Dimensional Data

Cryptography is the study of secure communications techniques that allow only the sender and intended recipient of a message to view its contents. Public Key Encryption or Asymmetric cryptography is widely used cryptography which use different keys for encryption and decryption. Receiver needs to publish an encryption key, referred to as his public key which used for encrypt a message but that encrypted message can only be decrypted with the receiver’s private key. Some assurance of the authenticity of a public key is needed in this scheme to avoid spoofing by adversary as the receiver. Generally, this type of cryptosystem involves trusted third party which certifies that a particular public key belongs to a specific person or entity only(Digital Signature). The popular schemes used for Asymmetric cryptography were RSA, ElGamal, ECC. Though these schemes helps to secure your information, doesn’t solves data integrity which can leads to active threat. Security mechanism such as Cryptographic Hash functions are used to tackle the active modification threats. A Cryptographic Hash is fixed size thumbprint that uniquely identifies an arbitrary input irrespective of input size which can be generated from Hash Algorithm. e.g) SHA-256 is a 256-bit thumbprint. CryptoCurrency: The Idea predates BitCoin as electronic cash, an alternative virtual, eletronic currency, that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. BitCoin: Designed by pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. Originally described in 2008 paper “bitcoin: A peer to Peer Eectronic cash system” and released an open source in 2009. It is the first decentralized peer-to-peer payment network that is powered by its users with no central authority or middlemen. Nobody owns the Bitcoin network much like no one owns the technology behind email. Bitcoin is controlled by all Bitcoin users around the world. The Bitcoin network is sharing a public ledger called the “block chain”. This ledger contains records called blocks that is used to record transactions across many computers so that any involved block cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all subsequent blocks. Transaction unit is in Satoshi = 0.00000001 BTC. An Individual uses a wallet to access thier BTC- the digital credentials to transfer bitcoins. The authenticity of each transaction is protected by digital signatures corresponding to the sending addresses, allowing all users to have full control over sending bitcoins from their own Bitcoin addresses. Anyone can process transactions using the computing power of specialized hardware and earn a reward in bitcoins for this service. This is often called “mining“. Mining: Is a distributed consensus system that is used to confirm pending transactions by including them in the block chain. Mining is the mechanism that allows the blockchain to be a decentralized security. It secures the bitcoin system and enable a system without a central authority.  It is the process of finding a nonce (number used once – unique number) that generates a SHA-256 hash meeting the current difficulty target. Every 2016 blocks 14 days at 10 min/block, the difficulty target is adjusted based on network’s recent performance. Mining Proof of Work : Miners validate new transactions and record them on the global ledger ( blockchain ). On average, a block ( the structure containing transations ) is mined every 10 minutes. Miners compete to solve a difficult mathematical problem based on a cryptographic hash algorithm. The solution found is called the Proof-Of-Work.  Blockchain : When there is […]

Developer Ansgar Becker created HeidiSQL as lightweight open source database management tool which supports MariaDB, MySQL, MS SQL, PostgreSQL and SQLite. It makes use of Delphi’s native VCL styles very effectively to provide a nice looking interface which the developer can customize for their preference. Some of it’s powerful features include connecting via SSH tunnel, creating and editing tables, views, stored procedures, triggers, and more. Additionally it generates nice SQL exports, export directly from one server to another, managers user privileges, imports text files, and exports table rows to CSV, HTML, XML, SQL, LaTeX, Wiki Markup and PHP Array. Plus many more features. An impressive software built in Delphi to be sure and weighing in at only 11.9 megabytes! Website https://www.heidisql.com/ Github Project https://github.com/HeidiSQL/HeidiSQL Screenshot Gallery

The absolutely quickest way to get started with Linux deployment from Delphi is to use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). As of Windows 10 Version 2004 (Build 19041) WSL2 includes a full Linux kernel, so debugging and everything works as expected. Install WSL2 (You can verify your build number via the System Information applet, but Build 19041 has been available for a while now.) Control Panel Programs Turn Windows features on or off Windows Subsystem for Linux Reboot Install Ubuntu via the Microsoft Store – Ubuntu without version # is the current LTS version and will update in the future. There are other distributions (Kali, Pegwin, Alpine WSL, etc.), but they are all a little different. Launch Ubuntu – Via the Start Menu or from a PowerShell/Terminal/CLI window with the WSL or Ubuntu commands. If you have more than one Linux installed then WSL launches the default one. The first time you launch it be aware it will take a few minutes, and then prompt you for new Linux credentials. Run SetupUbuntu4Delphi21.sh – I made a script on gist that does all the setup for Ubuntu to get it ready to target from Delphi. You can use wget to download it or you can type the commands manually. It creates a script file called pa21.sh in your home folder to quickly launch PAServer. You can modify it to pass default configuration settings. #!/bin/bash echo Updating the local package directory sudo apt update echo Upgrade any outdated pacakges sudo apt full-upgrade -y echo Intall new packages necessary for Delphi sudo apt install joe wget p7zip-full curl openssh-server build-essential zlib1g-dev libcurl4-gnutls-dev libncurses5 xorg libgl1-mesa-dev libosmesa-dev libgtk-3-bin -y echo Clean-up unused packages sudo apt autoremove -y cd ~ echo Downloading LinuxPAServer for Sydney 10.4 (21.0) Update 1 wget https://altd.embarcadero.com/releases/studio/21.0/1/PAServer/LinuxPAServer21.0.tar.gz echo Setting up directories to extract PA Server into mkdir PAServer mkdir PAServer/21.0 tar xvf LinuxPAServer21.0.tar.gz -C PAServer/21.0 –strip-components=1 rm LinuxPAServer21.0.tar.gz echo #!/bin/bash >pa21.sh echo ~/PAServer/21.0/paserver >>pa21.sh chmod +x pa21.sh echo ———————————– echo To launch PAServer type ~/pa21.sh echo ———————————– ~/pa21.sh 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 #!/bin/bash echo Updating the local package directory sudo apt update echo Upgrade any outdated pacakges sudo apt full–upgrade –y echo Intall new packages necessary for Delphi sudo apt install joe wget p7zip–full curl openssh–server build–essential zlib1g–dev libcurl4–gnutls–dev libncurses5 xorg libgl1–mesa–dev libosmesa–dev libgtk–3–bin –y echo Clean–up unused packages sudo apt autoremove –y cd ~ echo Downloading LinuxPAServer for Sydney 10.4 (21.0) Update 1 wget https://altd.embarcadero.com/releases/studio/21.0/1/PAServer/LinuxPAServer21.0.tar.gz echo Setting up directories to extract PA Server into mkdir PAServer mkdir PAServer/21.0 tar xvf LinuxPAServer21.0.tar.gz –C PAServer/21.0 —strip–components=1 rm LinuxPAServer21.0.tar.gz echo #!/bin/bash >pa21.sh echo ~/PAServer/21.0/paserver >>pa21.sh chmod +x pa21.sh echo —————————————————– echo To launch PAServer type ~/pa21.sh echo —————————————————– ~/pa21.sh Install FMXLinux from GetIt Run the broadwayd server – You should already have paserver running (the script above launched it), so you will probably want a new Ubuntu terminal window where you can launch broadwayd. I like using the new Windows Terminal since it makes it easy to open multiple tabs, and WSL integrates with it nicely. Import Linux SDK in Delphi IDE – Tools > Options > Deployment > SDK Manager – The IP address for the PAServer instance is localhost / […]

In this video, you will learn how to implement a simple “Unit Testing” on your Application. With this simple approach, you can check if the result is matching your expectations,  “Assert” values inside routines, and interact with GUI and non-GUI elements; using a simple loop you can generate several “users’ inputs”, to avoid any future problems on your code simulating all possible scenarios. Using this native tool, you will save a lot of time that was being wasted on simulating a user on your application, increasing the time you spend coding, providing better use of time on your daily. To implement it you just need to add a new project “Unit Testing” on you group project and map all the elements you want to test, after that just write functions that call these elements inserting values and performing operations, instead of compiling it and insert values manually, lets the code do it for you. Check this out!

Mitov Software is specialized in the development of high-performance software and Data Flow solutions for Delphi and C++Builder, VCL, and FireMonkey involving:  Video Processing  Audio Processing  Digital Signal Processing  Real-Time Data Acquisition  Communications  Process Control  Computer Vision  Artificial Intelligence  Data Visualization  Visual Instrumentation  Parallel and Grid Computing  Hardware Control In this webinar, you can find out how to utilize Mitov Softwares and Arduino controlling/communication with Delphi. Furthermore, you can learn how to program your Arduino boards with a visual programming environment called Visuino. Visuino is the latest innovative software from Mitov Software. Currently, it supports the official Arduino boards, Raspberry Pi, Teensy, Femto IO, ESP8266, ESP32, Controllino, Goldilocks Analogue, FreeSoC2, chipKIT, micro:bit, Maple Mini, and a number of Arduino clones Features of the Visuino: Drag and drop ready to use components for controlling common Arduino sensors and modules Easy to use multichannel serial communication Automatic configuration of the pins of all standard Arduino boards Built-in Scope, and instrumentation panel for visualization of the received data from the sensors. Be sure to watch the entire session where you can find out how Arduino boards are used in many places and learn more Mitov Software here!

Serial Communications is a core communication between PC and peripheral devices Such as a programmable instrument or another computer. Do you feel challenged or tired in writing code to communicate with serial devices from your Delphi/C++ applications?  How about Siemens protocols such as 3964 and 3964R?  Don’t worry,  WINSOFT offers us easy and robust components to do the job with better user control. Features: Communication with devices connected to a serial port or using a virtual serial port. Easy way to control your device communication. Offers a wide range of communication properties and flow control options. Flexible to open, close, read-write events to a log file. Uses multithreaded and overlapping for maximum performance. On/Off color indication for associated com signal control. Can Send and Receive data using 3964/3964R communication protocols. Versions Supported: Delphi 5 – Delphi 10.4/C++ and Lazarus 2.0.10 Platforms: Windows; Installation Steps: Prerequisites: Ensure 10.4 MB minimum free space available in the system. Download Protsuite Setup and Right-click Open. Read the Information Window about features, installation, and copyright. Click Next. Browse for the custom destination folder to install and click Next. Browse for the custom Start Menu folder and click Next. You can ignore creating by clicking the checkbox Don’t create a Start Menu folder option. Review your folder settings and click Install. You can click Back to change your folder settings. Once Installation Progress is done click Finish. Ensure the Communication Protocol Suite files are shown in the chosen Start Menu Folder by clicking Windows Start Menu. Installation Steps Demo: ProtSuite Installation Demo [adinserter block=”2″] Key Serial Communication concepts: RS232 Serial Communications is a communication of bits that sends and receives data between PC ( Data Terminal Equipment DTE) to remote Device or another PC (Data Communications Equipment DCE). Request To Send (RTS) Outgoing flow control signal controlled by DTE. Clear To Send (CTS) Incoming flow control signal controlled by DCE. Data Set Ready (DSR) Incoming handshaking signal controlled by DCE. Data Terminal Ready (DTR) Outgoing handshaking signal controlled by DTE.Carrier Detect (CD) Incoming signal from a modem. Ring Indicator (RI) Incoming signal from a modem. More details: Serial Intro. How to build applications using ProtSuite components: 1. Open Rad Studio 10.4.1 and Create a Windows VCL Application. Navigate to Components bar -> System. Check the ProtSuite Components installed as shown.  2. Drag and Drop the TComPort,TComSignal, and TProt3964R component or by adding Comport, Comsignal, Prot3964R.pas into your unit and create these components by code. TComPort: Enables to communicate with devices connected to serial port. TComport Properties BaudRate: At which communication device operates. BufferSizes: Device internal Input/Outbuffer size in bytes: Characters: Special Communication characters. Databits: Number of bits in bytes transmitted and received. DeviceName: Communication Device name. FlowControl: Specifies DTS,RTS and XOn/XOff flow control LogFile: Open, Close, read, write operations, and communication events are written to a log file. ModemStatus: To determine modem status OnCTSChange, OnDSRChange, OnRLSDChange Events. Parity: Parity scheme used by communication e.g) even, odd, etc ThreadPriority: Priority of communication thread. Timeouts: Communication Timeouts in milliseconds. 3. Retrieve comport devices in PC. ComPort.EnumComDevicesFromRegistry(ComboBoxDeviceName.Items); // tstrings parama lists comport devices. 4. Shows Comport Config Dialog. ComPort.ConfigDialog;// A dialog to preconfigure device settings like baud rate etc. 5. Shows the Device info by Device Name. <br /> var<br /> DeviceInfo: TDeviceInfo;<br /> Info: string;<br /> begin<br /> if ComPort.DeviceInfo(ComPort.DeviceName, […]

Broken Games is a small, ambitious independent game development company based in Berlin, Germany. Their flagship game, Rise of Legions, is a multiplayer RPG available for the Windows platform. Co-founders Tobias and Martin focus on bringing people together through game playing with games that easily accessible to new gamers but provide sufficient challenges and depth for hardcore audiences. When founders Martin Lange and Tobias Tenbusch started their independent game company, they searched for a development environment and programming language with high performance, fast compile times, and superior code readability and maintenance. They found their answer with Delphi®. Case Study https://www.embarcadero.com/case-study/broken-games-case-study Company Website http://www.brokengames.de/ Game Website https://riseoflegions.com/ (on Steam) Screenshot Gallery

In this CodeRage session, you can find out how to do these tasks: Overview of OpenXml files Getting the file properties Creating a simple Word file Creating a complex Word file XML files are ZIP files with a special format. If we open a file, for example, a Word document file with the help of a Zip Manager, you can see that file is really a zip file with an XML file in it. In the XML files, you can find out styles, fonts, and other settings of the Word file itself. So how we can manage and process these files with the help of our Delphi application then? This is so easy for us because we have great Delphi that has the TZipFile & the TZipHeader classes. Moreover, to read XML files and iterating over XML nodes you can use the TXMLDocument and IXMLNode interface to fetch node element, node data, and node text. Be sure to watch the session to learn more about the opening XML files and creating Word files!