on things that were important in 1960-s.

    Apr 2026 · comment

    I see the several revisions of Oberon-07 as an entertaining exercise in minimalism, which fails to understand the industry.

    Nov 2025 · comment

    Oberon is absolutely a horrible language.

    Apr 2026 · comment
  • Weak fit for systems programming · 2

    the original Oberon syntax and semantics is likely not on the sweet spot of systems programming

    Apr 2026 · comment

    were not properly integrated in the language concepts

    Dec 2025 · comment
  • Seen as a failure or academic trinket · 2

    I still only remember Oberon as that even bigger failure than Modula

    Apr 2026 · comment

    Oberon was an academic trinket.

    May 2026 · comment

What hackers pick instead

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 60 comments. Each links to the original.

  1. The system is up extremenly fast (compared to Linux), but then it takes pretty long to find the USB hub and the keyboard/mouse.

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  2. the original Oberon syntax and semantics is likely not on the sweet spot of systems programming

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  3. For me the right path is Oberon => Oberon-2 and Component Pascal => Zonnon and Active Oberon.

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “The Origins of Scala (2009)”

  4. The Project Oberon System is very well suited for these kinds of experiments.

    Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “Show HN: A Project Oberon System version running on RISC-V instead of RISC-5”

  5. Oberon is a very nice, fun and cozy system and environment for programming.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  6. Oberon is a very nice, fun and cozy system and environment for programming

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  7. Oberon would be a great fit for this board, your efforts are appreciated.

    Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Sylphide OS: a general-purpose OS for microcontroller-based computers”

  8. Oberon is both smaller and more capable than both of its predecessors.

    Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “Delphi 13 Community Edition Is Now Available”

  9. particularly suited for today's MCUs because they don't assume an MMU

    Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Sylphide OS: a general-purpose OS for microcontroller-based computers”

  10. It is almost unbelievably tiny, it is fast, and it is self-hosting.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  11. there was always a working compiler and system, not a mere theory

    Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “The Origins of Scala (2009)”

  12. Very cool, and I know what I'm going to do w/ my son's old rPi3

    Recommends · Jun 2026 · in “FreeOberon – Open-Source, Cross-Platform, Free Pascal/Turbo Pascal-Like Language”

  13. It's refreshing to see Oberon getting some love on the Pi.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  14. is beautiful for the power it hides behind its simplicity

    Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “Show HN: A Project Oberon System version running on RISC-V instead of RISC-5”

  15. Both are very valuable for studying and experimenting.

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Oberon et al., vs. Rust”

  16. Oberon System 3 works on Raspberry Pi

    Recommends · Jun 2026 · in “FreeOberon – Open-Source, Cross-Platform, Free Pascal/Turbo Pascal-Like Language”

  17. Oberon is absolutely a horrible language. It's an example of how you can screw up a good language by insisting on things that were important in 1960-s.

    Criticizes · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  18. I see the several revisions of Oberon-07 as an entertaining exercise in minimalism, which fails to understand the industry.

    Criticizes · Nov 2025 · in “The Origins of Scala (2009)”

  19. I still only remember Oberon as that even bigger failure than Modula

    Criticizes · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  20. were not properly integrated in the language concepts

    Criticizes · Dec 2025 · in “Oberon et al., vs. Rust”

  21. Oberon is absolutely a horrible language.

    Criticizes · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  22. Oberon was an academic trinket.

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Bun's experimental Rust rewrite hits 99.8% test compatibility on Linux x64 glibc”

  23. This is great, especially being System 3, given the nice user experience Oberon eventually morphed into.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  24. Niklaus Wirth showed us a way out of the teletype world with the Oberon text/command interface

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Programmers and software developers lost the plot on naming their tools”

  25. One I liked it if you clicked on the scrollbar then it would scroll position to the top.

    Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “Ask HN: In your experience, what are sound conventions for e-ink UI development?”

  26. Wirth's work that eventually resulted in the Pascal→Modula→Oberon progression is better

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “A Compiler Writing Journey”

  27. The language design makes sense in the context of Oberon (1987), and Limbo (1995).

    Mixed · May 2026 · in “Migrating from Go to Rust”

  28. This is great! I remember running System 3 on a 386 back when MS-DOS was king.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  29. you should take a look at Wirth's Oberon language and operating system

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “OOP: The worst thing that happened to programming”

  30. Technically yes, but since Apple locked down their OS completely

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  31. Oh, this is something I'm going to have to try. Excellent work!

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  32. the documentation is sixteen pages --- seems like a perfect fit

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Modern Object Pascal Introduction for Programmers”

  33. they are always in the service of making code easier to read

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  34. A more in-depth look for folks with some comp-sci knowledge

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  35. Surprised no one has mentioned Oberon in this discussion

    Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Wirth's Revenge”

  36. If you are looking for something more modern, go to

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  37. So good to see Oberon this accessible! Mad props!

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  38. Go fits well close to Oberon released in 1987

    Mixed · May 2026 · in “Reverting the incremental GC in Python 3.14 and 3.15”

  39. Thanks to your work, that's about to change.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

  40. It really is a pretty exciting project

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Show HN: Oberon System 3 runs natively on Raspberry Pi 3 (with ready SD card)”

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