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Patients rely on doctors to save their eyesight. Doctors rely on Delphi and InterBase® to show them how. The compelling Laser Focus on Eyecare Case Study illustrates how Delphi and InterBase® work together to create an electronic health record (EHR) and practice management software solution for US-based eyecare software leader ManagementPlus (now part of EyeCareLeaders).             InterBase® is designed for precisely the use cases – data gathering embedded into advanced technology across your business, super-high reliability in situations that have zero tolerance for error, and require zero-admin, independent operation more or less forever. Explore the Case Study

Do Delphi and Election offer testing support? Do they ship with testing libraries, or use external testing libraries? The Delphi and Electron Benchmarking study takes a look at the testing support offered by the two software development frameworks. The “Discovering The Best Cross-Platform Framework Through Benchmarking” whitepaper evaluates two frameworks supporting multi-platform desktop application development: Delphi and Electron. Delphi Delphi, encapsulated in the Rapid Application Development (RAD) Studio IDE, is Embarcadero Technologies’ flagship product. A proprietary version of the Object Pascal language, Delphi features graphical application development with “drag and drop” components, a WYSIWYG viewer for most mobile platforms, and robust style options including platform-standard and unique palettes that provide a fully customized look and feel. Among other features, included libraries provide GUI controls, database access managers, and direct access target platform hardware and platform operating systems. The Delphi FireMonkey (FMX) framework will compile projects to native code for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux, allowing users to develop and maintain one codebase reaching most of the market. Delphi has been available for over 25 years. Electron Electron is an open-source (MIT License), Chromium-based framework that utilizes web technologies to build desktop applications on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is developed and maintained by GitHub, a subsidiary of Microsoft. Electron combines the Chromium-based rendering engine with a Node.js server environment. As such, the user interface for an Electron application is available via HTML5 and CSS. Generally, Electron works with most Javascript frameworks such as Angular, Vue.js, and React. The HTML5, CSS, and Javascript-based technologies found in Chromium provide a rich ecosystem of user customization familiar to any web developer. Despite its relatively young age of five years, its community boasts open source packages for database access, operating system interactions, and other common tasks. 26 Benchmarking Metrics This is the ninth in a 26-part series of blog posts looking more closely at each of the individual metrics used in the study, and how Delphi and Electron each fared on these metrics. The first can be found here. Download the complete whitepaper here Benchmark Category: Functionality Functionality Framework functionality was examined qualitatively through research on the business aspects of each framework ranging from initial investment through long-term maintenance of the products created. Business functionality refers to a framework’s business suitability and impact on long-term plans. Excellent functionality allows companies to easily build custom tools or extensions, develop on a platform of their choosing, protect their source code from exploitation, and have confidence that their applications will be maintainable for decades. Benchmark Metric 10/26: Testing Support Testing Support: Does the framework ship with a testing suite, test coverage analysis, and runtime monitoring capability? Benchmarking Results Delphi Score: 4 (out of 5) Delphi ships with the DUnitX unit testing package but lacks a native integration testing system. Numerous 3rd party unit and integration testing tools are available but may not be free. Electron Score: 4 (out of 5) Electron does not install with a native unit or integration testing package. Open-source projects and libraries are available for both functions. Download the complete whitepaper here

It’s hard to ignore the huge success that Microsoft has had in encouraging users to adopt Windows. Even today with competition from Linux, macOS and even more esoteric device choices such as Chromebooks with their ChromeOS Microsoft Windows is the overwhelmingly dominant choice for both business and home users. Whatever platform you target as a developer, the goal is always the same, creating practical, successful applications. Achieving that in the most optimal way requires carefully picking the best Windows tools for developers. Developers want consistent, proven, reliable tools to create applications. Microsoft has created many different tools and libraries to accomplish all these things. There are currently three paths if you choose the Microsoft stack. These are WPF, WinForms, and UWP.  If you have been following our articles, you might know that there is a benchmark where Embarcadero MVPs and expert developers built a calculator app with different technologies. This benchmark illustrated the average time to complete the assigned task and considered extended metrics such user-friendliness and as a result was also able to consider the general productivity is engendered in the developer. In other words, picking the right development tools and IDE software enhanced the optimal overall productivity of the software developer. In summary, Delphi showed that you could build applications way faster in comparison to Electron and WPF technologies. Moreover, Delphi provides more security in Windows applications and no need for a runtime which greatly enhanced its stability. Check out these articles to learn more about the benchmarks Win32 (Windows API) with Delphi and C++ The Windows API or Win32 API allows applications to use the components of Windows. Win32 API is the best and only choice if you need to achieve the highest performance or efficiency, access native OS features, or target other technologies like DirectX. Why is Win32 API the best choice? Win32 API allows you to achieve the best performance for your app by taking direct control over memory allocation and performance-oriented CPU features like SSE or AVX instructions.  Moreover, you can directly access DirectX technologies for low-level high-performance graphics access.  Delphi’s VCL uses Win32 API and other Windows native libraries to produce an application, and that is why you get a swift product. Since C++ Builder also utilizes VCL, you can achieve that performance if you build your applications with C++ Builder.  Furthermore, Visual Component Library is one of the best libraries to build Windows applications because it is stable, reliable, and up-to-date with new Windows features. Can RAD Studio Delphi and C++Builder create apps 5x faster? Use RAD Studio’s award-winning VCL framework for Windows and FireMonkey (FMX) visual framework to create cross-platform responsive UIs. Use VCL Styles at design time! Prototype stylish UIs even faster by seeing immediately at design-time how your styled forms and controls will look when running. FireMonkey design-time guidelines: Prototype quickly with visible lines and enhanced margin and padding support. Here are our latest tutorials on improving Windows applications in 2022 and a beginner’s guide for Windows UI toolkits. Be sure to check them out and follow us here to learn more about other excellent Windows app development tools! Are you looking for a lightweight but powerful C++ development environment?? Tens of millions know Dev-C++ of developers. It is one of the best-known lightweight ideas in the market. Dev-C++ […]

Embarcadero is pleased to announce the release of RAD Studio 11 Alexandria Release 1, also known as RAD Studio 11.1, along with Delphi 11.1 and C++Builder 11.1.  The RAD Studio 11.1 Alexandria release enhances the great features introduced in RAD Studio 11, with a focus on usability, performance and stability improvements. It also includes some new functionality, including new database drivers. Additionally, the RAD Studio 11.1 release offers official support to operating systems released after 11.0 shipped: Windows 11, macOS 12 Monterey, iOS 15, and Android 12. Delphi also switches to a new debugger technology on some of the platforms. In this blog post, we want to highlight some of the main new features and enhancements in RAD 11.1, covering the most relevant quality updates. IDE Improvements The RAD Studio IDE is the primary focus of the 11.1 release, with the goal of rounding up the features introduced in recent versions: Extensive High DPI IDE quality, plus improved use of the IDE with Remote Desktop  Improvements with High DPI designers for VCL and FireMonkey and the styled VCL form designer The new Welcome Page introduced in 11.0 now offers background images and supports adding custom frames with a new Open Tools API GetIt Library Manager enhancements with cached images and a reworked UI implementation (based on the VCL TControlList component) There are also a few new IDE features: The Messages view uses different colors for compiler errors, messages, and hints to better highlights issues (the colors can be customized) The new Items dialog shows the available platforms for each item The Compile dialog shows the platform and build configuration used by the current compilation Code Insight Across Delphi and C++Builder Another significant quality focus area of RAD Studio 11.1 is Code Insight for both languages, Delphi and C++. The C++ language Code Insight implementation, which is based on the Language Server Protocol architecture and cquery, was improved in terms of quality and performance. This is an area we are actively working on and for which we might release a new focused update soon. The Delphi LSP engine saw big performance improvements, with most projects loading and updating error insight from 5 times to 30 times faster. Other changes include type parameters being shown when completing a class declaration, including T in a generic declaration, and showing set types.  Compilers and Debuggers The Delphi and C++ compilers for the various platforms were improved in terms of stability and performance. The Delphi and C++Builder window compilers have additional support for ASLR, DEP/NX, and TSAWARE platform security settings, which are now enabled by default. The RAD Studio binaries and runtime packages are now built with these settings enabled. Regarding debuggers, beside general quality work, the Delphi macOS 64-bit ARM debugger and the Delphi Android 64-bit debugger are now based on the LLDB debugger architecture, which was already in use for the Delphi iOS 64-bit debugger. The intent is to unify the Delphi debuggers on this technology, for most of the supported platforms, as a way to deliver increasingly better quality over time. Moreover, the C++ STL and RTL improved their quality, including better Delphi RTL integration (for example, improving dynamic arrays with STL iterators). RTL, UI, and Database Libraries In the 11.1 Release the core Delphi RTL had several optimizations and quality improvements. There […]

Delphi RTL (Runtime Library) contains a mighty expression engine, one of the foundations of the LiveBindings architecture but can be utilized as a separate engine for processing expressions. It’s this kind of low-code super-charged feature which makes you really appreciate the powerful performance boost that having decent IDE software can add to your coding experience. The LiveBindings for VCL and FireMonkey Delphi and C++ apps were introduced in RAD Studio XE2. It dramatically improved over the years as the technology matured by offering a progression of increasingly powerful features. The LiveBindings Designer lets you visually create and edit LiveBindings. The LiveBindings Wizard takes you through the steps to develop new LiveBindings expressions and make connections between existing and new components. The PrototypeBindSource provides a data source for generating sample data that you can use to get started when you do not already have data, to begin with, so later you can replace it with a natural data source. What is the Expression Engine? The Expression engine takes string expressions and evaluates them to a value. That value might be a string, an integer, a boolean value, an object, or something else.  String expressions consist of four parts: Literals Operators Properties Methods Methods further divided into method pointers and custom methods.  There are also output converters. The output converters take the expression evaluated by the expressions engine and assign it to a property of a different type.  What are Scopes in the Expression Engine? Another thing is Scope – Scope is an essential concept in expressions with LiveBindings. Scope defines the object or objects that are visible to the expression engine. When an object is in scope, its properties and methods are available in the string expressions.  There is always at least one scope, but there are often two. One is associated with the control component, and the other is related to the source component. Quite often, the control component is known as the output scope. It is the target or the expression engine. In other words, the value of the expression created by the engine is assigned to a property of the component in the output scope or control component.  The source component is often visible to the expression engine in the input expression. The input expression whose value will be assigned to the property of the control and the output expression. The direction can be bi-directional, like from Control Component to Source Component or Source Component to Control Component.  Learn more about here on documentation: Is the future of data access really through data bindings? If you have been following our articles and webinars, you know the price of LiveBindings designer. For instance, you can easily connect to any third-party REST API and show the needed data on the target control without writing code. Even more, you can make interactive and dynamic actions using LiveBindings.  This tutorial will show how to utilize the TControlList component with LiveBindings. The demo app is demonstrated by Alister Christie, one of the best-known Embarcadero Delphi MVPs. Below is a view of a relatively new visual component called TControlList. TControlList visual component is introduced in RAD Studio 10.4.2 version – it is a virtualized list control.  This new control allows the developer to define the contents by designing one of the elements of the list […]

The long-term feasibility profiles of Delphi and Electron licenses are vastly different. This is related to Electron’s short history compared to Delphi’s 27-year evolution, and the difficulty of making reliable predictions about Electron’s future. In the blog post below we take a closer look at the long-term feasibility profiles of Delphi and Electron as part of an extensive benchmarking study. The “Discovering The Best Cross-Platform Framework Through Benchmarking” whitepaper evaluates two frameworks supporting multi-platform desktop application development: Delphi and Electron. Delphi Delphi, encapsulated in the Rapid Application Development (RAD) Studio IDE, is Embarcadero Technologies’ flagship product. A proprietary version of the Object Pascal language, Delphi features graphical application development with “drag and drop” components, a WYSIWYG viewer for most mobile platforms, and robust style options including platform-standard and unique palettes that provide a fully customized look and feel. Among other features, included libraries provide GUI controls, database access managers, and direct access target platform hardware and platform operating systems. The Delphi FireMonkey (FMX) framework will compile projects to native code for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux, allowing users to develop and maintain one codebase reaching most of the market. Delphi has been available for over 25 years. Electron Electron is an open-source (MIT License), Chromium-based framework that utilizes web technologies to build desktop applications on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is developed and maintained by GitHub, a subsidiary of Microsoft. Electron combines the Chromium-based rendering engine with a Node.js server environment. As such, the user interface for an Electron application is available via HTML5 and CSS. Generally, Electron works with most Javascript frameworks such as Angular, Vue.js, and React. The HTML5, CSS, and Javascript-based technologies found in Chromium provide a rich ecosystem of user customization familiar to any web developer. Despite its relatively young age of five years, its community boasts open source packages for database access, operating system interactions, and other common tasks. 26 Benchmarking Metrics This is the eighth in a 26-part series of blog posts looking more closely at each of the individual metrics used in the study, and how Delphi and Electron each fared on these metrics. The first can be found here. Download the complete whitepaper here Benchmark Category: Functionality Functionality Framework functionality was examined qualitatively through research on the business aspects of each framework ranging from initial investment through long-term maintenance of the products created. Business functionality refers to a framework’s business suitability and impact on long-term plans. Excellent functionality allows companies to easily build custom tools or extensions, develop on a platform of their choosing, protect their source code from exploitation, and have confidence that their applications will be maintainable for decades. Benchmark Metric 8/26: Long-Term Feasibility Long-Term Feasibility: Does the framework have a history of stability, backward compatibility between major releases, bug fixes, and security updates? This metric highlights the confidence businesses can enjoy or the strategic risk they may take when choosing a framework. Benchmarking Results Delphi Score: 5 (out of 5) As a proprietary framework, Delphi requires businesses to purchase commercial-use licenses and offers optional annual updates for a fee. For this investment, users gain a stable, backward-compatible and growing framework with dedicated support teams and a 25-year history of success. The Delphi language has been growing, maturing, and expanding since 1995. It’s multi-platform desktop and mobile […]

What development platforms do Delphi and Election support? On this benchmarking metric Electron’s flexibility puts it ahead of Delphi. In the blog post below we take a closer look at the development platforms Delphi and Electron support as part of the broader Benchmarking study and accompanying whitepaper. The “Discovering The Best Cross-Platform Framework Through Benchmarking” whitepaper evaluates two frameworks supporting multi-platform desktop application development: Delphi and Electron. Delphi Delphi, encapsulated in the Rapid Application Development (RAD) Studio IDE, is Embarcadero Technologies’ flagship product. A proprietary version of the Object Pascal language, Delphi features graphical application development with “drag and drop” components, a WYSIWYG viewer for most mobile platforms, and robust style options including platform-standard and unique palettes that provide a fully customized look and feel. Among other features, included libraries provide GUI controls, database access managers, and direct access target platform hardware and platform operating systems. The Delphi FireMonkey (FMX) framework will compile projects to native code for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux, allowing users to develop and maintain one codebase reaching most of the market. Delphi has been available for over 25 years. Electron Electron is an open-source (MIT License), Chromium-based framework that utilizes web technologies to build desktop applications on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is developed and maintained by GitHub, a subsidiary of Microsoft. Electron combines the Chromium-based rendering engine with a Node.js server environment. As such, the user interface for an Electron application is available via HTML5 and CSS. Generally, Electron works with most Javascript frameworks such as Angular, Vue.js, and React. The HTML5, CSS, and Javascript-based technologies found in Chromium provide a rich ecosystem of user customization familiar to any web developer. Despite its relatively young age of five years, its community boasts open source packages for database access, operating system interactions, and other common tasks. 26 Benchmarking Metrics This is the ninth in a 26-part series of blog posts looking more closely at each of the individual metrics used in the study, and how Delphi and Electron each fared on these metrics. The first can be found here. Download the complete whitepaper here Benchmark Category: Functionality Functionality Framework functionality was examined qualitatively through research on the business aspects of each framework ranging from initial investment through long-term maintenance of the products created. Business functionality refers to a framework’s business suitability and impact on long-term plans. Excellent functionality allows companies to easily build custom tools or extensions, develop on a platform of their choosing, protect their source code from exploitation, and have confidence that their applications will be maintainable for decades. Benchmark Metric 9/26: Supported Development Platforms Supported Development Platforms: Can application development occur on any major operating system or does the framework IDE impose limitations? This metric indicates how a framework may hinder a team without homogenous equipment. Benchmarking Results Delphi Score: 2 (out of 5) Delphi can only be developed within RAD Studio on Windows machines. Virtualization solutions such as VMware, Parallels, and Virtual Box with a virtual Windows machine can facilitate Delphi development on other platforms. Electron Score: 5 (out of 5) Electron can be developed on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Download the complete whitepaper here

The primary goal for most application development projects is delivering a working product that solves the problem it’s created for. However, let’s face it, what good is a solution if no-one uses it? That’s why metrics like user growth, engagement, and brand awareness are useful for measuring the success of a project. In other words, to provide the right conditions for your project to be considered successful, you must work to achieve these sub-goals – user growth, engagement, and brand awareness – right from the beginning. This involves choosing the right platform for your application and ultimately using the right tools to build on that platform.   Here is undeniable proof that you need a Windows software maker – something which is optimized for the delivery of professional-quality Windows applications with low code or minimal code with the right combination of developer productivity assistance technology to make your life easier and optimize your time. Ideally, the “right platform” would be one with a large community of users: What better spot to fish than one that’s teeming with fish? the answer is, currently, Microsoft Windows. Since 1985, when Windows 1.0 was released, it has evolved to provide the experience most end-users have come to expect today. The large community of Windows users does seem to underline that it’s still a popular platform despite fierce competition from Linux on the desktop and Apple’s macOS. In the overwhelming majority of corporate customers, it is Windows which is still very much the operating system of choice, especially for ‘regular’ non-technical users.  1.3 Billion Windows 10 Devices According to Microsoft, 1.3 billion devices are running Windows 10. In other words, over 16% of the world’s population uses the Windows 10 operating system. Therefore, building your solution on the Windows platform means you have the potential to reach this number of devices. When Windows 10 was released on July 29, 2015, Microsoft promised to provide a platform where developers can find growing success. For many of us, that means bringing our code to a large reach. Indeed, having a user base of 1.3 billion devices and counting sets them up to make good on their promise. Today, many developers and firms are building on Windows and enjoying great success.  According to Ben Schein, Product Manager at NPR, “Seventy percent of NPR listeners use Windows devices, and we’ve seen a 50-percent increase in their listening time just since Windows 10 came out. And that was before we upgraded our app.” Also, Lois Wang, Senior Product Manager at Box, shared: “By combining the two apps in Windows 10 as a universal Windows app, it decreased our engineering overhead and increased our velocity for future iterations. We’re really excited about this.” Having said all that, it’s evident that building on the Windows platform increases your chances of success. To do so, you need a Windows software maker. Delphi is one of the market-leading rapid application development environments for Windows applications. You can build native and cross-platform applications several times faster than competing methods. Some of its features include: Single Code Base for Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and Linux – Even you can use that logic in web apps using 3rd party tools with Delphi. Cloud aware and a wide range of database components Responsive UI and fast prototyping for mobile […]