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A control or component is a user interface (UI) element that displays content or enables interaction. Components are the building blocks of the user interface. A ‘pattern’ is a recipe for combining several controls to make something new. This article gives a guide for Windows UI development and design guidance for better UI development with modern Windows UI toolkits. The Delphi VCL and FMX frameworks have dozens of built-in controls for you to use, ranging from various simple buttons to powerful data components like the list view grid view. Moreover, the form designer and the LiveBindings designer in RAD Studio provide a great environment to create a bold, scalable UI that looks great on all devices and screen sizes. Delphi VCL & FMX Delphi’s RAD Studio IDE offers a WYSIWYG design experience with drag-and-drop components for visual GUI design. Let’s suppose you choose the FireMonkey (FMX) framework for building GUI apps? In that case, the designed GUI can be viewed using native Android, iOS, Windows, macOS styling, or custom styles and can simulate app appearances within mobile devices of varying screen sizes. But we have another library called Visual Component Library that creates actual native Windows-based applications with direct access to the hardware. You can benefit from pure native device hardware performance.  Delphi’s VCL has been in active development for more than two and a half decades. At least one application in your Windows device is built with Delphi and Visual Component Library. For instance, KMPlayer, WinRAR, MySQL Admin Tools, AIMP, BurnAware, Dev-C++, EarMaster, FL Studio, Nero Burning Rom, Ultra ISO, Total Commander, TeamSpeak, Hamachi (Gamers know it well), Age of Wonders, and many more applications.  Applications built with Delphi VCL give an authentic, native experience with high performance. The VCL includes a robust OpenTools API and component model making it easy for others to extend the IDE and build reusable components and libraries. That’s why you can see a massive pool of 3rd party component markets. This creates a robust environment for developers to make any application. Microsoft Windows has several design systems that you can follow to create GUI apps. For example, Windows Classic Design, Luna and Aero designs, Microsoft Metro, and the latest and most loved one is the Microsoft Fluent Design System. Fluent Design is used as a guideline for all Windows 10/11 devices, and transition to Fluent is a gradual long-term project. The Fluent Design System preserves the clean look and feels with blurred translucency. With Delphi VCL, you can turn your Windows Classic applications into Fluent Design using styles. Furthermore, it can alter any part of the UI element to something unique. Delphi VCL and FMX components can also be resized and have their properties adjusted in the Object Inspector without touching code, allowing rapid prototyping through visual development. Windows UI or just WinUI is Microsoft Windows’ native layer. Most of the new Windows development tools are utilizing it to create an environment to build desktop apps with their technologies. WinUI contains controls and fluent design systems that designers and developers need to develop Windows applications. WinUI is the latest GUI framework such as WinForms, WPF, and UWP. We can say that WinUI has improved over the years and got all the experiences from other frameworks like UWP XAML apps. For instance, WinUI 2 contains […]

Delphi and C++ developers have a wide spectrum of available tools to help build solutions for their companies and customers. Beyond just the compiler, IDE, components and libraries, Embarcadero and Idera provide tools you can leverage to get the development done faster and with higher quality. Here is a quick rundown of all of the tools. Developer Tools Delphi and C++Builder (Professional, Enterprise, Architect and Community editions) allow developers to rapidly build multi-platform high-performance native code applications using the Visual Component Library (VCL) controls for Windows 11 and FireMonkey (FMX) components to develop single source projects for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux. Developers can also use components that work with SQL and NoSQL databases, cloud services and broad IoT connectivity. Delphi and C++Builder are supported by a global ecosystem of component and library vendors, consultants, trainers and book authors. InterBase is an ultrafast, scalable, embeddable SQL database with commercial-grade data security, disaster recovery, and change synchronization. InterBase can be used by developers in four editions: IBLite – Cross-platform, zero-install, embedded database as a direct-access library; InterBase ToGo – Cross-platform, zero-install, embedded database with database-level and column-level AES and DES encryption; InterBase Desktop – Concurrent applications/client access to the database on Windows with database-level and column-level AES and DES encryption; InterBase Server – Ultrafast, scalable, SQL server database for Windows and Linux with commercial-grade data security, disaster recovery and change synchronization. ApiLayer provides more than 60 off-the-shelf, cloud-based APIs to help developers integrate with services including AI & machine learning, computer vision, social media, FinTech, messaging, security, text processing and more. UltraEdit includes a suite of text editing tools for Windows, Mac and LINUX users. Editors are included that support HTML, XML, CSS, Markdown, Unix shell scripts, Hex, text and more. Froala Editor is a lightweight WYSIWYG HTML Editor written in Javascript that enables rich text editing capabilities for your applications. Visual LANSA is a low-code, rapid application development mobile, web, and cloud developers Sencha Ext JS includes an IDE, JavaScript framework and components for building data-intensive, cross-platform web and mobile applications. Whole Tomato Visual Assist integrates with Visual Studio to add functionality for navigation, refactoring, code generation, debugging, and more. FusionCharts includes JavaScript Charting Components that offer 100+ interactive charts and 2,000+ data-driven maps for web and mobile projects. Filestack’s APIs enables developers to build automated content processing and analysis via atech stack for uploading, transforming, understanding, and delivering content within applications and interfaces. Yellowfin’s business intelligence and analytics platform provides action based dashboards, automated data discovery, data storytelling and reports via Javascript and WebServices APIs. DevOps Tools TestRail by Gurock is a comprehensive web-based test case management tool that allows users to efficiently manage, track, and organize software testing efforts to boost testing productivity and increase the speed and soundness of software development. Ranorex Studio provides all-in-one test automation across devices, platforms, and technologies. Automation experts can use the product’s powerful test automation API, while its tools for codeless test creation empower testers to grow their automation skills. All members of cross-functional teams can collaborate on solutions by sharing reusable test automation modules. Travis CI is a continuous integration platform for building and testing software applications. Travis CI integrates with most other tools in the software development lifecycle, making the platform extremely popular with developers and highly complementary […]

At Softacom, as a software company specializing in mobile and Windows app development using Delphi, we often integrate clients’ software with 3rd party services using API. In this article we show you how to automatically create posts on Facebook from your Delphi apps using the Facebook Graph API. Facebook is the world’s most popular social platform used by businesses to communicate with their clients, and not only.The daily amount of information (texts, videos, images, urls) being posted in Facebook business accounts is huge and keeps growing. That’s why big companies often apply software solutions to distribute content effectively and in time.In this article we’ll show you how to automate the process of content posting and updating through Facebook API (namely Facebook Graph API).We’ll develop a Delphi FMX software application to post on a user’s Facebook page.The whole process can be split into the following steps: Create a Facebook app Make the required adjustments in the app Debug and test queries using the built-in Facebook API debugging tool called Graph API Explorer Develop a Delphi Fmx (cross-platform) software application Post some content on a Facebook page To work with Facebook Graph API we’ll use GET, POST and DELETE methods and requests. The server response will be in JSON format. How to create a Facebook application entry To work with Facebook Graph API you first need to sign in with your Facebook account (sign up if you do not have one). Then you need to go https://developers.facebook.com and register as a developer. Then you need to confirm your email address Select the profile type and click “Complete registration”. To start using the Facebook API you need to create a facebook app in My Apps . Select “Company” application type. Next, enter the application name, select its purpose and click Create App. Next enter your Facebook login password Congrats! You’ve just created a Facebook app.  How do I get an access token so I can write my own apps to post to Facebook? Now we need to get a token to access the page and configure the appropriate permissions to start posting. To get the token run Graph API Explorer. The Graph API Explorer will help us get the access token so that we can execute test queries and post to the page ( Softacom’s test page). To work with the Facebook app select it from the drop-down lis. To get the token to access the page, choose Get Page Access Token from the User or Page. Next, click Continue Select the page you need and save the ID for further posting: Both options have to be turned on. In our case Softacom. Click Further. The access token has been generated. How do I check my app can use the Facebook Graph API? We can test the Facebook Graph API with the built-in debugging tool “Graph API Explorer”. First, let’s test a GET request to get the profile name and identification number. Select your page (Softacom) Set up special permissions for posting (publish_to_groups, page_manage_posts). Click “Generate Access Token” to generate an access token in order to save the permissions settings. Permissions are saved successfully and a new access token has been generated. Now select your page from the list Send the GET request to get the page name and ID to ensure the […]

Right now, we’re facing one of the most challenging times in IT. Enterprises are looking to accelerate improvements to keep up with rapidly changing market conditions. Hence, impacting the role of IT and piling more pressure on developers to deliver more business solutions, albeit in shorter time frames and with limited budgets. In this case, we must strive to increase efficiency and productivity. For many of us, this means leveraging the right tools. In this article, we’ll show you why using IDE software matches today’s industry needs.  Let’s dive right in. 1. How can I improve code readability using IDE software? Code readability is one of the most important fundamentals in software development. However, many developers, both new and experienced, struggle to write readable code. Great code readability means easy code maintenance. This is particularly true for teams, where the person writing the code is often different from to the person maintaining the code.  With that being said, IDE software takes the load off you, allowing you to focus on the actual code rather than its readability. Using an IDE, you can incorporate language-specific styling tools to improve readability. Generally, IDEs can recognize keywords and symbols in your code then color codes or formats (bold or italics) for better readability.  2. How can I increase productivity using IDE software? During the software development process, developers leverage various tools- text editors, compilers, and debugging tools. Without IDEs, you have to incorporate, deploy and monitor each tool separately, which can end up being time-consuming and error-prone.  An Integrated Development Environment is a software technology that combines common development tools such as a specialized text editor, a compiler to convert the code into something usable by an end-user, a debugger to find mistakes or unplanned behavior in the program – and several other related tools, into a single framework or user interface. Having the majority of the required tools on the same workbench saves time and ultimately increases developer productivity. This is because you can direct the time and effort needed to learn and use each tool individually into useful work. This can also be seen as a great onboarding tool for new developers looking to understand a team’s architecture.  With IDEs, you can also take advantage of features like intelligent code completion and automatic code creation to minimize code or typo errors. Since it recognizes the programming language you’re working in, an IDE can suggest useful completions which saves the developer from remembering the nuances of a particular function’s arguments and parameters or behavior. This can also increase project completion speed as you don’t have to type out every code line yourself. 3. How can I restructure existing code using IDE software? An IDE allows you the luxury of restructuring your code without affecting any elements’ behavior. What does this mean? Software development projects often involve thousands of lines of code and multiple files and folders. Sometimes, this can get too complex or confusing to maintain, and some changes could simplify things. For example, changing file names, moving files to folders, renaming or reassigning variables, breaking down lines of code into different functions, etc.  IDE software makes these processes seamless. Rather than manually renaming elements in different lines of code, you can simply select one element and effect the change on the […]

Increasing technological advances are changing the software development world as we know it, whether that is pure native Windows development or a more blended approach targeting multiple device types. If you don’t keep up there’s a definite nagging doubt that you might get left behind. Organizations and developers alike are beginning to realize how critical development process automation is to the success of any project. By automating build processes, you can speed up application development, free up developers to focus on business-critical solutions, boost productivity, reduce human intervention and errors on repetitive tasks, and ultimately increase ROI.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, many enterprises implement automation the wrong way. For example, in a bid to automate build processes, they may employ the wrong tools that, rather than speed up the process, would slow it down, or even worse, combine too many tools and end up over automating. Practically, no automation effort is without challenges. However, it will definitely live up to all its promises if done correctly. With that in mind, here are a few quick tips to guide your automation process.  How Can You Define Your Automation Strategy? Given automation’s inherent benefits, many organizations are guilty of carelessly employing automation where it seems to make sense, without giving any thought to strategy. Like any IT initiative, to yield rewards, you need to plan for using automation — a robust and well-thought strategy that holds everything in place and prevents mishaps due to lack of foresight.  To drive his point home, senior vice president and business head for cloud, infrastructure, and security services at Infosys likened a “strategy-less” automation journey to embarking on a road trip without a defined destination, a GPS, or a map. You’re not quite sure where your journey ends.  Instead of embarking on a dimensionless automation spree, identify problem areas; small operational areas with business potential, for example, repetitive processes, start from there.  What Is The Right Tool To Manage Your Automation? It takes more than “just technical skills” to successfully manage automation. You need to ensure you’re leveraging tools that will improve operational efficiency and performance. RAD Studio Delphi is the most powerful Object Pascal IDE and component library for single-source multi-platform Native App Development with flexible Cloud services and broad IoT connectivity. It provides modernized VCL controls for Windows 11 and enables FMX development for Windows, Mac, and Mobile. Delphi is your choice for ultrafast Enterprise Strong Development. Enhancements include support for high-DPI and 4K+ screens, extended multi-monitor support, improved Object Inspector, and much more. Delphi is 5x faster for development and deployment across multiple desktops, mobile, cloud, and database platforms, including Windows 11. Successful automation projects require communication and organizational skills. With Delphi’s enhanced Remote Desktop support (for VCL and IDE), you easily collaborate remotely with your team. How Can I Build Automated Security Check-ins? Automation can create an attack surface for vulnerability, as we have seen with recent supply chain attacks. Your pipeline can be compromised in different ways. For example, let’s say you’re running a node.js project and you rely on certain npm packages. If you’re pulling these packages from an online registry, you run the risk of your packages being compromised by malicious code. To avoid this type of attack, you can have a local repository of packages and do a […]

Are you curious to see how your favorite programming language has evolved over time and what other advances it has enabled? Does Delphi put your curly brackets all asunder, or are your skills sharpened on C#? Do you recall the different phones you have owned over the years? Are you an Android phone fan, or fiercely loyal to Apple? What versions of Android and iOS were available when Candy Crush first came out?  All the answers to these questions and more are in the Delphi 27th Anniversary “Information Technology Innovation Timeline”, a huge high-resolution, print-quality PDF spanning the history of Delphi from February 1995, when the first version of Delphi was released as an evolution of Object Pascal, until today and the release of Delphi 11 Alexandria.               Get The Printable PDF Evolution, however, does not happen in a bubble – one technology opens the door for dozens of others to flourish. The app stores, the advent of smartphones and the apps that do so much for us today rely on increasingly faster Internet speeds and 3G, 4G and 5G technologies. In the end all the technology advances work together to shape our interaction with them and with each other. Why We Created The Infographic It was interesting for us to see how Delphi’s evolution over the past 27 years coincided with the evolution of computer languages, browsers, operating systems, and smartphones and other devices. We also added the advent of social media platforms, popular apps and digital currencies to create a colossal map of how information technology has evolved over these past three decades. So What’s In The Infographic? Alongside the evolution of Delphi, the 27th Anniversary “Information Technology Innovation Timeline” also looks at: – The evolution of devices, from the first flip phone, the Motorola StarTAC, released in 1996, to the Google Pixel 6 and iPhone 13. – The evolution of computer languages other than Delphi and Object Pascal, from the early days of Python, Visual Basic and HTML to the latest versions of Java, Swift, C# and C++.               – The advent of new operating systems like iOS and Android, and how they changed the way we interact with the world by putting millions of apps in our pockets. – The evolution of browsers like Chrome and Edge, and the advent of social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. Celebrating The Evolution of Information Technology Delphi’s 27th Anniversary “Information Technology Innovation Timeline” is a celebration of the relentless march of innovation and Delphi’s indelible place in it. Download and explore the print-quality PDF here: Get The Printable PDF Joy shared is joy squared! Copy and share the link to the download page with your friends. Here it is: https://tinyurl.com/mr2e9wtk Enjoy! The Embarcadero Team

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My first Pascal, Turbo Pascal and Delphi Experiences I wrote my first Pascal program in 1972 as a Computer Science student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I knew from the beginning that Pascal would be part of my future career in some way. I first met Philippe Kahn at the Comdex Las Vegas 1983 convention when he stopped our Softsel Computer Products (now Merisel) booth. Back then I was running the evaluation, support and training department for this leading software distributor. After talking for awhile about programming, Phillippe gave me Turbo Pascal v1 CPM/80 8 inch and PCDos 5.25 inch floppy disks. I put the PCDos version into my PC and wrote a small program, compiled and ran it. I knew right then that this was a very special developer tool. Then in June of 1985 I had the honor to join Borland in Scotts Valley where I spent 31 years focused on developer tools and developer relations. I was so lucky to be able to participate in the growth of programming and the evolution of what is now Delphi. When I try to describe Delphi to other programmers, they don’t believe that you can use one language, compiler, tools, IDE, components, libraries and frameworks to build cutting edge desktop, mobile, server, cloud, service and many other types of applications. At the Delphi v1 launch in San Francisco during the Software Development Conference, our Borland booth was loaded with excited developers (as the picture at the top of this post shows). On that Valentine’s Day evening, the team introduced Delphi to a packed ballroom. You can view the “Historical Documents” used that night to experience what took place (except for the joy, cheers and thrills). You can also download the original Delphi 1 launch script and project files. Delphi Today Even though I am a semi-retired software engineer and full time developer cheerleader, I continue to read and write code every day using Delphi and C++Builder. I still can’t believe that it’s been 50 years since I wrote my first Pascal program. It’s a privilege to be part of the thriving Delphi developer community. I am always amazed to see what Delphi developers are building and how they are pushing the envelop in software development. What is Delphi? It’s the original Pascal language + modern language extensions + objects + components + interfaces + libraries + frameworks + compilers for multiple platforms + an extensible IDE + a  tools and components ecosystem, a global developer community and a whole lot more. How can Delphi continue to build the future and continue to help make the world a better place? A few simple observations: leverage all of the tools that Embarcadero and Idera provide, keep suggesting new features for Delphi (and provide use cases for each one), report all bugs in Quality Central, write some program code every day, try to build new types of applications, explore new components, check out new APIs and learn from what is happening with other programming languages, IDEs, and platforms. Here’s a challenge: think about building applications that bring people together instead of keeping them apart. A Cornucopia of Tools To Leverage Delphi developers have a wide spectrum of available tools to help build solutions for their companies and customers. Beyond just the compiler, […]

Reading is an essential skill for Windows application development. Development is a nebulous and constantly expanding subject and I’ve noticed that the most successful coders, project managers and designers are often readers with a voracious appetite for consuming books on everything they possibly can to keep feeding a hunger for knowledge. Unlike a waistline, expanding your mind is rarely seen as a negative attribute and over-indulging produces nothing but good results! Learning a new programming language can be a hard task, but if you get hold of a good book, spend time, and have the commitment, then learning becomes easier and delightful. Practice and self-tuition is important but books and videos help use the benefits of other’s experiences to enrich our own without the pain of getting it wrong and spending years acquiring the knowledge. Technology is in constant growth and could be considered a fast-paced competitive market. Every day new frameworks and tools are created, and it is easy to get lost in the sea of new information. Because of this speed, many rely on quick tutorials which lead from point A to point B without figuring out the way yourself. That is why it is essential to read coding books that explain every single detail that helps to build a true foundation. Windows operating system has been dominating the desktop software world and with the new version of Windows 11 with an elegant user interface, we are seeing new Windows 10 and 11 supported applications in the Microsoft Store. If you would like to find out which books and resources would help you to start your Windows desktop app development career, keep on reading! You will find the best 6 books about IDE tools for Windows 10 and even you can you these tools to create native and cross-platform applications. 1. Object Pascal Handbook for Delphi.4 (The New Edition) The Object Pascal Handbook for Delphi 10.4 is the complete guide to the programming language of Delphi. Why Delphi? Because with Delphi you can create cross-platform native applications easily and the programming language syntax is also suitable for everyone, it is like writing a poem in English. If you would like to know more about why you need to choose Delphi, check out these articles now! If you would like to know more about why you need to choose Delphi, check out these articles now! This book is written by Marco Cantu, who is well known Delphi guru and author of dozens of Delphi books, and he is one of the Product Managers for RAD Studio at Embarcadero Technologies where Delphi is evolving. With this book, you can get all the foundations of the language and give you a full idea about the Delphi programming language which you will utilize to create native Windows applications. Link: https://www.marcocantu.com/objectpascalhandbook/ 2. Coding in Delphi Coding in Delphi is a programming book by Nick Hodges that covers a variety of powerful Delphi programming features and techniques including: Generics Interfaces Exception handling Anonymous methods Collections RTTI Enumerations Attributes Dependency Injection Unit Testing By learning these features of the programming language, you can write efficient code and make things faster and more reliable. Moreover, these technologies help you grow as an engineer. Link: https://leanpub.com/codingindelphi 3. Expert Delphi: Robust and fast cross-platform application development This book […]

Hello C++ and Delphi Developers, Today we have some great article picks about the MetaVerse. The Metaverse is a digital world software combined with data that allows users to simulate and experiment with elements of real life blended with a virtual life. These digital worlds can be built in 3D and can be experienced by the user in an immersive first-person view which makes the user feel like they inhabit that virtual digital world. If you want to develop a metaverse in 3D then I believe C++/Delphi are the only viable choices. Both allow you to develop multi-device apps that control all the things you need in your device with the highest possible efficiency and speed. Here below we’ve gathered together a great collection of posts that can help you to build your own Metaverse in C++. Of course, some people believe that the ‘real world’ itself is actually a simulation. We’re going to take a gamble and carry on believing it’s not and keep posting here for you while we sip on our cup of Soylent Green. 😄 What can C++ Builder do for The Metaverse? C++ Builder has a powerful IDE that can be used to develop Metaverse apps with 2D or 3D environments. With its strong capability on the sensor devices such as camera, accelerometer, motion sensors, gyroscope, voice input, and similar professional applications C++ Builder and Delphi both make this easy. LearnCPlusPlus.org is packed full of great articles for professionals and beginners alike. The posts vary from articles suitable for people who are just starting to learn C++ – basics like string handling, pointers, loops, and all those fundamental building blocks of this rich and powerful programming language – to much more in-depth and advanced subjects like artificial neural networks and AI, along with the math behind it. Our focus is on the C++ language, particularly modern C++, and will work with almost any environment and IDE software you can choose although, of course, we believe RAD Studio C++ Builder is the best option! If you are new to RAD Studio, we think these posts may help you as much as a rapid introduction to programming in C++, all the way to the most robust, modern, and latest techniques for those more experienced with the language. For those who are perhaps wanting to expand their knowledge with the most up-to-date features, routines, and methodologies this is a great little boost (pun intended) to your C++ knowledge. The new RAD Studio 11, C++ Builder 11, Delphi 11 are released with great new features and we are developing and testing new examples for you with the latest RADS 11 that means.LearnCPlusPlus.org examples are working well with the latest C++ Builder. You can see more of our C++ posts on this blog by clicking the following dynamic search link: https://blogs.embarcadero.com/?s=C%2B%2B Here are the posts. They focus on C++ but most can be applied in Delphi too: What is The Metaverse and how can we interact with it? These posts are designed to give you more information and to be easy to understand the modern and professional ways that we use in C++. Here are the topics, What Is The Metaverse And What Does It All Mean? How To Make Your Own Metaverse Using C++ How To Make Use Of The Gyroscope Sensor in C++? What Is An Accelerometer And How To […]