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Every day something close to a billion people worldwide use different Windows apps for one reason or another and knowing how to build a Windows app is a valuable skill. Think, for instance, how modern graphic designers use apps for photo editing, illustrations, designing vector graphics and a host of other uses. It’s almost impossible to imagine the millions of businesses around the world not using the many different apps and devices for collaboration, task management, communication, and more. Despite strong competition from Apple and the constant pressure from the Linux community, Windows still thoroughly dominates the desktop. Hence, there is a huge demand for windows app development. Once the preserve of a select few ‘computer geeks’, programming is now much more accessible with software design skills being taught widely to students from a broad range of backgrounds. This greater competition means developers need to find ways to build functional apps faster. But, how to build a windows app quickly with less coding? Using the best native app builder software! If you’re looking for the best native app builder, RAD Studio is what you need. RAD Studio is a powerful IDE (Integrated Development Environment) that offers all the features you need for quick app development. In this article, we’ll discuss how to build a windows app efficiently and quickly. We’ll also show you why RAD Studio is the best apps builder software. What is app builder software and how can we use it to build a Windows app? App builder software provides an easy and efficient way to build apps. The purpose of these tools is to simplify the app development process and enhance the productivity of developers. Different developers use different types of app builders, depending on the development approach. For instance, usually, people with little knowledge of coding use no-code app builders or low-code app development platforms. These platforms come with a drag-and-drop interface, allowing users to drag an icon onto the screen quickly. However, if you want a complete development platform that gives you a comprehensive set of tools required for writing and testing code efficiently, IDEs are best for you. IDEs typically consist of a code editor or text editor, a compiler, and a debugger. The code editor is where developers write and edit the source code. The compiler then translates this code into another programming language that a computer can understand. The debugger is helpful in testing the software. Some efficient IDEs like RAD Studio also offer additional features, such as auto code completion, allowing developers to find references to other resources, comment on lines of code, and many more. Why should you use application builder software? If you’re a developer wondering how to build a windows app faster, an efficient app builder is what you need. App builder software for PC offers several benefits: Speeds up time to market App builders and IDEs help businesses bring their products to market faster. The efficient GUI makes it easy to create an application quickly. Collaboration Efficient app builders like RAD Studio offer collaboration features allowing you to work with your team members on an app. Better Code Quality Developers and engineers test codes to eliminate defects and improve software quality. With a powerful app builder like RAD Studio, you can test your code at any time […]

Did you know that it’s simple to use some truly excellent Python libraries to boost your Delphi app development on Windows?  These libraries are very easy to use and produce wonderful ways to produce graphs and network visualization. Adding Python to your Delphi code toolbox can enhance your app development by bringing in new capabilities that allow you to provide innovative and powerful solutions to your app’s users, combining the best of Python with the supreme low-code and unparalleled power of native Windows development that Delphi provides. Are you looking for how to build a GUI for graph and network visualization library?  You can create, manipulate, and study the structure, dynamics, and functions of complex networks with NetworkX on Delphi. This article will demonstrate how to create a Delphi GUI app dedicated to the NetworkX library. Watch this video by Jim McKeeth for a thorough explanation of why you can love both Delphi and Python at the same time:   Get to know with Embarcadero Python Ecosystem Before we dive in more into the NetworkX4D GUI prototype, let’s get to know first about Embarcadero Python Ecosystem: And here are the Embarcadero Python Ecosystem licenses: Which you can know more about them from the following webinars by Jim McKeeth:   What do we mean by graphs and network visualization? In mathematics, and more specifically in graph theory, a graph is a structure consisting of a set of objects, some of which are “related.” The objects correspond to mathematical abstractions known as vertices (also known as nodes or points), and each pair of related vertices is known as an edge (also called a link or line). A graph is typically represented diagrammatically as a set of dots or circles for the vertices, joined by lines or curves for the edges. Graphs are one of the topics covered by discrete mathematics. Graphs are the fundamental subject of graph theory. J. J. Sylvester coined the term “graph” in this context in 1878, referring to a direct relationship between mathematics and chemical structure (what he called chemico-graphical image). Networks are all around us, and they are extremely important in our lives. Communication networks, social media networks, biological networks, and so on are all examples of networks.   Here are to name of a few examples of graphs and network visualizations: The World’s social networks shown as a network graph A protein interaction network Coauthorship network of 2014 breaking news articles   What is the NetworkX graphs and network visualization Library? NetworkX logo. Image source: networkx.org. NetworkX is a Python package for creating, manipulating, and studying complex networks’ structure, dynamics, and functions. NetworkX provides: tools for studying the structure and dynamics of social, biological, and infrastructure networks; a standard programming interface and graph implementation suitable for a wide range of applications; a rapid development environment for collaborative, multidisciplinary projects; an interface to existing numerical algorithms and code written in C, C++, and FORTRAN; and the ability to work with large nonstandard data sets without difficulty. You can use NetworkX to load and save networks in standard and nonstandard data formats, generate many different types of random and classic networks, analyze network structure, build network models, design new network algorithms, draw networks, and much more.   What are the prerequisites for the NetworkX Library? You will need […]

If you’re a developer who wants to create Windows-based applications, you have many development options. Two such options from Microsoft are WPF and WinForms. It can be confusing to choose the best UI library for your project. In this guide, we’ll compare and contrast the two WPF vs WinForms technologies for Windows application development and show you a better alternative. WPF vs WinForms: What is the WPF Windows Presentation Foundation? Windows Presentation Foundation was presented as a revolutionary new presentation framework for Microsoft Windows that would provide developers with capabilities to create what Microsoft believed to be compelling user experiences. It featured a managed code programming model called WinFX (Windows Framework).  At the time of its release, WPF was an advancement in building desktop applications for developers using previous Microsoft toolchains such as WinForms. It allowed designers to create XAML-based user interfaces which were adopted by the later UWP Windows application development stack. UWP has now been deprecated. While WPF has some advantages, there are some potential downsides to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to use WPF for your development projects. One such downside is that WPF can be more difficult to learn and use than other UI frameworks. WPF also has a relatively steep learning curve, and it can be time-consuming to create custom controls and layouts. Additionally, WPF can be computationally expensive, particularly for complex applications with large amounts of data. How does WPF relate to UWP?  A quick comparison of all the information between the two technologies is listed here:  WPF was launched in 2006 as part of .NET Framework 3.0 while UWP was released in 2015 with Windows 10.  WPF was targeted at the long-prevailing Windows XP OS while UWP was meant for Windows 10 development.   WPF provided support for PC, Notebook, and Tablet while UWP could support PC, Notebook, Tablet, and newer devices including Microsoft Phone, Xbox, IoT, and the Surface Hub.  Application models for WPF included the classic Windows (Win32) application platform, for runtime the .NET framework was available and supported programming languages including C#, VB and F# On the other hand UWP was designed to run on various device types, supported the C# or VB languages, and for runtime it used WinRT.  As far as the UI technology stack is concerned, WPF was built from scratch and had more than 80% managed code. XAML UI is the complete new native UI stack that comes with UWP.  WPF rendering handled the vector graphics UI based on DirectX and UWP offered the same.  Customization was very flexible and powerful for WPF to adapt and restyle UI controls, whereas UWP was familiar to WPF but not that powerful.  With WPF adaptation of control behavior is possible with the .NET API and with UWP the adaptation of control behavior is done with WinRT API.  WPF application distribution has no limitations. It does not depend on an App Store, while UWP only distributes to the Microsoft Store.  The performance of WPF compared to managed code is slower than native code and needs more memory. In the case of UWP, apps written in C# or VB are compiled to .NET Native. This way the app resembles the high-performance of native apps.  In terms of long-term support, WPF is supported as part of the .NET and UWP […]

Here are the slides and links for the “Everything you need to create iOS cross platform apps” webinar presented by Embarcadero MVP Ian Barker and Tech Partner and MVP Serge Pilko on 19th July 2022. When will there be a replay of the “Everything You Need To Create iOS Cross Platform Apps” webinar? The replay will be posted on the Embarcadero social media accounts, and we’ll also update this blog post with a link. It usually takes a day or two for the reply to become available. Links mentioned in the “Create iOS Cross Platform Apps” webinar Official Apple Developer site (to register as a developer and where you need to create the various certificates you’ll need): https://developer.apple.com Read more about the the Firemonkey FMX App Low Code wizard. You can also watch the following RAD Studio Low Code App Wizard video mentioned in the webinar Here is a recent article on “how to build iOS apps without a Mac“: How To Build iOS Apps Without A Mac Copies of the Create iOS Cross Platform Apps webinar slides More information on the PAServer application: https://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/Sydney/en/PAServer,_the_Platform_Assistant_Server_Application After adding iOS as a platform to the project – right click and select “edit connection” This is where you enter the details of your Mac which is running PAServer After making the connection, the next step is to synchronize the SDK from the Mac onto the PC and into RAD Server You can blame Ian’s wife for the kitten background! Here’s the simple app running on an iPhone – in Dark mode You can download a free trial copy of RAD Studio Delphi right now and see for yourself how easy it is to create iOS cross platform apps! Reduce development time and get to market faster with RAD Studio, Delphi, or C++Builder. Design. Code. Compile. Deploy. Start Free Trial   Upgrade Today    Free Delphi Community Edition   Free C++Builder Community Edition

To effectively answer how to build iOS apps without a Mac, we first need to know why some form of a Mac is always going to be necessary for a very small part of this process even though we discuss here how you can use a Windows computer to design and program macOS and iOS apps without needing to constantly swap to a Mac. Also, we will read how RAD studio is an excellent app builder software for Mac and iOS apps. RAD Studio is a Windows application, and you can use it to design and code your apps 100% on Windows. The only time you need a Mac is to perform the final compilation. Why do I still need a Mac for creating macOS and iOS apps? Apple have created a situation where only Xcode can be used for building and code-signing iOS apps. Xcode is only available for macOS. Thus, we need a Mac to build iOS apps. Unfortunately, having an up-to-date Mac available for everyone or the whole team is not easy, cost-effective, or maintainable. So, we need a more straightforward solution. Luckily, now there are methods available to either run Xcode without a Mac or use a Mac without owning it. To compare things with Windows, we will briefly study the app-building process on Windows. Why Is Windows the most popular development environment? Windows is the most popular environment for writing Windows software, and there are many reasons for this popularity. For example, Windows has a greater ecosystem, cheaper hardware, a bigger market, countless tools, ease of use, excellent documentation, and a stronger community, to name a few. Moreover, Windows is also a popular choice for developing cross-platform apps. Many tools like Delphi and C++ Builder are available for fast cross-platform development needs. Why develop for mobile devices? While Windows usage is widespread in desktop environments, the story is different in the mobile world. The position of Windows is unsubstantial in the mobile arena, but the web traffic dominance of mobile users [1] (currently 56%) is also increasing compared to desktop. This trend increases developers’ need to build more for the mobile world or cross-platform apps ever. Fortunately, it is easy to develop for mobile with tools like Delphi RAD Studio. Delphi and C++ are among the most popular cross-platform programming languages. For example, suppose you are searching for the best low-code app builder. In that case, you can see how to build iOS apps without a mac for developing a fully functional enterprise-grade restaurant ordering app from a template in Delphi. Two giants, Android and iOS, dominate the mobile market. It is straightforward to develop native mobile apps for iOS and Android. Take a look at how to build iOS apps without a mac to create such Apps quickly and easily. Because Android is more popular, it is easy to understand the importance of an android app builder software. But new developers should also consider iOS development with the best native iOS app builder for the following reasons. Why develop for iOS? Why should one care for iOS development if Android has a 71% market share? [6] Well, there are many solid reasons: No app can reach maximum users until it is available for both iPhone and Android. While the Android market segment size is […]

As a methodology for software development, cross platform applications development has been rapidly gaining traction – and for good reasons too. Putting it simply, cross-platform development means developing software that will work across multiple platforms and types of devices. Unlike traditional frameworks that limit your application to a specific type of device or operating system, cross-platform applications can function almost anywhere, certainly on the most popular and recent equipment. However, we’ve only covered the tip of the iceberg regarding cross-platform app development. So, what are the options? When it comes to cross-platform development frameworks, there are a few options available – yet not all of them are created equal. Some are better suited for certain types of applications than others. In this article, we will take a look at some of the most popular cross-platform development frameworks and see which ones might be the best fit for your project. Single Platform vs. Cross platform applications development – how do they differ? In the world of applications and software development, there are two main types of development frameworks: those that allow you to develop native, vertical, single target applications and those that will enable you to create cross-platform apps which will target multiple devices and operating systems from the same code base. As mentioned above, native vertical single target applications are specific to a particular individual operating system. Namely, they are written in the language and framework “native” to that operating system. Cross-platform applications, on the other hand, are not tied to any one operating system. They can be run on multiple platforms with little or no modification. The code for cross-platform applications is usually written in a language that can be compiled into bytecode or interpreted by a virtual machine. As long as the code can be correctly interpreted and translated into bytecode, any device that has a processor can work with it. This additional layer of interpreter can add a significant overhead in terms of memory and processing speed. Also, the byte code runtime often doesn’t give full access to the device’s sensors and hardware since it is a ‘one size fits all’ approach which compromises on low level accessibility in exchange for ease of development and deployment. However, some cross-platform frameworks are available which do not use this additional interpretative layer but instead compile down into native binaries. One such system is RAD Studio Delphi which allows you to have all the benefits of writing a single set of source code yet produce fully native applications which embrace the full power and range of capabilities of the operating system and hardware of the device on which the apps are running. RAD Studio offers two main development frameworks – VCL, which is aimed at Windows, and FireMonkey FMX. So, which type of development frameworks should you use? Well, there is no 100% correct answer, as it really depends on your needs. If you need to develop an application with RAD Studio that will run on multiple platforms, then a cross-platform framework is definitely the way to go and FireMonkey FMX makes a lot of sense. However, if you definitely only need to build an application for a single platform the VCL Windows native framework might be a good choice as it brings with it some specific benefits for Windows […]