Dimensional Data

The great thing about RAD Studio Delphi is that the Firemonkey framework does a lot of the hard work for you in your mobile apps. Things like integrating with the mobile device’s hardware and sensors are made much less complicated by the power of the components and runtime library. Combine that with your own imagination and you can come up with something wonderful like WarmerKouder by Dutch developer Daan van der Werf. WarmerKouder is powered by Delphi WarmerKouder is based on a very popular traditional Dutch game of the same name. WarmerKouder, or warmer, colder in English, cleverly mixes game play with the real world by integrating with the mobile device’s GPS sensor via the Firemonkey framework. Players can select a challenge and then follow the sound hints to narrow down the final destination. Players are “warmer” if they are getting close to the target and “colder” if they are moving away from it. Variations of this kind of gameplay are probably familiar in most parts of the world and the simplicity means it has a broad appeal. Delphi’s GPS sensor integration adds a new dimension Developer Daan van der Werf says, “Turn your GPS data to start Warmer Colder and select a challenge. You get hints by the sound app, Warmer if you get closer to the final destination and Colder if you are further from moving. We advise you to use a headset to follow the hints. When you first found the end the application will ask you to make a selfie, so your participation is taken seriously. All data locations are recorded and forwarded to the score www.warmerkouder.nl. If you really are the first and your details are known to us, we will provide you with your prize. Every participant who comes to the final destination of a challenge always wins something! The prizes to be won can vary from t-shirts, caps to the latest complete tire sets or helmet for your motorcycle.” It’s never too late to innovate We think it’s a great way of taking a well-known traditional pastime and bringing it right up to date with the latest modern mobile hardware and the always-on world we live in today. Google Play WarmerKouder Screenshot Gallery

Modern versions of Microsoft Windows are arguably a lot more pleasing to look at.  Gone are the days of apps being gray slabs and chunky buttons.  When Microsoft adopted the Fluent UI interface along with it came a richer color palette, a cleaner, leaner look and fonts without the curls and twists of the Serif families. Sidling in with that beauty treatment were a number of other usability and user convenience facets of being a modern app for us to consider: high DPI, notifications and themes designed to cater for a “light” and “dark” mode. High DPI in your apps RAD Studio Delphi already handles the high DPI changes.  If you right click on your project in the IDE and select “properties” and then click on the “manifest” section you should see it say “per monitor v2”. Having this section ticked lets Windows know that your app (actually the VCL in your app) understands the high DPI – screen resolution pixels – and contains assets and API handling to work with it.  There is actually a substantial amount of work going on behind the scenes in the VCL runtime when the per monitor v2 setting is enabled, which it is by default, but for ordinary mortals like you and I we don’t get to worry about any of that; it just works. If you compare a program compiled with an older version of a compiler which doesn’t understand per monitor v2 you should notice that things on higher resolution monitors can look a little fuzzy.  That’s because that manifest file setting is not there and the internal API calls are older ‘backwardly compatible’ ones which work using the lowest common denominator, resulting in the app not making the best use of modern display technology. It’s a bit like watching a 1970s movie on a 4K OLED TV – bearable, but it looks…dated. What isn’t covered by the latest VCL? The other major visible change ushered in by Windows 10 was the introduction of a “dark mode”. For years we’ve all really been running Windows with almost the only choice available – white backgrounds, gray buttons and some colors dotted around to relieve the glare. Then, Microsoft brought out a “dark mode”. This dark mode turns all the Windows assets, dark (it’s well named!) and this is a setting that your apps are expected to both understand and react to. Currently this is an area where the VCL has not quite covered. Detecting dark mode When your app launches it should try and detect whether Windows is currently expecting you to be “in dark mode” or “light mode”. This is currently handled by a set of API calls for which we do not currently have support in the VCL. Luckily, there’s a registry key we can check. When our app detects that it should be “dark” then we should tell our Delphi app to load an appropriate ‘dark’ theme.  Conversely, if Windows indicates we are expecting ‘light mode’ then a similarly appropriate light-colored VCL theme should be loaded. How to detect dark mode in your VCL apps the easy way It wouldn’t be Delphi if there wasn’t an easy way to do all the hard work. So I wrote a little unit you can include in your VCL Delphi programs to […]

Artur Majtczak is a Delphi user since 1997. He has developed an application (ALLPlayer), which was a showcase entry for the Delphi 26th Showcase Challenge and we got to ask him about his Delphi journey throughout the years. Head over to the ALLPlayer website for more information about the application. When did you start using RAD Studio Delphi and have long have you been using it? I’ve been using Delphi since I can remember, most likely it was Delphi 3. Ah, I just checked, it was probably as early as 1997, so it’s been a long time! What was it like building software before you had RAD Studio Delphi? In my case it was really long time ago, in times when software was created in simple text editor. Thanks to Delphi I was able to create software ideas very quickly, design and build the user interface with just the computer mouse, and all this intuitively and with incredible ease. How did RAD Studio Delphi help you create your showcase application? ALLPlayer in its first version was created in 1998. it was not the prettiest, I admit, but it had features not seen in other players at that time, which was noticed and the number of ALLPlayer users quickly began to grow into millions of users. Subsequent versions added new features and the graphics adapted to changing needs over the years. What made RAD Studio Delphi stand out from other options? If we have a cool idea for a new application, regardless of whether it is a database application, corporate app or for the casual user, it would be hard to find a tool in which we can more quickly program a working version with a nice user interface. What made you happiest about working with RAD Studio Delphi? What made me happiest about working with RAD Studio/Delphi? Work goes fairly quickly and easily, the RAD Studio software is convenient. I think it’s also a matter of getting comfortable with it. What have you been able to achieve through using RAD Studio Delphi to create your showcase application? Readability and simplicity of code. Decent and easy to use user interface. What are some future plans for your showcase application? Continued development and enhancement of applications. Simplicity and adaptation to the latest requirements. Thank you, Artur! Check out his Artur’s showcase application entry, ALLPlayer, by clicking the link below. Showcase

‘Twilight People’ is a landmark project that helps users discover and celebrate the hidden history of transgender and gender-variant people of faith in the UK past and present – and it’s written with RAD Studio Delphi and the Firemonkey framework. In the words of the developer: “this collection is the first source of faith and transgender history in Britain. The project explores the narratives around ‘body and ritual’, documenting the interconnection between faith and gender journeys beyond the binary categories of male and female“. Developed by Cheryl Morgan the app contains the stories of some of the many trans people of faith who were interviewed for the project. Website Twilight People Google Play TwilightPeople Screenshot Gallery RAD Studio Delphi enables developers and organizations to further their goals, empower their users and make connections in both business and a social context. Do you have an idea which could be a game-changer for your users? Why not use RAD Studio and the power of Delphi to reach them whatever device they are using on desktop, mobile and the web?

Most organizations, particularly in the retail and manufacturing sectors once they go beyond a handful of employees, start to introduce shift working arrangements. Shifts can help to make the most efficient use of work time and ensure a continuous production or service availability. The filling and coordination of shifts, however, also introduces some complexities and before long administrators and the employees can begin to struggle a little to keep on top of things. Helping with the shift scheduling workflow My Shift Planner, from UK developers MyBuzz Technologies, is designed for shift workers to help take back control of their work/life balance and help manage when and what their working hours will be. According to the developer, “My Shift Planner is the most powerful Shift Work Calendar app on the market and the easiest to setup and use. Download today to gain back control of your social calendar.” Making admirable use of RAD Studio Delphi to produce cross-platform mobile code MyBuzz have really packed a host of features into My Shift Planner which extract the real benefits of the Firemonkey FMX framework to leverage the user’s mobile device. It’s a superb tool for shift workers. Key Features of My Shift Planner Easy set up. The most common shift schedules are already pre-configured as well as custom set up The shifts synchronize with the mobile device’s calendar. Flexible enough to cope with almost any type of roster. Allows for recording notes as well as actual worked hours and overtime. Contains work reports so that staff can view and check their worksheets. Lets the staff know which day is pay day. Has sharing facilities to share the roster with family and friends. Has built-in, free backup tools.. Google Play My Shift Planner Screenshot Gallery RAD Studio Delphi powers the “My Shift Planner” app – it can power your apps too. Are you ready to join them making great 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

Roshan Gerard Bolonna has been using Delphi since 2005. He has a showcase entry (MySQL Direct Backup) submission in the Delphi 26th Showcase Challenge and he explained more about it through an interview. You can checkout their application through MySQL Direct Backup website. When did you start using RAD Studio Delphi and how long have you been using it? My interest in Delphi started after using the Turbo C++ back in 2005, when developing Win32 applications, and found that Delphi has a lot of features and easy-to-use libraries. What was it like building software before you had RAD Studio Delphi? RAD Studio is extremely rapid application-oriented and provides all the necessary components to fulfill a software requirement compared to most solutions provided in Visual Studio and other software solutions. How did RAD Studio Delphi help you create your showcase application? As I mentioned earlier rad studio is extremely rapid application-oriented, this is my very first mobile application developed while learning Firemonkey for the first time. This really proves RAD studio has really good features to get the work done fast and is easy to learn. What made RAD Studio Delphi stand out from other options? Interesting features and interactive software components that allow to development of applications with minimum coding involvement. What made you happiest about working with RAD Studio Delphi? Native performance & complete support for Win32 API and a huge component library. What have you been able to achieve through using RAD Studio Delphi to create your showcase application? Customer requirements that cannot be fulfilled by other software solutions, such as remote MySQL native direct backup application. What are some future plans for your showcase application? A serial port data monitor based on Delphi using the VCL. Thank you, Roshan! Click the link below to view Roshan’s wonderful showcase entry. Showcase

Murod Oripov has been programming with Delphi since 2003. His application (Uzbek Crosswords) was qualified for the Uzbek Crosswords and we asked him to tell us some more about his Delphi experiences. Go on over to Uzbek Crossword in Google Play to download the application. When did you start using RAD Studio/Delphi and have long have you been using it? I have been using Delphi since 2003 when it was Delphi 6. What was it like building software before you had RAD Studio/Delphi? I used Foxpro, Basic and C/C++ as a beginner. But I met Delphi and it liked me very much. How did RAD Studio/Delphi help you create your showcase application? The Delphi language seems a lot more straight-forward to use than other alternatives to me. Delphi has a lot of components and beautiful graphic capabilities. What made RAD Studio/Delphi stand out from other options? I think RAD Studio is more easy to understand than other IDEs. What made you happiest about working with RAD Studio/Delphi? I liked the experience of using Delphi to write code very much. Especially making Android apps. What have you been able to achieve through using RAD Studio/Delphi to create your showcase application? I realized that I must work hard and continue in that spirit. And I will definitely succeed. What are some future plans for your showcase application? I decided to get to know Delphi much more and to teach school children how they can use it to make simple beautiful graphical apps. Thank you, Murod!  Click the link below to view Murad’s showcase entry. Showcase No matter where you live or where you choose to work, the ease and power of RAD Studio and Delphi is a powerful combination to make your apps become a reality. Are you ready to take your ideas and make them real?