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See Also: Dr.Bob's Delphi Papers and Columns

2017/12/12 - RAD Studio 10.2.2 Released
10.2 Tokyo Release 2 is now available. It’s an update of Delphi 10.2 Tokyo, C++Builder 10.2 Tokyo and RAD Studio 10.2 Tokyo for active Update Subscription customers. It includes 100s of platform focused enhancements, bug fixes and features. You can download the ISO Installer or the Getit-based Web Install.
Note that it's important to use the same installer that you used for the RTM and Update 1 (the registry settings are not quite compatible).

2017 Sept-Nov: Delphi Developer Days 2017 with Cary Jensen and Bob Swart
I'm back doing Delphi Developer Days this year, with a Special Edition Database Workshop. Cary Jensen has just announced the Delphi Developer Days 2017 Special Edition Database Workshop tour in the USA (Chicago, Sept 25-26), Europe (Frankfurt, Germany, Nov 28-29) and Scandinavia (Copenhagen, Denmark, Nov 24-25).
The workshop starts with a detailed look at connecting to data and configuring FireDAC, and continues with a look at some of FireDAC’s more advanced features, including Array DML, the SQL command preprocessor, and cached updates.
The workshop continues with an in-depth discussion of multi-tier development. Topics include creating DataSnap servers and using Embarcadero’s RAD Server. Here you will learn how to access your data from mobile applications, how to support both Delphi and non-Delphi clients using REST (REpresentational State Transfer), and how to create RAD Server microservices with Delphi.

2017/09/18 - RAD Studio Roadmap Update
Check out the The RAD Studio Roadmap Update, updated with the 10.2.1 actual release and the specific 10.2.2 plans, along with the focus areas for 10.3 next year.

2017/08/08 - Delphi 10.2.1 Released
10.2 Tokyo Release 1 is now available. It’s an update of Delphi 10.2 Tokyo, C++Builder 10.2 Tokyo and RAD Studio 10.2 Tokyo for active Update Subscription customers. It includes 100s of platform focused enhancements, bug fixes and features. You can download the ISO Installer or the Getit-based Web Install.
Note that it's important to use the same installer that you used for the RTM and Update 1 (the registry settings are not quite compatible).

2017/03/22 - Delphi 10.2 Tokyo Released
Embarcadero has released Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio 10.1 Berlin in Professional, Enterprise and Architect editions. You can download the ISO Installer or the Web Install (registered 10.1 users only, I'm afraid). The Web Installer offers a GetIt-way to install, which is quite nice!

Licenses are now sold with one year subscription included. Developers from the Eurozone can order an Upgrade or New User license from my webshop.

2017/02/09 - TurboDB customer review
When a developer faced a performance problem working on a database by more than one person, he switched to TurboDB for better results.

2017/02/01 - Why Upgrade to Enterprise?
This webinar is primarily aimed at developers still on "Professional" version of Delphi. Pawel is going to make the tour of all features that are in Enterprise and are not available in Pro, including overview of multi-device development, database access with FireDAC, DataSnap and UML Modelling.

2016/11/15 - Delphi 10.1 Berlin Update 2 Released
Embarcadero has released the second Subscription Update of RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++Builder 10.1 Berlin, with bug fixes as well as new features. You can download the ISO Installer or the Getit-based Web Install.
Note that it's important to use the same installer that you used for the RTM and Update 1 (the registry settings are not quite compatible). If you don't remember which installer you used: just start the IDE and look at the Welcome Page. If it shows the "Platforms and Extensions Manager", then you used the new GetIt installer, otherwise you need the ISO.

2016/07/13 - MVP Spotlight: Dr. Bob Swart
The Podcast at Delphi.org is about the Delphi programming language, tools, news and community. This time, the spotlight was on me

2016/04/19 - Delphi 10.1 Berlin Released
Embarcadero has released Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio 10.1 Berlin in Professional, Enterprise and Architect editions. You can download the ISO Installer or the Web Install (registered 10.1 users only, I'm afraid). The Web Installer offers a GetIt-way to install, which is quite nice!

Licenses are now sold with one year subscription included. Developers from the Eurozone can order an Upgrade or New User license from my webshop.

2016/03/01 - "Delphi Succinctly" ebook
Marco Breveglieri has published a free Delphi Succinctly ebook, that can help to learn the fundamentals of Delphi to build a variety of solutions for many devices and platforms. Marco Breveglieri provides you with an overview of Delphi, its principles, its environment, and its use of Object Pascal language.

2015/11/19 - Delphi 10 Seattle Update #1 Released
Embarcadero has released subscription Update #1 for Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio 10 Seattle, see the Fix List for details). Developers with an active (Update) Subscription can download and install the Subscription Update #1 (available for Delphi, C++Builder, RAD Studio and in ISO format).

2015/10/06 - "More Coding in Delphi" ebook
More Coding in Delphi is now available to registered users of Delphi 10, C++Builder 10, and RAD Studio 10.

2015/09/02 - Delphi 10 Seattle Released
Embarcadero has released Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio 10 Seattle in Professional and Enterprise editions (as well as Ultimate or Architect editions with additional Embarcadero database tools). See the Feature Matrix and the Release Notes for more details.
For more information, see the Delphi 10 Seattle section of this website.

2015/06/19 - Delphi XE8 Update #1 Released
Embarcadero has released Update #1 for Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio XE8. There are actually two versions of Update #1 available (see the Fix List for details).
Developers with an active (Update) Subscription can download and install the Subscription Update #1 (available for Delphi, C++Builder, RAD Studio and in ISO format). People without subscription can use the General Update #1 instead.

2015/04/07 - Delphi XE8 Released
Embarcadero has released Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio XE8 in Professional and Enterprise editions (as well as Ultimate or Architect editions with additional Embarcadero database tools). See What's New in Delphi for more details.
Developers from the Eurozone can order an Upgrade or New User license from my webshop.

2015/02/27 - RAD Studio 2015 Roadmap
Embarcadero has just published the latest version of their RAD Studio 2015 Roadmap in the form of 14 powerpoint slides. The Roadmap covers RAD Studio, Delphi, C++Builder as well as AppMethod.

2015/03/18 - Object Pascal Handbook by Marco Cantu
This promotional item is available as a special Bonus Pack promotion item for users who purchase qualifying XE7 products (listed below) between October 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015.

2015/02/04 - Beta Program for 64-bit iOS toolchain
On October 20th, 2014 Apple announced that "starting February 1, 2015, new iOS apps uploaded to the App Store must include 64-bit support and be built with the iOS 8 SDK, included in Xcode 6 or later".
Anyone using a RAD Studio, Delphi, C++Builder or Appmethod product with the iOS toolchain can apply to the beta program to get access to the 64-bit iOS toolchain in the current beta program (under NDA).

2015/01/29 - iOS Style Template for 1x, 2x and 3x Resolution Devices
This style template allows you to easily create your own custom iOS style with support for 1x, 2x and 3x resolutions.
You can access the Bitmap Style Designer from the Tools->Bitmap Style Designer (or by browsing to your bin directory and start BitmapStyleDesigner.exe With the Bitmap Style Designer open, select File->Open and browse to the location of the iOS7Alternate.vsf on disk. Expand the Images directory and export each of the three style.png files for editing in a graphics program if you want to customize the graphical elements in the style templates. After updating the graphics, set the properties of each style object before saving the style as a .style file.

2015/01/22 - Android L Style Pack for XE7
Android L Style Pack for XE7 Includes 3 styles for Android 5.0: a dark style, a light style and a dark blue style.

2015/01/20 - Beta hotfix enabling TForm.Quality to HighQuality for iOS
This hotfix resolves a FMX bug where on iOS, setting TForm.Quality to HighQuality has no effect This is a source fix. You need to add FMX.Platform.iOS.pas to your project and rebuild your project.

2015/01/08 - Beta hotfix for FireMonkey apps on Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
Beta hotfix for FireMonkey apps on Android 5.0 (Lollipop) addresses an issue with FireMonkey applications on devices running Android 5.0 (Lollipop). The issue prevented array data from being properly exchanged between native code and the Android Java API. The most noticeable symptom of this issue was that images stored on FireMonkey forms would not be displayed on devices running Android 5 and could cause applications to terminate unexpectedly. This zip contains all the contents of the lib\android folder. Perform the following steps:

This is a beta hotfix, however, you are free to discuss this on the forums. You can also send issues to radbeta at embarcadero dot com, but please allow time for response from that address. Updated on Jan 16, 2015 to include source and headers.

2015/01/13 - FireMonkey Premium Styles Pack for RAD Studio XE7
FireMonkey Premium Styles Pack for RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder XE7 This style pack was updated on 1/13/2015 to include 3x versions of the premium iOS styles for iPhone 6 Plus devices. iOS 3x style support is available in XE7 Update 1 Customize your multi-device applications with seven premium FireMonkey styles. Choose from Jet, Sterling, Diamond, Emerald Crystal, Emerald Dark, Coral Crystal and Coral Dark styles, optimized for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac application development.

2014/12/03 - Hotfix for Submitting iOS Applications to Apple AppStore
RAD Studio hotfix to enable deployment of Delphi and C++ iOS applications to the Apple App Store. This fix applies to RAD Studio XE5, XE6 and XE7.

2014/12/02 - Hotfix for FMX component with custom size reverting to default
This hotfix resolves a FMX component problem where some components which had been set to a custom size would appear with a default size at runtime. Run the Hotfix installer. Before updating any files, the Hotfix installer will create backups of the files that it will update. The backed up files will be in the same location but will include the .bak extension.

2014/11/25 - Castalia for Delphi and RAD Studio XE7
Castalia is a premier code productivity plug-in for Delphi. With code refactoring, structural highlighting, parenthesis matching, flow control highlighting, and live syntax checking, Castalia makes you more productive than ever. Use project statistics and code analysis to better understand your team productivity and code quality.

2014/11/13 - Update #1 for RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++Builder XE7
Update #1 for RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder XE7 is now available for download. See the Release Notes and Fix List for more details.

2014/09/02 - Delphi XE7 Launched
Embarcadero has launched Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio XE7 in Professional and Enterprise editions (as well as Ultimate or Architect editions with additional Embarcadero database tools). See the Release Notes for more details.

2014/06/18 - Update #1 for RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++Builder XE6
Update #1 for RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder XE6 is now available for download. See the Release Notes and Fix List for more details.

2014/04/15 - Delphi XE6 Launched
Embarcadero has launched Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio XE6 in Professional and Enterprise editions (as well as Ultimate or Architect editions with additional Embarcadero database tools).

2013/12/10 - Update #2 for RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++Builder XE5
Update 2 for RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder XE5 is now available for download. See the Release Notes and Fix List for more details.

2013/09/20 - Blaise Pascal Magazine 2013 free Special Issue
Blaise Pascal Magazine free special issue featuring info on Delphi.

2013/09/11 - Delphi XE5 Launched
Embarcadero has launched Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio XE5 in Professional and Enterprise editions (as well as Ultimate or Architect editions with additional Embarcadero database tools).

2013/06/11 - Update #1 for RAD Studio, Delphi, and C++Builder XE4
Update #1 for RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder XE4 is now available for download. See the Release Notes and Fix List for more details.

2013/04/22 - Delphi XE4 Launched
Embarcadero has launched Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio XE5 in Professional and Enterprise editions (as well as Ultimate or Architect editions with additional Embarcadero database tools).

Delphi Developer Days 2013 - Cary Jensen and Bob Swart
Cary Jensen announced at CodeRage 7 and on his blog that as of the 2013 edition of the Delphi Developer Days, I, Bob Swart will be joining Cary Jensen in presenting these days. I'm thrilled to work together with Cary Jensen on Delphi Developer Days; we've worked together in the past on magazine articles and Delphi conferences, and I've been a guest speaker at Delphi Developer Days for a few years already, so we're confident that the upcoming Delphi Developer Days 2013 will be as good and enjoyable as ever.

2012/11/07 - Delphi Product Manager Marco Cantù
Marco Cantù is the new Delphi Product Manager at Embarcadero. Marco will be based in Europe (working from his home in Italy, when not on the road), where there are some of the R&D teams and a large number of Delphi customers.

2012/11/06-08: CodeRage 7
From Tuesday, November 6th until Thursday, November 8th, Embarcadero will run CodeRage 7, the virtual online conference that you can attend from anywhere in the world (with an internet connection). This year there are two multi-day online conferences filled with content for Delphi (november 6-8) or C++Builder (december 10-12).
I am participating as Delphi speaker in this edition of CodeRage. In fact, I'll have the honours of opening CodeRage with a session on Delphi Language Enhancements, where I'll cover class helpers and record helpers, including some custom helper classes that I'm using myself these days.

2012/09/29 - RAD Studio Mobile - Roadmap
Embarcadero has publised the RAD Studio Mobile roadmap, covering what's in development (integrated C++ and Delphi native ARM toolchains, native iOS and Android platform support, FireMonkey Mobile Framework and Mobile Form Designers, among others), when we can expect things (Mobile Beta Program, iOS final and Android final), and how we can expect to purchase it (part of RAD Studio Enterprise subscription and/or low prince add-on).
Note that all XE3 customers can participate in the RAD Studio Mobile beta (you can apply by clicking on the "my eligible field tests" link on the Embarcadero Developer Network.

2012/09/26 - Free Delphi XE3 Starter Essentials PDF
My Delphi XE3 Starter Essentials ebook (PDF) has just been made available for download for all registered Delphi Starter developers. This is the first of my XE3 ebooks, shortly followed by titles like Delphi XE3 Development Essentials, Delphi XE3 DataSnap Development, Delphi XE3 XML, SOAP & Web Services Development. Customers who bought the XE2 editions of these titles will get the first XE3 edition for free as well. I'm also working on new editions for the IntraWeb and Oxygene (Prism) manuals, as well as a new title on RAD Studio Mobile (which will be a free update for people who purchased the Delphi XE2 iOS Development manual).
See http://www.ebob42.com/courseware for more information on these courseware manuals, or http://www.drbob42.com/courseware if you're interested in a quick purchase of an individual title.

2012/09/03 - Delphi XE3
Today, Embarcadero released RAD Studio XE3 (including Delphi, C++Builder, Prism and HTML5 Builder). All developers with subscription (SA) should have received an e-mail from Embarcadero Maintenace with their login info to retrieve their XE3 update and new serial number.
New User and Upgrade licenses (with or withour subscription) can be purchased in my webshop (in Dutch or for other customers in the Eurozone).

2012/02/13 - Delphi XE2 & iOS Development
On Monday, February 13th 2012, I've organised a Delphi XE2 and iOS Development seminar in Helmond Brandevoort, The Netherlands. All attendees presented have received the first edition of my Delphi XE2 iOS Development courseware manual (sold for 99 Euro for those who could not present).

2011/10/26 - Delphi XE2 Development Essentials
The first 115-page edition of my Delphi XE2 Development Essentials in PDF format was released on October 14th, and is available from my webshop. I'm already working on the second edition as well as XE2 edition of my other courseware manuals.
Both the Delphi XE2 Development Essentials and the 290-page Delphi XE Development Essentials are free gifts for developers (from Eurozone) who purchase Delphi XE2 or RAD Studio XE2 from Bob Swart Training & Consultancy

2011/10/04 - Delphi XE2 and Advantage TDataSet Descendants
In this article, I'll demonstrate how we can recompile and install the ADS TDataSet component packages for Delphi and RAD Studio XE2 with a few minor changes and code edits.

2011/09/28 - Delphi XE2 Update #1
Embarcadero has released Update 1 for Delphi XE2, C++Builder XE2 and RAD Studio XE2, incorporating more than 120 bug fixes, including many FireMonkey design time and runtime bug fixes, the addition of new VCL Styles, VCL Styles design time and runtime fixes, IDE fixes to improve stability, C++ and Delphi compiler fixes and more.
Note that if you install from the web installer rather than the new DVD ISO, then you need to make sure to select an empty directory for the download files (otherwise, you'll get a dialog that asks you to overwrite the existing files - once for every 100+ file, not a good idea).
After having applied Update #1, the About Box mentions the version number 16.0.4276.44006 (which used to be 16.0.4256.43595 in the RTM version, 20 days earlier).

2011/09/17 - May the Road(map) rise with you
JT from Embarcadero has blogged about a number of technologies and topics that the RAD Studio R&D Team are working on now that XE2 has been released:

2011/09/02 - Delphi XE2
The XE2 editions of Delphi, C++Builder, Prism, RadPHP and RAD Studio have just been released. New User licenses as well as Upgrades to Delphi XE2 can be purchased now from me (for customers in Europe using the EURO, plus the UK).

May 2011 - Delphi 64-bit compiler
In this article, I'll cover some of the things to watch out for when using the Delphi 64-bit compiler (or when preparing your 32-bit code for the 64-bit world).

2011/04/08 - Delphi 64-bit compiler
The Delphi 64-bit Compiler Sneak Preview is now available with information and a first look at the 64-bit compiler in action and an opportunity to join our beta test program or be notified when the new version is available.

2011/01/20 - RAD Studio Quality Survey
Embarcadero cares a great deal about your experiences with our products. They are continually striving to make them better based on user feedback.
Director of Quality Assurance, Chris Pattinson invites us to complete the Embarcadero 2011 RAD Studio Quality Survey. This 23 question survey is for all users of C++Builder XE, Delphi XE and RAD Studio XE, and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Your contact details are optional, and will only be used if you agree for us to contact you with any follow-up questions. Thank you for your participation!

2010/11/15 - Update #1 for Delphi XE and C++Builder XE available
Update 1 for Delphi XE and C++Builder XE is now available, see the Readme and Fix List.
Note: if you have DDevExtensions installed in Delphi XE, you must uninstall it before you run the Delphi XE Update #1. After you've uninstalled DDevExtensions and applied Update #1, you can download the new DDevExtensions 2.1

2010/09/29 - Advantage Database Server Components in Delphi XE
In this article, I'll demonstrate how we can recompile and install the ADS TDataSet component packages for Delphi and RAD Studio XE.

2010/09/02 - Delphi XE
In this article, I'll describe my first look and experiences with Delphi XE and RAD Studio XE based on the preparations for the RAD Studio XE launch in The Netherlands (and my Dutch Delphi OplossingsCourant).

2010/08/12 - New RAD Studio Roadmap
An updated RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder Roadmap is published on the Embarcadero Developer Network.

2010/07/27 - TurboDB 6
dataweb released version 6 of its embedded database TurboDB for Delphi and C++ Builder. Besides many improvements in the performance area, the new version most notably offers a new mechanism for the support of different languages through Windows-based collations.
TurboDB is an embedded SQL database specifically for Delphi and C++ Builder, which is written in Delphi itself and which can therefore be included in a project via dcu files. Data access goes directly to the database file without a server, nevertheless TurboDB offers fast concurrent use from multiple applications. This is the same working principle like with Paradox, to which TurboDB is highly compatible on component level.
TurboDB includes the database itself with the VCL data access components (TTdbTable, TTdbQuery, TTdbDatabase, etc.), a tool for creating and editing databases a comprehensive online help and a set of demo programs. TurboDB is licensed on a per developer base, there are no royalties for deploying the application.

2010/05/25 - Developer Survey
Emabrcadero is conducting a brief survey to learn more about the application development market – what challenges developers face this year and day to day, the technologies and tools they’re using, and where they see opportunity.
If you’re a developer or involved in software development, please take 5 minutes to complete this survey.
To thank you for your participation, Embarcadero is offering a chance to win an Amazon Kindle worth $250. All results and comments will be kept anonymous.

2010/05/10 - RAD Studio Roadmap
Embarcadero has just published the new RAD Studio Roadmap. This Roadmap includes information on the upcoming Delphi Fulcrum, supporting both Windows and Mac OS X application development, Delphi Wheelhouse (adding Linux support), the 64-bits Compiler Preview (early 2011), Delphi Commodore (the full 64-bits version) and project Chromium.

2010/03/08 - Debugging Win32 SOAP Servers using the Web App Debugger
In this 16:51 minute session, I'll demonstrate how to debug Win32 SOAP Web Services in Delphi for Win32 using the Web App Debugger. See my article for the slides and replay of the full session at CodeRage Europe (July 2007).

2010/02/22 - Michael Rozlog interview
Jim McKeeth from Delphi.org has conducted a podcast with Micheal Rozlog, the Delphi product manager. Among other things, Michael talks about the next version of Delphi, which support Windows and Mac OS X targets. There will be a preview for Linux target. Right now, this upcoming version is in beta at select third party developers.
Regarding Turbo Delphi, Michael says he wants to make a new version, because of the importance to get new people started with Delphi. However, no decision have been taken yet.

2010/02/01 - New Embarcadero Upgrade Rules
As of February 1st, 2010, there are new upgrade rules from Embarcadero. Until this date, you can upgrade from any previous version of Delphi to a newer version of Delphi (i.e. from Delphi 1 to Delphi 2010). As of now, you can only upgrade to Delphi 2010 if the version you upgrade from is no more than three versions older than the version you're upgrading to. So from Delphi 2006 you can still go to Delphi 2010, but you cannot get an upgrade to Delphi 2010 if you have a version which is older than Delphi 2006.

2010/01/31 - Delphi 2010 Delayed Dynamic Link Libraries
In this article, I'll demonstrate how we can use the new delayed keyword as new way to load DLLs (compared to implicit and explicit importing).

2009/12/31 - AutoIncrement fields and DataSnap 2010
In this article, I'll explain and demonstrate how we can define and use AutoIncrement fields (in SQL Server or Blackfish SQL) with Delphi 2010's DataSnap.

2009/12/22 - IDE Fix Pack 2.9
Andreas Hausladen has released version 2.9 of his IDE Fix Pack for Delphi 2007, 2009 and 2010.

2009/12/16 - IntraWeb XI
The first public beta of IntraWeb XI is available for download. IntraWeb XI contains a simplified code base for easier maintenance, a very high level of compatibility with IntraWeb 10, and provides a foundation for IntraWeb XII. Many "legacy" features of IntraWeb have been stripped, including support for old technologies as WAP, HTML 3.2, Partial updates and others.

2009/12/16 - Delphi 2010 Updates 4 and 5
Read the Release Notes of Delphi and C++Builder 2010 Updates 4, 5 (Database Pack), and Boost Library.

2009/11/07 - Delphi 2010 Survey
Please take a few minutes (about 30!) of your time to take the 2010 Delphi user survey, and help guide the future of Delphi.

2009/10/18 - DataSnap 2010 White Paper
Embarcadero has published my 53-page white paper about DataSnap 2010, including special videos published on YouTube. In this white paper, I cover DataSnap History, DataSnap Windows Targets, DataSnap and Databases, DataSnap Filters, DataSnap Web Targets, HTTP(S) and Authentication, REST and JSON, DataSnap and .NET and more.

2009/10/18 - Abakus VCL v3.70
Abakus VCL v3.70 has been released, including support for Delphi 2010 and C++Builder 2010, and introducing new horizontal/vertical meter with moving scale components: TAbFlexHMeter, TAbFlexVMeter, TAbDbFlexHMeter, and TAbDbFlexVMeter.

2009/09/08-11: CodeRage IV
CodeRage IV is a virtual conference starting Tuesday, Sept 8th, 2009 (5:00 PCT - 14:00 GMT+1) until Friday Sept 11th, 2009. It's free, but you need to register in order to be able to attend the sessions.
I've done a session myself, on Building Smart Clients with Delphi and RemObjects SDK. You can download the slides and source code already.

2009/08/25 - Delphi 2010 Launched
Today, Embarcadero launched the 2010-editions of Delphi, C++Builder, Delphi Prism and RAD Studio. You can read more information in the Release Notes, or in the RAD Studio 2010 product page.
Developers from the BeNeLux can order their licenses from me. If you're from The Netherlands, make sure to check out my free Delphi 2010 and RAD Studio 2010 launch workshop in Helmond Brandevoort on September 11th, 2009.

2009/05/18 - Delphi News from Delphi Live
The keynote session at Delphi Live mentioned the Delphi Roadmap, which will be published on the web shortly. No less than four new Delphi projects were mentioned: Delphi Weaver, Delphi X, Delphi Chromium, and Delphi Commodore.

2009/05/06 - Getting Started with Delphi and C++Builder 2009
Embarcadero has published something new: a Getting Started with Delphi and C++Builder 2009 guide that can be purchased in printed format from Lulu.com and can also be downloaded for free.

2009/03/18 - TMS Smooth Controls Pack
TMS Software has kindly made the TMS Smooth Controls Pack available in binary format to registered users of Delphi 2009, C++Builder 2009 and CodeGear RAD Studio 2009. TMS Smooth Controls provides sophisticated looking and smoothly animated controls for Delphi and C++Builder 2009.

2009/03/16 - Raize Components 5.1
A new build (5.1) of Raize Components 5 has been released. The new build includes many new enhancements and features, bug fixes, and even a brand new component.

2009/02/28 - Gnostice PDFtoolkit VCL v3.0.1 Released
Gnostice Information Technologies is pleased to announce the release of Version 3.0.1 of PDFtoolkit VCL. Gnostice PDFtoolkit is a powerful PDF component suite for Delphi and C++Builder to edit, enhance, secure, merge, split, view and print PDF documents, and also process AcroForms documents.
Apart from the PDFtoolkit VCL v3.0.1, Gnostice has also announce the Free PDF Viewer 1.0, a portable and fast PDF viewer application powered by Gnostice PDFOne Java Professional edition, a PDF-component suite for Java developers.

2009/01/20 - Midas Speed Fix
Andreas Hausladen has published a great MidasSpeedFix.pas unit that improves the performance of the Midas.dll and MidasLib unit for Delphi 6 to 2009. This is done by replacing the Midas memory manager with the Delphi memory manager (FastMM4).
Nick Hodges (CodeGear) responded with: "We are listening so well that this fix was just checked in and it should be shipped with the next update."

2009/01/10 - Favourite Delphi Technology Partner Product Nominations
Use this survey to tell Embarcadero about your favourite Delphi add-on tool or component set (and remember that my Courseware manuals and/or paperbacks on Lulu.com also count).

2009/01/07 - The Future of the Delphi Compiler
Nick Hodges has published an article on Developer Network about the future of the Delphi Compiler. In this article, Nick talks about the Compiler Front End (the part that defines what the language is), with the idea to create a new Front End to offer a choice between a new, non-legacy syntax and the older way of coding (read the article to example of legacy syntax). New code would have to be put in a new type of code module (so it looks like there would be no mixing of code, although you may be able to use both kinds of modules in your projects).
Nick also talks about the Compiler Back Ends (one for Delphi, one for C++) which currently produce 32-bit binaries for Windows. A new Back End would be able to produce 64-bit for Windows, and should be shared by both Delphi and C++, and "a bit more flexible with respect to what architecture it targets" (or so Nick writes).
Doing a new Compiler Front End and unified Back End (for both Delphi and C++Builder) will take time. The team plans to release a preview of the 64-bit compiler (just the compiler, not the IDE) in mid-2009, and the final 64-bit version of Delphi should be ready min-2010.

2008/12/20 - Help Update #1 for Delphi 2009
Help Update 1 for Delphi 2009 is now available for download, with more details in the Release Notes. Note that this help update only covers Delphi 2009 and C++Builder 2009 (and not Delphi Prism - all Delphi for .NET content has been removed), improving the help in several areas like coverage of the AnsiString and Character units, Generics.Collections, etc.

2008/12/16 - "A year in the Life of Delphi"
Pawel Glowacki blogs about Nick's webinar about "A year in the Life of Delphi". Read this blog post if you missed the webinar.

2008/12/09 - Update #2 for Delphi 2009
Registered users of RAD Studio 2009, Delphi 2009, and C++Builder 2009 can now download Update #2 which updates the Delphi and C++Builder 2009 Database Pack. Note that only database-related fixes are included in this update. View the release notes for more details.

2008/12/01-05: CodeRage III
CodeRage III, was a full week of online sessions on Delphi 2009, Delphi Prism and more. I have presented two session using Delphi 2009 as well as Delphi Prism. Replays are now available.

2008/11/20 - Updated Delphi books at Lulu
I'm about to publish a new book on Lulu.com for 24 Euro about Delphi 2009 Development Essentials. Apart from being sold on Lulu.com, this book (in PDF format) will be a free gift and sent to all customers who have ever purchased something from me directly (not via Lulu.com or Amazon.com).
Here's an overview of my Delphi books on Lulu.com (prices are for print / download versions - the 99 Euro editions include all updates and free e-mail support regarding the topics covered in the manual):

Also available are the books about the previous versions of Delphi: As well as the in-depth titles, specific covering a single topic in detail: My main ASP.NET and XML/SOAP manuals are still used in my training classes and under constant revision (growing every month), and will remain available as PDF purchase through my own courseware site, where a purchase also includes free PDF updates and e-mail support.

2008/11/01 - Update #1 for Delphi 2009
Registered users of Delphi 2009 can now download Update #1. Check the list of fixes and view the release notes for more details.

2008/10/27 - Delphi Prism Announced
Embarcadero announced Delphi Prism, the new .NET development solution from Embarcadero Technologies. Using Delphi Prism (a Visual Studio Shell plugin based on the Oxygene compiler technology from RemObjects Software) we can use existing Delphi programming skills to build .NET applications, taking advantage of the latest and greatest .NET technologies such as WinForms, WPF, Silverlight, ASP.NET and LINQ. Delphi Prism will also contain familiar dbExpress functionality and .NET clients that connect to native DataSnap servers.
Delphi Prism Architect will include database modeling and design capabilities based on ER/Studio that enable developers to design, model, and better understand their databases.

Delphi Prism will be the .NET portion of CodeGear RAD Studio 2009. CodeGear RAD Studio 2009 is scheduled to ship at the same time as Delphi Prism. For more information, see the FAQ.

2008/10/04 - Abakus VCL for Delphi 2009
The Delphi 2009 (and C++Builder 2009) editions of Abakus VCL V3.50 is now available, featuring Delphi 2009 support plus minor changes and fixes.

2008/10/01 - Delphi Newsgroups
The Borland Newsgroups at forums.borland.com are no longer working and should be replaced by the CodeGear newsgroups at forums.codegear.com.
For more information, see http://dn.codegear.com/article/38435

2008/09/08 - Delphi 2009 Available
On Monday, September 8th 2008, my customers received the first ESD download information plus Delphi 2009 serial numbers by e-mail. The software subscription (aka SA) customers are expected to get their ESD download details and serial number by Thursday.
The 14-day trial edition of Delphi 2009 Architect is now also available to download.

2008/08/25 - Delphi 2009 Announced
CodeGear just announced Delphi 2009 and C++Builder 2009, the next generation of the RAD tools for Windows. The products are not shipping yet, but the features and prices are announced, and if you're from the BeNeLux you can order your copy from my webshop.
There is already a good list of third-party tools and components that will support Delphi 2009.

2008/04/28 - Help Update 3 for Delphi 2007
The Help Update 3 for Delphi 2007 and RAD Studio 2007 is now available for download from the Registered Users Page for Delphi or RAD Studio or by using the Check for Updates tool included with Delphi 2007 for Win32 and RAD Studio 2007.

2008/04/19 - Delphi / RAD Studio 2007 April 2008 Hotfix
The CodeGear RAD Studio 2007 / Delphi 2007 for Win32 April HotFix is available for download from the Registered Users website. Note that the December 2007 Update (11.0.2890.10344) must have been installed prior to installing this hotfix (check your about box to verify).
See the Release Notes for a list of fixes, and my weblog for more details.

2008/03/13 - Delphi Programming in Russian Schools
CodeGear and others have licensed Delphi, Delphi for .NET and C++Builder to be used in computer science and related studies in primary and secondary schools in Russia.

2008/03/13 - Help Update 2 for Delphi 2007
The Help Update 2 for Delphi 2007 and RAD Studio 2007 is now available for download from the Registered Users Page for Delphi or RAD Studio or by using the Check for Updates tool included with Delphi 2007 for Win32 and RAD Studio 2007.
Read my blog for installation experiences and the new about box (to verify that the update has been installed correctly).

2008/03/10 - Delphi/400 and Delphi/400 for PHP Announced
Today, CodeGear announced Delphi/400 and Delphi/400 for PHP for IBM iSeries and AS/400 systems to rapidly create easy-to-use rich Windows and Web 2.0-based clients for legacy AS/400 and System i applications. In addition, development teams can build new applications and extend existing systems with modern Windows and Web development languages such as Delphi and PHP instead of RPG and COBOL. The Delphi/400 and Delphi/400 for PHP products are now available directly from CodeGear, and in the BeNeLux also from me.

2008/02/21 - Delphi Seminar in Helmond Brandevoort, NL
Dutch speaking Delphi Developers please mark your agendas for a free Delphi / CodeGear RAD Studio 2007 (afternoon) Seminar on Thursday February 21st in Helmond Brandevoort (NL) where I will be doing a number of sessions on Delphi and RAD Studio 2007. Topics include Generics, migration from the BDE to a SQL DBMS (using DBX4 and Delphi 2007), moving to the web using VCL for the Web, as well as ASP.NET 2.0 and AJAX using CodeGear RAD Studio 2007.
As an official CodeGear Reseller for the BeNeLux, I will also use this event to discuss the Delphi Roadmap and the New User, Upgrade and Subscription offerings.
The agenda has been published now, and places are limited so make sure you don't miss this event!

2007/12/18 - CodeGear RAD Studio 2007 December Update
CodeGear just released the December Update for RAD Studio 2007, as well as the update for Delphi 2007. Available from the Registered Users Page, the December Update contains a significant number of fixes:

Installation of the December Update on Windows 2000, XP and 2003 works fine and very fast (less than 10 minutes on my machines). However, installation on Windows Vista took more than 8 (!) hours, so you better do that while sleeping...

2007/11/26-27: UK Developers Group Masterclass
On November 26 and 27th, you can attend my Delphi Database Development Essentials and Delphi Web Development Essentials masterclasses at the UK Developers Group in Upavon, Wiltshire (UK). These dates also mark the launch of the associated PDF courseware manuals (which are included for free for all masterclass attendees).

2007/11/26-30: CodeRage II - virtual conference
From Monday November 26th until Friday November 30th, you can attend CodeRage II - the virtual developer conference designed with one goal in mind: accelerating your productivity. Although I will not be available to attend online on Monday and Tuesday (given the masterclass mentioned earlier), I will be able to present a session on Thursday about Webcam Fun with Delphi.

2005/09/29 - Debugging ASP.NET on Windows Vista and IIS7
In my latest Dr.Bob Examines article, I will discuss a problem introduced by Windows Vista and IIS7 related to the act of debugging ASP.NET applications using Delphi for .NET (i.e. Delphi 8 for .NET, Delphi 2005, Delphi 2006 or Turbo Delphi 2006 for .NET) as well as the way things work using CodeGear RAD Studio 2007.

2007/09/05 - CodeGear announces CodeGear RAD Studio 2007
CodeGear announced CodeGear RAD Studio 2007, supporting Windows 2000, XP and Vista, including Delphi for Win32, Delphi for .NET 2.0/3.0 and C++Builder.
CodeGear RAD Studio is available in three editions:

What's new? Prices for the BeNeLux are available on my Dutch www.eBob42.com site, where you can order the Electronic Software Delivery (ESD) versions directly from me + subscription of course!

2007/08/20 - Dr.Bob Examines... Mixing C++Builder and Delphi
In my latest Dr.Bob Examines column, I will demonstrate that C++Builder can not only compile Delphi source code, but that the CodeGear RAD Studio with the C++Builder 2007 and Delphi 2007 for .NET identities combined can mix languages (one per source file) in C++(Builder) projects.

2007/08/17 - First Look at Delphi Highlander
At the Delphi Hour from Thursday, August 16th, 2007, Nick Hodges gave us a first look at Delphi Highlander (aka Delphi for .NET 2.0/3.0). Nick showed ASP.NET 2.0 Master and Content pages as well as the new BlackFish database technology. You can watch the replay or download it

2007/08/10 - Delphi 2007 Update #2
CodeGear RAD Studio Update #2 (for Delphi 2007 and C++Builder 2007) is now available for download for registered users. If you have Delphi 2007 for Win32 Update 1 or C++Builder 2007 installed and you selected Check for Updates Automatically, you should automatically be notified when Update 2 is available for download.

2007/07/25 - Delphi 2007 and DBX4
In this latest Dr.Bob Examines article, I'll cover some of the new features in the latest edition of dbExpress (also called DBX4) which ships as part of Delphi 2007 and C++Builder 2007.

2007/07/18-19: CodeGear Europe Developer Days
On July 18 and 19, 2007, CodeGear Europe will be holding a free 2-day web seminar event offering several technical sessions on Delphi, C++Builder, Delphi for PHP and even a Ruby IDE sneak peak.
I will be performing a session on Tracing/Debugging/Testing Win32 Web Services using Delphi 2007 myself on Thursday morning.

2007/06/21 - Delphi and C++Builder Roadmap
CodeGear has published document that describes the roadmap and their intended plans for Delphi and C++Builder. Note that a roadmap is never cast in stone, and always subject to change (like the support for Generics in Highlander, which went from "consumption only" to "consumption and creation of parameterized types in Delphi for .NET" (after a lot of feedback).
You can also listen to the replays of the Delphi and C++Builder Roadmap Briefings.

2007/06/13 - Installing C++Builder 2007 on Delphi 2007
This helpful article describes the steps to install C++Builder 2007 on a system where Delphi 2007 for Win32 is already installed.

2007/06/13 - Installing Update #1 for Delphi 2007
This helpful article describes the steps to install Update #1 of Delphi 2007 for Win32 using the Auto Update feature of the IDE.

2007/05/14 - New C++Builder 2007 brings RAD Windows Vista
CodeGear announced C++Builder 2007 - the world's only native C++ rapid application development (RAD) integrated development environment (IDE) for Microsoft® Windows. C++Builder 2007 provides support for Microsoft Windows Vista, enabling developers to seamlessly upgrade existing C++ applications to support Vista and rapidly build new Windows applications that take advantage of the new Vista Aero user interfaces.
With C ++Builder 2007, developers can quickly build rich client applications that support Vista as well as create dynamic AJAX-enabled Web applications. Applications can be built on Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP or Vista, and deployed automatically to all three platforms without recompilation.

2007/05/07 - IntraWeb 9.0.16 for Delphi 2007
Hadi Hariri has announced on his blog Intraweb version 9.0.16. It is highly recommended that we should upgrade to this build.

2007/05/06 - New Downloads for Delphi 2007 Registered Users
QuickReport, the Remote Debugger, and the BDE Merge Module are now available for download on the Delphi 2007 Registered Users page.

2007/04/24 - Delphi 2006 Hotfix 12
Delphi 2006 Hotfix 12 is available for download for BDS 2006 customers. This hotfix contains fixes for a memory leak in the compiler when building projects and a codegen bug when comparing signed and unsigned integers. Use these in place of earlier versions of bcc32.exe and comp32x.dll.

2007/04/04 - TMS software acquires TntWare's Unicode controls
TMS software has just announced the acquisition of the TntWare Unicode controls. The TntWare Unicode controls are a solution for creating Unicode enabled applications with Delphi & C++Builder. TMS software will build on the TntWare Unicode controls technology to further extend TMS components with Unicode support as well as expand the range of TntWare Unicode controls and add features to these.

2007/03/15 - Vista March 2007 Compatibility Update
Delphi 7 Professional is part of the Vista March 2007 Compatibility Update (a package of software updates that address common application compatibility issues in Windows Vista).

2007/03/12-16 - CodeRage 2007 Virtual Conference
From Monday March 12 until Friday March 16, you should set some time aside to attend CodeRage 2007 - CodeGear's Virtual Conference. With two streams and a total of more than 50 technical sessions, this is something not to miss.
The best part is: you can attend right from your own desk. No place, no train, no hotel (unless you want to, of course), but just the comfort of your own environment.
And the even better part: it's free! Plus if you register, you get a 25% discount on CodeGear products (like the Delphi 2007 for Win32 or Delphi for PHP for example).
There's also a virtual exhibit hall, where I'll be showcasing my Delphi Courseware manuals (three of which will also be given away as conference prices to registered dudes).
As one of the virtual speakers at CodeRage, I'm now also an official CodeDude it seems. And this CodeDude has already recorded his session on Using Delphi (2006) to Extend Win32 Web Applications with AJAX, giving an introduction to what this AJAX "magic" is all about and how easy it is to extend WebBroker applications with AJAX by hand. I'm hoping to "see" you all online at CodeRage to participate!

2007 March - The Delphi Magazine #139
My last Under Construction column in the March issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Broken Link Detection and Web Spidering. In this article, I build classes for both Win32 and .NET to check for broken links in your websites, as well as showing how the principles can be expanded for web spidering.
NOTE: The complete source files from my previous Under Construction columns are now available from my UCCode Web Service, complete with Win32 client source code. And now also with ASP.NET web service, complete with .NET client source code!

2007/02/12 - (Turbo) Delphi Hotfix Roll-up
CodeGear has just now signed-off a new version of the HotFix Rollup of the previous BDS2006 hotfixes 1-9, except 2 and have now added hotfixes 10a-f! This hotfix rollup will work for all BDS2006 Update 2 editions and all the Turbo releases, all languages.

2007 February - The Delphi Magazine #138
My Under Construction column in the February issue of The Delphi Magazine is about ASP.NET Web Services and Attachments. In this article, I show how to use the support Microsoft has added for DIME attachments to ASP.NET web services with WS-Attachments: adding attachments to SOAP responses and also retrieving them.
Also for this issue I've written an article about VCL Designer Enhancements In that article, I describe the VCL enhancements made in Delphi 2006. These include the use of the undocumented AlignWithMargins and Padding properties in VCL container components, Margin and Padding properties in visual VCL controls, plus a word on alpha blending.
NOTE: The complete source files from my previous Under Construction columns are now available from my UCCode Web Service, complete with Win32 client source code. And now also with ASP.NET web service, complete with .NET client source code!

2007 January - The Delphi Magazine #137
My Under Construction column in the January issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Win32/.NET Operator Overloading. In this article, I discuss vector and matrix manipulations using operator overloading, using both Win32 and .NET.

2006/12/18 - RemObjects Software announces Hydra 3.0
RemObjects Software announced Hydra 3.0 for Delphi, bridging the gap between the worlds of unmanaged Delphi code and the Microsoft .NET platform.
Hydra 3.0 enables you to keep your existing Delphi Win32 code, while opening up your applications to managed plugins. This allows new development to happen in .NET, using for example C# 2.0 or Chrome, but also .NET 1.1 development language such as Delphi for .NET. At the same time, the existing code can be kept and maintained in Delphi for Win32.

2006/12/11 - Free InterBase 2007 Developer Edition
InterBase 2007 Developer Edition (for Windows, Linux and Solaris) and InterBase 2007 Server Edition (trial) as well as InterBase 7.5 Server trial are now available for download from the CodeGear website.

2006/12/04 - Chat with Ben Smith, CodeGear CEO
On Monday, December 4th at 19:00 GMT/UTC, join Ben Smith, CodeGear CEO, and David I in an open community chat on the BDNradio internet site. A replay of the audio broadcast and the chat log will be posted on the Developer Network after the event.

2006 December - The Delphi Magazine #136
My Under Construction column in the December issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Data Entry Validation With AJAX. In this article, I discuss how to use AJAX in combination with Delphi web applications for data entry input validation using XML.
In another article entitled Using Database Transactions In Delphi VCL Applications I pass on some hard-won wisdom on database transactions.

2006/11/09 - Free Borland Win32 seminar on Nov 20th
With Delphi and C++Builder now part of the Borland Developer Studio, the combination of a modern development language, a fast compiler and a productive IDE is appreciated by many developers all over the world.
While there has been a lot of focus on the .NET platform recently, this free seminar in Amstelveen (The Netherlands) is all about developing 100% Pure Native Win32 applications.

2006/11/06 - Two Weeks of Delphi Webinars
The Borland DTG Developer Relations team will be presenting ten live one-hour Delphi and C++ 2006 Webinars on BDNtv starting Monday, November 6, 2006 and ending Friday, November 17. Each live Webinar will cover a different product use and development theme.

2006 November - The Delphi Magazine #135
My Under Construction column in the November issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Debugging Win32 Web Services. In this article, I examine Delphi’s Win32 SOAP and web services support, focusing on techniques to debug and trace Win32 web services using Delphi 2006. Apart from these debugging techniques, I also cover some interoperability issues and workarounds, especially when importing and consuming .NET web services.

2006/10/30 - Delphi Survey
Nick Hodges has just announced a Delphi Survey for 2006. In 12 sections of in total about 60 questions (it feels like 100), we are asked all kinds of useful information on the version/edition of Delphi we use, as well as the technologies used (and wanted, like .NET 2.0, UNICODE for VCL, CF, Vista), application types we develop, and much more.
Please do yourself and other Delphi developers a favour and take the time to fill out this survey!

2006 October - The Delphi Magazine #134
My Under Construction column in the October issue of The Delphi Magazine is about RemObjects SDK 4.0 and Distributed Webcam Viewers. In this article, I turn my webcam viewer into a multi-tier application using RemObjects SDK 4.0.

2006/09/29 - Delphi Highlander Preview
I'm back from EKon 10 / BorCon Europe, where Nick Hodges gave a nice demo of Delphi Highlander and some of the upcoming Delphi language enhancements. In my latest Dr.Bob Examines article, I've written down my personal interpretations of the Delphi Highlander and nDataStore news I heard and demos I saw at the Opening Keynote, Delphi Product Address and Technical "what's cooking" Keynote.

2006/09/25 - Turbo Delphi 2006 Professional Compiler Pack
The command line compilers are now available for download for registered users of Turbo Delphi Professional and Turbo Professional Delphi for .NET.

2006/09/19 - (Turbo) Delphi Hotfix Roll-up
Borland Developer Tools Group / DevCo has just now signed-off a rollup of the previous BDS2006 hotfixes 1-6, except 2 and have now added three previously unreleased hotfixes 7-9! This hotfix rollup will work for all BDS2006 Update 2 editions and all the Turbo releases, all languages.

2006/09/04 - Turbo Delphi FAQ
The Turbo Editions FAQ with Frequently asked questions (and answers) for Turbo Delphi, Turbo Delphi for .NET, Turbo C++, and Turbo C# is now available.

2006 September - The Delphi Magazine #133
My Under Construction column in the September issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Implementing Automatic Updates. In this article, I build an internet update manager application in Win32, demonstrating and implementing techniques that you can use in VCL applications to allow automatic updates from the web. In the process we’ll use a new VCL component: the TTrayIcon.
For this issue of TDM I've also written an article about Using Short Message Services In Delphi Applications, where I'll shows how to create and send SMS messages in both Win32 and .NET applications.

2006/08/17 - Hydra 3.0 for Delphi
Get a first peek at what's cooking in the RemObjects' labs for the upcoming version 3.0 of the Hydra plugin framework for Delphi showing how to use Hydra 3.0 to use .NET plugins in Win32 host applications, allowing you to migrate or extend existing Win32 application to .NET gradually, or keep a mixed-mode application for as long as you want.

2006/08/17 - InterXpress for Firebird 1.4.2 released!
Upscene Productions has announced version 1.4.2 of InterXpress for Firebird, their dbExpress driver for Firebird, available on Windows and Linux. A trial version can be downloaded (limited to 20 command cursors or 30 transactions - whichever comes first (limitation removed in licensed version)).

2006/08/08 - Turbo Delphi
DevCo is bringing back the Turbo Editions: Turbo Delphi for Win32, Turbo Delphi for .NET, Turbo C++ (Win32) and Turbo C# for .NET will be released on September 5th, 2006, both in a Free (Explorer) and affordable (less than US$ 500) Pro version. IMHO, this is a very good move, and will hopefully bring large numbers of new Delphi developers to the DevCo community (and the TurboExplorer website).
Note that Turbo Delphi includes the VCL (for .NET) components, and Turbo Delphi for .NET even allows you to build ECO applications (as well as ASP.NET of course).
There appears to be one gotcha, however. According to Neil Rubenking, you can only install one Turbo edition on your machine at a time. If you want to use more than one "Turbo" version, then you probably will want to use Borland Developer Studio anyway (so for Delphi developers, you need to choose between Turbo Delphi for Win32 or Turbo Delphi for .NET I'm afraid).

2006 August - The Delphi Magazine #132
My Under Construction column in the August issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Deploying ASP.NET Applications. In this article, I demonstrate how to deploy your ASP.NET applications and untangles the various gotchas you may encounter along the way.

2006 July - The Delphi Magazine #131
My Under Construction column in the July issue of The Delphi Magazine is about ASP.NET Template Columns. In this article, I discusse template extensions to the ASP.NET DataGrid control, with the focus mainly on the EditItem template examples that can enhance the way you edit data in the DataGrid.
For this issue of TDM I've also written an article about How To Use BdpDataAdapter, where I show how to write a simple database application using the BdpDataAdapter.

2006/06/30 - BDS Technical Publications Survey
Borland Developer Studio technical publications team is asking for your feedback on the documentation for Borland Developer Studio 2006 in this survey. Please let them know your preferences regarding the documentation, and contribute to the quality of the Borland Developer Studio documentation by filling out this survey.

2006/06/13 - BDS 2006 Hotfixes released
Borland has released hotfixes to address specific issues (in BDS 2006 Update #2), namely:

  1. This hotfix contains a fix for poppack.h. An invalid '#pragma option' was added to poppack.h which was causing alignment errors when building Windows applications.
  2. This hotfix updates the CaliberRM integration in BDS 2006 to work with CaliberRM Release 2 SP1. Do not apply this fix unless your CaliberRM server has been updated to that release.
  3. This hotfix contains a fix for customers who were unable to run the BDS2006 IDE after installing Update 2. For those customers, the IDE would start to load, and as soon as the splash screen was shown, it would disappear and the IDE would not run.
  4. This hotfix contains a fix for HTML Editor for international characters. In DBCS environment, such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean, international character in the HTML editor may become corrupted or lost.
  5. This hotfix addresses the delay when switching to the form designer view when the product is configured with a large number of component packages.
  6. This hotfix contains a fixes an issue where accented characters or far east characters in source code cause errors in C++ rename refactoring.
These hotfixes are also available from the Delphi Registered User Updates page.

2006 June - The Delphi Magazine #130
My Under Construction column in the June issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Custom DB Web Controls. In this article, I show how to create our very own DB Web controls for ASP.NET web application development.
There were some issues I encountered along the way, one of them is listed as QC #29609 and has the status "opened" now.

2006/05/26 - Delphi SpeedUp 1.8
DelphiSpeedUp Delphi/BCB/BDS IDE plugin Version 1.8 is a plugin for Delphi/C++Builder 5/6/7/2005 and BDS 2006. It speeds up the time to load the IDE and it also improves the whole speed of the IDE. This is achieved by replacing some often used RTL functions by FastCode function that are optimized for the used CPU. It also adds some caches for function that work on filenames like ExpandFileName().

2006 May - The Delphi Magazine #129
My Under Construction column in the May issue of The Delphi Magazine is again about Enterprise Core Objects (ECO) III. In this article (part Two of Two), I continue my explanation of the use of Enterprise Core Objects in Delphi 2006; this month I demonstrate how to create ASP.NET applications, using Bob’s Error Report Tool (BERT) as a worked example.

2006/04/18 - Delphi 2006 Update #2
Delphi 2006 Update #2 is now available for download. For more information about the update, read the article on BDN, which also contains a nice section on deploying BDS 2006 applications.

2006 April - The Delphi Magazine #128
My Under Construction column in the April issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Enterprise Core Objects (ECO) III. In this article (part One of Two), I start to demonstrate the ECO III features in Delphi 2006, which are now brought down into the Professional Edition. We'll design a model for Bob's Error Report Tool (BERT) in an ECO Package, make the model persistent, and create a simple WinForms GUI for it.

2006/03/28 - BDNradio: Luminaries on DevCo
Tuesday March 28th, 2006, at 10:00 PST (or 18:00 GMT, which means 19:00 for me at GMT+1) there will be a BDNRadio panel discussion on the future of development and database tools. I've been invited to join the panel, and we will discuss current and future opportunities of the development tools and database products as part of a spun off entity (DevCo).
Please see details on this event in EventCentral.

2006/03/27 - RemObjects SDK 4.0 for Delphi
RemObjects Software has just announced the new RemObjects SDK 4.0 for Delphi (build 4.0.5.455). The RemObjects SDK is the essential remoting framework for Delphi and Kylix. allowing you to remotely access objects residing on a server from clients inside the LAN or across the Internet. Read more about the RemObjects SDK and download a free trial.

2006/03/19 - Shell+ Components for Delphi 2005
Aleksandr Tischenko has released the latest version of Shell+ Components. Now it also supports Borland Developer Studio 2005/2006. You can find information in the Shell+ 3.0 release notes.

2006 March - The Delphi Magazine #127
My Under Construction column in the March issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Together Support in Borland Developer Studio 2006. In this article, I demonstrate how to use the Together modelling features (without using ECO) as well as design patterns, UML refactoring, code audits and code metrics with the Borland Developer Studio 2006 IDE.

2006/02/19 - Delphi 2006 Trial Edition
The 30-day trial edition of Borland Developer Studio 2006 (including Delphi 2006, C++Builder 2006 and C#Builder 2006) is now available for download.

2006/02/08 - Borland seeks buyer for IDE division
Borland announced plans to seek a buyer for the portion of its business associated with the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), including the award-winning Borland Developer Studio (Delphi, C++Builder and C#Builder) and JBuilder product lines.
On Borland Developer Network, there's is a community letter by David I, as well as a letter from the CEO Tod Nielsen.

2006/02/02 - The Register on Delphi 2006
The Register has published a review of Delphi 2006, which includes quotes like "At last, another good version of the best RAD tool for Windows" and "Here's why Delphi 2006 is worth a look. In the Win32 world, it is still a Visual Basic killer".

2006 February - The Delphi Magazine #126
My Under Construction column in the February issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Borland Data Provider for .NET enhancements. In this article, I examine three new features in the Borland Data Provider (BDP) for .NET: SQL tracing, connection pooling and the error reconciliation dialog.

2006/01/30 - RemObjects SDK 4.0 for Delphi - Beta 1
RemObjects Software announces the RemObjects SDK 4.0 for Delphi - Beta 1, as promised in the recent ROadmap, available for download to all subscription customers and beta testers.

2006/01/20 - Raize Components 4.0
Raize Components version 4.0 is now available, offering more than 125 VCL controls for Delphi and C++Builder, supporting Borland Developer Studio 2006 as well (Delphi 2006 and C++Builder 2006), so also the new VCL designer guidelines.

2006 January - The Delphi Magazine #125
My Under Construction column in the January issue of The Delphi Magazine is about ASP.NET HTTP Handlers And Modules. In this article, I explain the power and practicality of these often-ignored aspects of ASP.NET.
Also in this first all-electronic issue, I write about Delphi And SQL Stored Procedures, where I describe how to exploit the power of your database server using SQL stored procedures from within Delphi applications.

2005/12/16 - Delphi 2006 Update #1
Borland Developer Studio 2006 Update 1 English is now available on the Borland website. This update completes the functionality of the Preview Technology for C++ and C in Borland Developer Studio 2006.

2005/12/11 - Delphi 2005 Courseware Manuals Discounted
Now that Delphi 2006 is available, I've been working on my Delphi 2006 courseware manuals and training events.
As a result, the Delphi 2005 courseware manuals will from now on be available for purchase for a discounted price.

2005 December - The Delphi Magazine #124
My Under Construction column in the December issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Web Services And Security. In this article, I demonstrate various techniques that can be used to secure SOAP messages: adding both authentication and encryption to your web services, for Win32 as well as .NET applications. We learn about encryption and decryption using symmetric and asymmetric algorithms, plus WS-Security and X509 too.

Also in this issue: Borland Developer Studio 2006 Reviewed. Together with Brian Long, I check out the latest version of Delphi, now reincarnated as a personality in a product called Borland Developer Studio. Brian gives us an overview, concentrating on new features which will be found in all editions of the new version. I concentrate on stuff which is aimed at a higher level and which is sometimes limited to the more expensive editions, specifically Enterprise Core Objects III, the Together UML Designer, design patterns, code metrics, database goodies and more.

2005/11/29 - Launch of Delphi 2006 in The Netherlands
Anyone in The Netherlands is welcome to join us at the Delphi 2006 launch. Jason Vokes, David Intersimone, Bob Swart and Jeroen Pluimers will be hosting the event on Tuesday, 29th of November in Hoofddorp.

2005/11/28 - Advantage Database Server 8.0
Sybase has released Advantage Database Server 8.0, a client/server database system targeted at users of Borland’s Delphi and C++ Builder development environments. The tool, which it acquired along with Extended Systems in October, is being released under Sybase’s iAnywhere subsidiary and is available now for Linux, NetWare and Windows.
Since it took over the product, Sybase claims to have redesigned the user interface to streamline workflow and simplify development. Also new in Advantage 8 is the ability to replicate data across multiple servers and to create database backups while the system is active. A new ANSI SQL scripting language permits developers to create triggers, stored procedures and other common database tasks to simplify database queries.

2005/11/06-10: Borland Developer Conference 2005
I'm one of the featured speakers at the Borland Developers Conferece 2005 (DevCon 2005 for short), doing sessions on ASP.NET Web Forms Development and Multi-Platform SOAP and Web Services.
A Conference Report is also in the works, and will be a mixture of blog postings and pictures that I hope to be able to upload.

2005 November - The Delphi Magazine #123
My Under Construction column in the November issue of The Delphi Magazine is about .NET Compact Framework. In this article, I get to grips with the recently released Delphi 2005 for .NET Compact Framework Technology Preview: a command-line compiler and collection of libraries which allow you to create applications for the .NET Compact Framework using Delphi 2005. In other words: use Delphi to develop software for your Pocket PC or SmartPhone! (see my Compact Visions section or read my weblog for more details).

2005/10/24 - The 24 Hours of DeXter
On October 24th, 2005, Borland Developer Relations organised the second 24 hours marathon, this time with the focus on DeXter. During the 24 Hours of DeXter event, I spoke about upcoming Magazine articles, User Groups, DeXter courseware, and Conference Sessions.
You can now listen to the replays or download the recordings from the BDN website, including my 25 minutes.

2005/10/10 - Borland Developer Studio 2006
Borland has just announced new versions of Delphi, C++Builder and C#Builder, previously codenamed DeXter.
Delphi 2006, C++Builder 2006, and C#Builder 2006 are offered together as part of Borland Developer Studio; Borland's multi-language developer environment for Microsoft Windows and .NET applications. It is the only IDE that includes support for Delphi (both Win32 and .NET), C, C++ and C# applications within a single environment.
Delphi 2006, C++Builder 2006 and C#Builder 2006, all part of Borland Developer Studio, will be available for pre-order between Oct. 17 and Dec. 1, with customer shipments scheduled for early December.

2005 October - The Delphi Magazine #122
My Under Construction column in the October issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Writing .NET Components. In this article, I give us a sound introduction to creating new components for the .NET framework. I'll cover both FCL and WinForms component building, presenting two example components: a non-visual temperature conversion component and a compound navigator user control. I also show how to create custom properties and events, as well as how to install and use the components we create.

2005/09/27 - Delphi / C++Builder Roadmap
At EKon 9, David I did the opening keynote and presented - among others - a Delphi / C++Builder Roadmap, which was very interesting (to say the least).
Read my weblog or Danny Thorpe's for even more details on Delphi DeXter and Highlander!

2005/09/25 - Blogging about Delphi
In case you haven't read it before, I've started to use my weblog as other means to share news and my personal projects and experiences with Delphi.

2005 September - The Delphi Magazine #121
My Under Construction column in the September issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Globalisation And Localisation. In this article, I explain what globalisation and localisation are and provide an introduction to globalisation (the handling of international data using different character encodings plus date, time, number and currency formats). My main focus is on localisation details: producing different language translations of your applications. I show how to do this with a VCL for Win32 application as well as with a WinForms application for .NET, accomplished using quite different techniques.

2005/08/06 - VCL for .NET Migration Tutorial
My six Delphi 2005 tutorials have been published on BDN, including the one entitled Borland Delphi 2005 Migration to .NET using VCL for .NET.
This tutorial demonstrates the migration of Delphi Win32 source code, units and (database) applications to the Microsoft .NET Framework using Borland Delphi 2005 and VCL (for .NET).

2005 August - The Delphi Magazine #120
My Under Construction column in the August issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Using The Skype API With Delphi. In this article, I examine how to make use of the API for the increasingly popular Skype internet telephony application in Delphi to create a range of useful utilities for Skype users, including a nifty software answering machine (you can try the Skype answering machine for yourself by placing a call to Skype handle "drbob42"). I also show how to make Skype calls from inside our Delphi applications. See my special Skype Calls page for more details.
Also in this issue, I write about Joining SQL, where I explain how to get real value out of SQL’s JOIN command to perform complex queries efficiently and effectively. If you’ve always been baffled by inner, outer, left and right JOINs, this is the right place to start dispelling the mystery!

2005/07/26 - Dr.Bob Examines Refactoring with Delphi 2005
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I will demonstrate refactoring in the Delphi 2005 IDE, using an existing demo project as starting point, turning it into a more flexible and powerful application using different refactoring techniques.

2005/07/14 - The 24 Hours of Delphi as mp3
It was great fun to be part of the 24 Hours of Delphi event! One of the things that was mentioned was Highlander, the codename for the Delphi release that will support .NET 2.0. Nick Hodges alsos mention Highlander in his blog.

2005/07/13 - The 24 Hours of Delphi
On July 13th, I participated in The 24 hours of Delphi BDN radio event from 07:00am (GMT) to July 14, 2005 at 06:59am (GMT). There were 24 contiguous hours of live BDN radio interviews with Delphi R&D engineers, Borland partners, book authors, and community members such as myself and Brian Long.

2005/07/12 - Bob Swart and Brian Long Team-Up
Bob Swart of Bob Swart Training & Consultancy and Brian Long of Brian Long Consultancy & Training Services are pleased to announce they are combining their knowledge and experience and now offer a complete range of training and consultancy services world-wide.
"Our combined forces will be used to cover a wider area, both in location and knowledge", said Bob Swart. "Working in combination will help satisfy our customers' diverse requirements more successfully", added Brian Long.
Bob will be available across The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, and Brian will be available throughout the world upon request.
Training covers regular Win32 application development and various advanced topics focusing on specific Delphi and Win32 programming areas. Also .NET foundations, .NET application and component development, ASP.NET development, .NET Interoperability, migration and so on. Training will be based on the latest software, unless customers are bound to earlier product versions, and will use courseware manuals written and tested by ourselves.
Consultancy topics range from Win32 and Linux to .NET, using Borland Delphi, C++Builder and Kylix as well as C# and RemObjects' Chrome. Bob will continue to focus on web and database technologies, while Brian's specialities include general troubleshooting and debugging problems that elude home-grown solutions.

2005/07/08 - Borland CEO Dale Fuller resigns
Dale Fuller has resigned his post of CEO this Thursday, although he will remain as a director. Scott Arnold will be interim president and chief executive officer.
According to Marketwatch, Borland further warns that the Q2 results will be less than expected.

2005 July - The Delphi Magazine #119
My Under Construction column in the July issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Consuming Win32 in .NET Using Virtual Library Interfaces. In this article, I describe how to use this new Delphi feature for importing and using Win32 DLLs in your .NET projects, explaining the steps you need to take, the benefits and the drawbacks too.

2005/06/20 - Delphi 2005 ECO 2 Weblog - Part II
In this second part, I'll build multiple ASP.NET web pages on top of the objects in the EcoSpace, showing the list of categories, weblog posts in categories, and allowing visitors to read the posts (leaving comments will be covered next time).
Next time, I'll add some management capabilities to the application, adding authentication and authorization, making sure that the weblog author can add and edit Categories and Posts, and delete Comments (if needed), while weblog visitors can only read Categories, Posts and Comments by others, or add their own Comments.

2005 June - The Delphi Magazine #118
My Under Construction column in the June issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Delphi 2005 And Unit Testing. In this article, I give you a thorough run-down of Delphi 2005’s unit testing capabilities, showing in detail how to use them for both .NET and Win32 projects. If you are new to the concept of unit testing this article is an excellent place to start getting to grips with what is fast becoming an essential part of any developer’s toolkit!

2005/06/01 - Bitwise Magazine
Bitwise Magazine is a free on-line computing magazine with features on Delphi, C#, and more. For the first issue (launched on June 1st), I've written an article about Blogging with Delphi 2005 and ECO II.
"Borland Delphi 2005 Architect contains a featureset called Enterprise Core Objects 2, which allows us developers to create applications based on a model (with objects, inheritance and associations), which can be made persistent in a DBMS, and used to create GUI as well as web applications. In this two-part article, I’ll use Delphi 2005 and Enterprise Core Objects to define and implement an application handling web logs - also called blogs."

2005/05/17 - New Delphi Survey
Borland is offering us the chance to vote for what we think is important in the next version(s) of Delphi in a new Delphi Survey. This is your chance to have your say, so go for it!

2005 May - The Delphi Magazine #117
My Under Construction column in the May issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Building SharePoint 2003 Web Parts. In this article, I explain what Windows SharePoint Services 2003 is all about and shows how Delphi 2005 can be used to implement Web Parts that can be added to SharePoint workspaces, allowing us to customise the SharePoint tools and technologies with Delphi code and components. I'll cover both simple and more complex Web Parts, using properties, events, child controls and even a provider-consumer model, as well as deployment and security details.

2005/04/17 - BorCon 2004 Papers
The Borland Developer Network site now also contains the session papers from BorCon 2003 and 2004. The 2003 papers were available earlier, but the 2004 papers are new. My four BorCon 2004 session papers are as follows:

I've also submitted eight session proposals for the 2005 Borland Developer Conference (DevCon) in San Francisco, CA (Nov 6-10, 2005).

2005 April - The Delphi Magazine #116
My Under Construction column in the April issue of The Delphi Magazine is about ASP.NET Techniques. In this article, I describe some real-world ASP.NET techniques with Delphi 2005: using DataSync and DataHub, some enhancements in the DB Web controls, how to use the deployment manager, and lessons from migrating an IntraWeb 5.x application to ASP.NET.

2005/03/23 - Delphi and the .NET Compact Framework?
Several Borland Blog entries have been made by Danny, Allen and Danny again about Delphi and support for the .NET Compact Framework. What do we need? Only compiler support for the Compact Framework, or also a Visual Designer? And in case of a Visual Designer, do we want one based on WinForms or VCL for .NET?
Dr.Bob says... For me, the choice is clear: VCL is the way to go for GUI applications: VCL for Win, VCL for .NET and I'd be very pleased with a VCL for .NET/CF. With a little work you can produce almost single-source applications (with some IFDEFs) for Win32, Linux, .NET and in the future hopefully also Compact Framework...

2005 March - The Delphi Magazine #115
My Under Construction column in the March issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Delphi 2005, Databases And .NET Remoting.
In this article, I describe one of the handy enhancements made in Delphi 2005’s database functionality: the Borland Data Provider category on the Tool Palette. However, despite their categorisation, the new components that Bob discusses are actually not limited to the Borland Data Provider; they can be used by any ADO.NET- compliant provider, including third-party ADO.NET drivers.

2005/02/28 - Dr.Bob Examines TADONETConnector
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I will demonstrate how to use the hardly documented TADONETConnector component to feed (ADO).NET DataSets to VCL for .NET clients, where you can show and work with the contents in regular data-aware controls from the VCL (for .NET).

2005/02/26 - Where's My Delphi for .NET Compact Framework?
Danny Thorpe covers the reasons why there isn't a Delphi for .NET Compact Framework, yet.

1995/02/14 - 2005/02/14: Ten Years of Delphi
February 14th marked the 10th anniversary of the launch of Delphi version 1.0 at the Software Development Conference in California.
I've been a loyal user of Borland software since Turbo Pascal version 2. In fact, I've been so attached to the Pascal language, that we decided to name my son after it - he is called Erik Mark Pascal - when he was born in April 1994. At that time, Delphi was already in beta, but there were different codenames being used, and the general idea was that AppBuilder would be the product name. And who in his right mind would call his son after AppBuilder?
Anyway, when Delphi was released, my love for Pascal - both the language and my son - only grew. The only difference was that it was the Delphi IDE that I used to program in the Pascal language, and I quickly found I love Delphi as much as I love Pascal.
So when in 1996 my daughter was born, we decided to call her after Delphi - her names are Natasha Louise Delphine.
Both Erik Mark Pascal and Natasha Louise Delphine know and appreciate what their names stand for, and know why daddy loves them so much (both the kids and the Pascal and Delphi languages). Pascal and Delphi are a part of my life, and that will never change. Just as Borland is a part of my life that will never change or go away.
Happy Birthday, Delphi! (and all who work on and with Delphi)

2005/02/10 - Delphi 8 for .NET Courseware
Delphi 8 for .NET Essentials and Delphi 8 ASP.NET Essentials courseware manuals in PDF-format are now available for purchase: 84 Euro for one manual, or 126 Euro for both manuals! (add 19% VAT for EU-customers).
This material was licensed by Borland for the official Borland Professional Services (world-wide) and consists of Delphi 8 for .NET Essentials and ASP.NET Essentials training days. The courseware can be used for a 3-day training course, but also for self-study.

2005 February - The Delphi Magazine #114
My Under Construction column in the February issue of The Delphi Magazine is about .NET Assemblies, Security And AppDomains.
In this article, I explain the problems caused by assemblies that include P/Invoke calls, and also explain how to overcome them. I then move on to demonstrate how to dynamically load assemblies and use Reflection to get class types, methods and fields from these assemblies, plus unloading assemblies using an AppDomain and a wrapper.

I've also written an article for the same issue of The Delphi Magazine about Using .ini Files As Databases.
In this article, I show how the humble .ini file can easily do duty for us in those situations where a database library or DBMS of some kind is needed but would in reality be overkill for your apps. Not only that, but they provide a cross-platform solution that works on Win32, .NET and Linux (with Kylix).

2005/01/31 - Dr.Bob Examines SetFocus in ASP.NET
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I will demonstrate how to generate and include the right JavaScript code in order to set the focus to a specific control in an ASP.NET web page built with Delphi 2005. We'll then use Refactoring to turn it into an even more generic ASP.NET solution.

2005/01/23 - D2005 Migration to .NET using VCL for .NET
This tutorial demonstrates the migration of Delphi Win32 source code, units and (database) applications to the Microsoft .NET Framework using Borland Delphi 2005 and VCL (for .NET).

2005 January - The Delphi Magazine #113
My Under Construction column in the January issue of The Delphi Magazine is about .NET Command-Line Tools, Delphi 2005 IDE Support And Assembly Hell.
In this article, I describe the use of some .NET command-line tools that can be helpful when integrated into the Delphi 2005 IDE. I also discuss some of the less visible gotchas in Delphi 2005 and the problems you will encounter using assemblies developed in one version of Delphi with a different version.

2004/12/24 - Dr.Bob Examines .NET Remoting
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I will demonstrate Delphi 2005's DataSync and DataHub in a Remote Setting (with RemoteServer and RemoteConnection), and mainly focus on how to pass SQL query parameters from the thin client to the .NET Remoting server.

2004/12/23 - Delphi 2005 Update #1
The first update for Delphi 2005 is now available for download for registered Delphi 2005 users. This update is for Delphi 2005 Architect, Enterprise and Professional. It supports all languages (except for the Professional version, which is for English only at this time).

2004/12/22 - Delphi 8 Update #3 Public Beta
As some of you may have experienced: installing SP1 of the .NET Framework 1.1 will break the Delphi 8 for .NET compiler (not the IDE or compiled applications, but "only" the compiler itself - or more accurately the references to assemblies).
A Public Beta of Delphi 8 Update #3 has been released which will address the changes required for SP1 of the .NET 1.1 Framework.

2004 December - The Delphi Magazine #112
My Under Construction column in the December issue of The Delphi Magazine (the only remaining pure-Delphi publication now Delphi Informant is no longer being published) is about Delphi 2005.
In this article, I review the latest version of Delphi, with both Win32 and .NET support in one IDE, plus C# as well as Delphi language compilation! Could this be the best ever Delphi? Check out my review and find out!

2004/11/30 - Dr.Bob Examines Delphi 2005
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I will cover some of the features in Delphi 2005. The article also includes a link to another white paper I wrote for Borland about What's New in Delphi 2005, and information about my upcoming Delphi 2005 training and courseware material.

2004/11/26 - Delphi 2005 Update coming
As repeated in Anders Ohlsson blog, Michael Swindell has announced in the Borland newsgroups that a Delphi 2005 update will be made available sometime early December.

2004/11/16 - What's New in Delphi 2005?
I've written a technical white paper describing What's New in Delphi 2005 which is now published on the Borland Developer Network.
My top 10 reasons for upgrading to Delphi 2005 are as follows:

For more information you can attend my Delphi 2005 training days in The Netherlands or the Best of Delphi 2005 seminar in London, followed by my Delphi 2005 Database Development masterclass in London, UK

2004 November - The Delphi Magazine #111
My Under Construction column in the November issue of The Delphi Magazine is entitled Big Brother Is Watching You.
In this article, I describe how to take control over the running of an application; specifically, to control how frequently MSN Messenger is used and for how many minutes in each day: very handy if (like me) you have kids who are addicted to MSN, or perhaps to their favourite game.
I've also written a BorCon 2004 report, about SDO And Diamondback, reporting from Borland’s annual conference on the new Delphi developments just around the corner.
Finally, I've written a little Developer’s Guide To Windows Server 2003, where I runs through some gotchas in Microsoft’s server operating system.

2004/10/26 - Dr.Bob Examines Delphi Database Development
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I will use Diamondback (aka Borland Delphi 2005) and explain what techniques are available to connect to and work with databases. For each of the techniques, I will briefly show how it works, and which databases can be accessed through it. We'll also examine the data migration capabilities of the Data Explorer and the BdpCopyTable component.

2004/10/12 - Borland Delphi 2005 Announced
Borland has announced Delphi 2005, the latest version of Borland Delphi with support for Delphi Win32, Delphi for .NET and C# personalities. Borland Delphi 2005 will be available in several editions: Architect, Enterprise and Professional.
A white paper with an Overview of Delphi 2005 is available now, and will be followed by a detailed white paper covering What's New in Delphi 2005 shortly.

2004 October - The Delphi Magazine #110
My Under Construction column in the October issue of The Delphi Magazine (the only remaining pure-Delphi publication now Delphi Informant is no longer being published) is about DataSnap And .NET.
In this article, I show how to use DataSnap with .NET: connecting to a DataSnap server for Win32, built using Delphi 7, from a .NET client in Delphi 8, and talking to Linux from .NET using a Win32 gateway DataSnap server to overcome the current lack of SOAP support on the .NET end!

2004/09/21 - DO NOT INSTALL .NET 1.1 SP1
Borland Delphi 8 for .NET users should not install the SP1 for the .NET Framework 1.1 (and note that it's installed automatically with Windows Update, as I found out myself).
Originally, Allen Bauer posted a shotgun-fix (based on information from Roy Nelson among others), but Danny Thorpe has posted a more detailed analysis which just results in the knowledge that we should wait until Borland provides us with a patch for the compiler.

2004/09/11-15: Borland Conference 2004 Report
Like previous years, I have written a "live" Conference Report on this website including details of all major events, Borland and 3rd-party announcements and session details.

2004 September - The Delphi Magazine #109
My Under Construction column in the September issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Webcam Publishing.
In this article, I wanted to find an easy way to keep in touch with the family while I'm away, so I developed some nifty applications to make use of a few webcams: capturing, publishing and retrieving images, using a variety of Win32 and .NET technologies.

2004/08/13 - "Next Release of Delphi" Seminar in UK
The UK-based Developers Group (incorporating the UK-BUG Borland User Group and the DotNet Developers Group) is planning a mini-conference at the end of November 2004, in co-operation with Borland UK, to cover the Next Release of Delphi (aka Diamondback).
I can't tell you much more at this time, but I will be there for sure!

2004/08/10 - New Diamondback for-loop Syntax
According to Danny Thorpe's latest weblog entry, "in the next release of Delphi, the compiler will support a new kind of for loop, dubbed the "for..in" loop. A "for..in" loop works just like a regular Delphi for loop except that you don't have to deal with a loop index variable.".
This sounds a lot like the C# foreach feature. And the best thing is: it will even be available in the Win32 Delphi compiler as well.

2004/08/09 - Dynamic Data-Aware Forms for Delphi
My next article at the IBM DB2-Borland web portal examines IBM DB2 Universal Database metadata in order to dynamically build views and forms, including how to dynamically generate a new CLX form and stream the form as a Delphi .pas and .xfm file, ready to be added to Kylix and Delphi CLX projects.

2004/08/04 - Delphi 7.1 Update - Database supplemental
This public beta contains updated database runtime and source files for Delphi 7. The files in this update are intended only to address defects that were introduced in the Delphi 7.1 update. You should install the Delphi 7.1 update before installing these files. See the readme_db_upd1.txt file included for additional information.

2004 August - The Delphi Magazine #108
My Under Construction column in the August issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Delphi Language Enhancements. In this article, I outline the additions to our beloved language that arrived with Delphi 8, and discuss which of these might make the transfer from .NET to Win32 in a future Delphi version.
TDM #108 also prints an article about .NET Security: Signing Assemblies from me. In that article, I explain why you may want to sign your Delphi-developed .NET assemblies and how to go about it, including delay signing and other handy hints.
Finally, I've also written a book review: Delphi For .NET Developer’s Guide by Xavier Pacheco - the only Delphi 8 for .NET book currently in existence.

2004/07/20 - Delphi 8 for .NET and Assemblies
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I will explain what .NET Assemblies are, how we can use them in Delphi 8 for .NET applications, and especially how we can make them ourselves. It actually turns out that there is more than one way (and even some special way to use some of them in Win32 applications).

2004 July - The Delphi Magazine #107
My Under Construction column in the July issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Delphi 7 Update 1. In this article, I take a good look at Update 1 for Delphi 7 to see what Borland has been doing to help the Win32 developers amongst us! Want to know if some annoying bug has been fixed – read this article!

2004/06/23 - RemObjects Software Data Abstract 3
RemObjects Software has announced Data Abstract 3.0 for Delphi, which is available for preorder now. RemObjects’ Data Abstract is a data access framework which allows you to work with databases in a DBMS- and driver-independent way, creating multi-tier applications with the professional editions of Delphi (and Kylix), and no need for those DataSnap licence fees.
I've reviewed the first version of Data Abstract (for The Delphi Magazine) and was impressed by the way in which it allows you to separate the data access layer from your business logic. In fact, Data Abstract allows you to write the business rules completely independent of the actual database, and enables you to switch from one data access technology to another, with support for dbExpress, IBExpress, IBObjects, SDAC, ODAC, DOA, and more. So you do not only have the choice between different databases that are supported (like SQL Server, InterBase, DB2, Oracle, MySQL, etc.) but also the actual data access technologies!

2004/06/22 - Improved searching in a TClientDataSet
Tjipke A. van der Plaats has written an article for Borland Developer Network where he explains a way to search faster in client datasets by creating a TClientDataSet descendant and re-implementing Locate or Lookup so that they use indexes.

2004/06/11 - Delphi 7.1 Update Fix
The Delphi 7.1 Update download has been updated to address the persistent field issue in the original release of the Delphi 7.1 Update. The latest version of the patch will enforce data integrity without raising an exception.
You can download and install this update either in place of or on top of the previous Delphi 7.1 General Update.

2004/06/01 - DUnit: Xtreme Unit Testing for Delphi
Project "DUnit: Xtreme Unit Testing for Delphi" ('dunit') has released the new version of package 'dunit'. You can download it from SourceForge.net or browse Release Notes and ChangeLog.

2004 June - The Delphi Magazine #106
My Under Construction column in the June issue of The Delphi Magazine is about IntraWeb for .NET. In this article, I examine IntraWeb for .NET, providing an overview and comparing it to ASP.NET (with Delphi 8 for .NET). We focus on login and authorisation/authentication, database support, session and state management, navigation, deployment, and finally custom components (including third-party components).

2004/05/26 - Borland teams up with eBay & PayPal
Borland announced a new relationship with eBay that will provide Borland developers with access to tools and resources for creating Web services applications for the eBay and PayPal platforms and communities. Through a joint distribution agreement, Borland will make the eBay and PayPal Software Development Kits (SDKs) available to Delphi developers.
Delphi developers will get access to tools and resources that can help them build highly-available .NET services.

2004/05/13 - Delphi 7 Update #1 and Persistent Fields
Delphi 7 Update #1 enforces a more strict check on (matching) persistent field sizes. John Kaster has written a BDN-article about size mismatch exceptions in Delphi 7 applications after applying Delphi 7 Update #1, and Allen Bauer quotes a message from Mark Edington (time to get your own blog, Mark!).
With regards to the Update #1 and any potential updates to the update, John mentioned the following: "This is the plan: The 7.01 patch will remain in place until the new one is available, and there will be a short blurb above or below it (it hasn't been posted yet) pointing to my article on BDN for more information, for as long as the 7.01 patch is available for download. When the new patch is done, we'll replace the existing patch because the new one (whatever # it is) will "roll up" both 7.x releases."

Another effect of this strict(er) persistent field check is the fact that the XML Mapper will raise an exception at startup (see QC report #8139, which also presents a workaround).

2004/05/09 - Delphi 7 Update #1
Registered users of Delphi 7 can now download Delphi 7 Update #1 from the Delphi 7 download site. This update fixes well over 100 issues. Borland fixed a lot of issues reported in Quality Central as you can see from the README on BDN that has hyperlinks to all fixed issues logged in QC.
Note that unfortunately, the Delphi 7 update does not include the fixes addressed in the unofficial ActionBands patch. Additionally, you may need to reinstall this patch after applying the Delphi 7 update.

2004 May - The Delphi Magazine #105
My Under Construction column in the May issue of The Delphi Magazine is about ASP.NET User And Custom Controls. In this article, I explain the two ways to implement custom ASP.NET controls: adding them to an existing ASP.NET web forms application (in which case they are called ASP.NET user controls), or creating a complete new package for them (which is called a Web Control Library) and thereby ending up with an ASP.NET custom control.
In another article about ASP.NET Security, I show how authorisation and authentication work in the .NET Framework, and put the theory to good use to demonstrate how to limit access to areas of your website with some straightforward ASP.NET code, making use of ASP.NET forms authentication.

2004/04/28 - Updated Delphi 8 License
An Updated Delphi 8 License is now available from Borland Developer Network. The major change involves point 3 ("Compiled Programs and Redistributables") which not only gives you the right to distribute the redistributable files from Borland (as part of your component or application), but now also gives you the ability to sublicense to your end users the rights to distribute the redistributables. Moreover, 3.6 specifically targets component developers with a special agreement that allows them to grant rights to the components customers (the only thing I'm not sure about is what to do with freeware or Open Source components built with Delphi 8 for .NET).
The bottom line is that we can safely distribute the Borland redistributable files as part of our components or applications.

2004/04/20 - RemObjects SDK 3.0
The RemObjects SDK is the award winning remoting framework for Delphi and Kylix. It allows you to remotely access objects residing on a server from clients inside the LAN or across the Internet. It supports object pooling, asynchronous invocation, compression, encryption, and a variety of protocols such as TCP/IP, HTTP, UDP, POP3/SMTP, NamedPipes, etc. It includes the RemObjects Service Builder and allows you to expose your services as SOAP web-services.
RemObjects SDK 3.0 is available for Borland Delphi 7, Borland Delphi 6, and Borland Kylix 3.

2004/04/09 - Delphi VCL data-aware controls and DB2
This article on the IBM DB2-Borland portal uses Delphi 8 for .NET, dbExpress and the data-aware controls from the Visual Component Library (VCL) to connect to and work with IBM DB2 UDB tables.
The same project is also compiled with Delphi 7 to a Win32 executable with minimal changes.

2004 April - The Delphi Magazine #104
My Under Construction column in the April issue of The Delphi Magazine is about MDA And Enterprise Core Objects. In this article, I cover MDA, which stands for Model Driven Applications, and how we can use the Architect edition of Delphi 8 for .NET to put MDA into action with Enterprise Core Objects (ECO).

2004/03/23 - Delphi 8 for .NET Architect Trial
The Delphi 8 Architect 30-day Trial edition is now available for download. A trial edition of InterBase is also available for download.
Note that the Delphi 8 Architect Trial is a two-part download. The recommended procedure is to download Part 1 first (83,643,156 bytes), this contains extras including Component One, Wise Owl Demeanor, and MDAC as will as a set of configuration files for use with C#Builder, then download and run Part 2 (88,285,589 bytes), the main Delphi 8 install. The extras and main Delphi 8 packages should be extracted to the same location on the local machine.

2004/03/19 - TeeChart Pro VCL / CLX version 7
Steema Software has released version 7 of TeeChart Pro VCL / CLX (including free and evaluation versions). New features include Delphi 8 VCL.NET support, 360 degree rotation, new Series styles, improved GIS-Mapping features, more Tee Functions and Chart Tools, Themes and color palettes, OpenGL gradients and export to SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics).

2004/03/11 - Delphi 8 for .NET Update #2 & Doc Update
We can now download Delphi 8 Update 2 as well as a Rave Reports Update, InterBase 7.1 SP2 Update, and a special Documentation Update from the Delphi for .NET download site.
Also, Michael Swindell has posted a new message regarding future updates (including an upcoming Delphi 7 update).

2004/03/04 - IntraWeb and ActiveForms
In this article about IntraWeb and ActiveForms, I show how to use IntraWeb and ActiveForms together to create some innovative solutions for your intranet/extranet needs: the sum is definitely greater than the parts when used standalone!

2004 March - The Delphi Magazine #103
My Under Construction column in the March issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Delphi 8 For .NET And ASP.NET Web Services. In this article, I discuss ASP.NET web services, considered by many to be the best part of the .NET framework. I also explain how to migrate your existing Delphi web service engines to ASP.NET in such a way that the resulting project can be compiled with both Delphi 7 and Delphi 8 for .NET.

2004/02/06 - The 2004 Delphi Survey
Borland is looking forward to receiving your feedback in the new 2004 Delphi Survey. This is your chance to provide valuable input to the Delphi team on a variety of Delphi topics. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes on average to complete. Your feedback has a direct influence on future versions of Delphi.

2004 February - The Delphi Magazine #102
My Under Construction column in the February issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Delphi 8 For .NET And Data Access Technologies. In this article, I discuss several solutions for data access on .NET, both for VCL applications and those which do not use VCL for .NET, and explain when to use what, including an introduction to ADO.NET.
Also in this issue, an article about IntraWeb and ActiveForms, where I show how to use IntraWeb and ActiveForms together to create some innovative solutions for your intranet/extranet needs: the sum is definitely greater than the parts!

2004/01/31 - Dr.Bob Examines Delphi 8 for .NET
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I'll give you an overview of Delphi 8 for the Microsoft .NET Framework (or just Delphi 8 for .NET as I will personally call it). I'll tell you how to "tweak" the Welcome Page, where to find more information (like some articles I wrote earlier), and refer you to helpful resources like websites, papers, training, and more.

2004/01/30 - Michael Swindell on Delphi 8 Updates
Michael Swindell has posted a message on the borland.public.delphi.non-technical newsgroup about Delphi 8 Updates - the first one of which we can expect to be available in the coming days - not weeks!

2004/01/18 - EWF vs. IntraWeb vs. ASP.NET
A comparative review, written by Lauchlan Mackinnon, comparing ExpressWeb Frameworks from Developer Express, IntraWeb from AtoZed software, and ASP.NET from Microsoft, has just been published on the Borland Developer Network website.

2004/01/09 - Delphi Bugs in QualityCentral
If you have encountered any bugs with Delphi 7 or Delphi 8 for .NET, then this is your chance: please put them into QualityCentral as soon as possible. At the end of this week, Borland will be compiling a list of bugs to fix for both Delphi/Win32 and Delphi/NET so the R&D team can allocate resources to work on them.

2004 January - The Delphi Magazine #101
My Under Construction column in the January issue of The Delphi Magazine is about ASP.NET and DB Web Controls.
In this article, I start with the Borland Data Provider for .NET, an open layer on top of ADO.NET providing support for multiple databases, and then uses them in an ASP.NET web forms application, using the new DB Web controls.
I also wrote a review about RemObjects’ Data Abstract, a new data access framework, which the developers claim allows you to work with databases in a DBMS- and driver-independent way, creating multi-tier applications with no need for DataSnap licence fees.

2003/12/31 - Delphi 7 and IntraWeb 5.1
My two articles in Hardcore Delphi about IntraWeb 5.1.28 in combination with Delphi 7 are now republished as my December Dr.Bob Examines column. The first part covers IntraWeb Page Mode with Delphi 7 Professional, the second part covers IntraWeb Application Mode with Delphi 7 Enterprise.

2003/12/22 - Delphi 8 for .NET shipping
Just before Christmas: Delphi 8 for .NET is now shipping, and available in three editions: Professional, Enterprise and Architect (see also the Feature Matrix). A Personal edition will most likely also become available (just like trial versions), so stay tuned.
The Borland Developer Network already has some articles on Delphi 8 for .NET, and my first Delphi for .NET Training Days will be held on January 22nd and February 19th (on ASP.NET).

2003/12/19 - Accessing DB2 with Delphi for .NET
In this article for the IBM DB2 - Borland web portal (in cooperation with IBM and Borland), I show how Borland Delphi 8 for the Microsoft .NET Framework lets you build native .NET applications that connect to IBM DB2 UDB tables, display the data in a DataGrid, and edit, apply, or undo changes in the database tables.
As data access technology, I use both dbExpress - a cross-platform data access framework - and the new Borland Data Provider for ADO.NET, both of which contain drivers for DB2 UDB.

2003/12/15 - Migrating SQL Links to dbExpress
In this article, I demonstrate two different data access technologies available to Delphi (and C++Builder) developers when they want to connect to IBM DB2 Universal Database (UDB) tables, and need to work with the data inside those DB2 tables.
The BDE's SQL Links is Win32-specific and deprecated, and in this article an SQL Links application is migrated to the alternative, called dbExpress (a cross-platform technology that works in Windows and Linux as well as the Microsoft .NET Framework - with Delphi 8 for .NET).

2003 December - The Delphi Magazine #100
My Under Construction column in the December issue of The Delphi Magazine is about RSS With Delphi For .NET (see also my own RSS Channel at http://www.drbob42.com/RSS.xml).
In this article, I continu my coverage of RSS channels and feeds, but this time using Delphi 8 for .NET. I focus on Delphi 8’s XML and database support as it relates to this project, as well as the migration path for existing VCL applications.

2003/11/24 - Delphi for .NET Sneak Peek
This 5 minute sneak peek, presented by John Kaster and Anders Ohlsson, shows some of the features of Delphi 8 for the Microsoft .NET Framework, including VCL for .NET, Windows Forms, Borland Data Provider, and the DB Web Controls for ASP.NET (that I demonstrated for the Delphi for .NET launch at BorCon Europe in Amsterdam).

2003/11/14 - What's New in Delphi for .NET
The Borland Delphi website now contains information about the three Delphi 8 for the Microsoft .NET Framework editions: Architect, Enterprise and Professional (no Personal, yet) as well as links to PDF files with the Data Sheet, the Tech Overview, the System Requirements and FAQ.

2003/11/11 - Delphi for .NET Launch
On Tuesday evening, 11th November 2003, Delphi 8 for the Micrsoft .NET Framework was launched in The Netherlands at the European Borland Conference in Amsterdam. I had the priviledge to be allowed to demonstrate the ASP.NET functionality during this launch event, by building and consuming an ASP.NET Web Service, and showing how to make ASP.NET Web Forms with the Borland Data Provider and some very cool DB Web components.

2003/11/1-5: Borland Conference 2003
The 14th annual Borland Conference (and Borland's 20th Anniversary) was held from Saturday (Nov 1st) until Wednesday (Nov 5th), in San Jose, CA (USA). I've done a pre-conference tutorial (on XML & SOAP), a session about dbExpress, and a Birds-of-a-Feather session on RemObjects SDK.
The latest Delphi (for .NET) news and updates were reported "live" from BorCon in San Jose and can be read in my special BorCon Report at http://www.drbob42.com/BorCon.

2003 November - The Delphi Magazine #99
My Under Construction column in the November issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Automatic RSS Content Generation (see also my own RSS Channel at http://www.drbob42.com/RSS.xml).
In this article, I focus on RSS channels and automatic feeds. I explain what RSS is, how it can be of benefit to RSS readers as well as the publishers, and (specifically in this issue) how to automatically produce RSS XML documents from a database, resulting in a database-driven content generator with an RSS channel to publish a table of contents.

2003/10/22 - AtoZed Software IntraWeb 7
AtoZed Software just announced the release of IntraWeb 7, expanding on predecessor versions by incorporating the support for WAP, WML, and XHTML MP. Along with HTML 4.0, HTML 3.2 for PDA devices, version 7 now supports almost any platform available.

2003/10/14 - Octane Preview Teaser #1
John Kaster and Anders Ohlsson demonstrate how quickly and easily you can build .NET WinForms applications with Delphi for .NET. Delphi for .NET is a complete solution for Microsoft .NET application development, for WinForms applications, ASP.NET applications, Web Services, servers, or any other kind of software you can build for .NET. The Delphi for .NET compiler produces fully managed .NET applications.
For more information on Octane, see my Octane or Delphi for .NET sections.

2003/10/12 - NexusDB 1.00 for Delphi
Nexus Database Systems is pleased to announce the Final Release of NexusDB 1.00 for Delphi 5-7, and C++Builder 5-6. NexusDB is a very flexible full source database engine for Delphi and C++Builder users. It scales seamlessly from databases kept solely in memory, via embedded server (single executable deployment) to full Client/Server solutions scaling to hundreds of users.

2003/10/02 - Octane: (only) Delphi for .NET
Simon Thornhill has just published a revised Open Letter on the Borland Developer Network in which he addresses a change in plan for Octane, which now includes Delphi for .NET, but no Delphi 8 for Win32. In his Open Letter, Simon mentions Octane - the codename for the new version of Delphi - which will "include a complete Delphi language implementation for .NET, a full .NET implementation of the VCL framework and designers, full support for Windows Forms and ASP.NET Web Forms, Web Services, ADO.NET, ECO Model Driven development and much more."
For more information, see also the Octane and Delphi Q&A.

2003 October - The Delphi Magazine #98
My Under Construction column in the October issue of The Delphi Magazine is about dbExpress And QualityCentral. In this article, I use the normalised data model developed over the last few issues and implement it using dbExpress to talk to InterBase. Along the way a number of problems arise and Borland's QualityCentral resource proves useful in solving these to get a working end result.
In another article about Moving To Delphi For .NET Today! I show how to modify your Delphi projects to get them working with the Delphi for .NET preview compiler and so be ready for the full-blown Delphi for .NET when it arrives.

2003/09/26 - Octane Preview: Delphi for .NET
Anders Ohlsson and David I have shown previews of Octane at EKon 7 as well as the special Borland day in The Netherlands (yesterday). An article on Borland Developer Network covers in some more detail what was shown.

2003 September - The Delphi Magazine #97
My Under Construction column in the September issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Effective ClientDataSets. In this article, I use the ClientDataSet to implement the database design discussed last month, revealing some useful tips and showing how theoretical design sometimes needs to be tweaked to arrive at a practical solution.
In another article about InterBase 7.1 and the Borland Data Provider for ADO.NET, I describe how to use the recently introduced Borland Data Providers for ADO.NET in the Delphi for .NET command-line preview compiler to access InterBase databases.
And finally, I have reviewed Essential .NET Volume 1 – The Common Language Runtime by Don Box with Chris Sells.

2003/09/01 - Borland Conference Europe
The 2003 European Borland Conference, has been rescheduled to November 10-12 in Amsterdam. I'm part of the Advisory Board, and we've selected good sessions from well-known and respected Speakers, for Borland Developers from all over Europe, enabling access to the latest information on .NET and Borland.

2003/08/22 - The Delphi Magazine Collection 2003
The Delphi Magazine Collection 2003 CD-ROM contains issues 1 to 96 (April 1995 to August 2003) in the convenient Adobe PDf-format, plus all source code for the articles, additional trial software, shareware and freeware. The CD comes complete with an easy-to-use browser which allows you to search and view articles, source code, companion disk contents and the bonus material, all from one place.
Even if you subscribe to The Delphi Magazine, I can highly recommend this CD-ROM (which is a much easier way to search for an article or topic than the big stack of 96 issues).

2003 August - The Delphi Magazine #96
My Under Construction column in the August issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Database Normalisation. In this article, I provide some helpful database design rules, formally called database normalisation, but you can also call it common sense! Most developers have worked with databases in one way or another, maybe also designing databases and creating tables, but how many of us have taken the trouble to ensure our designs are efficient and effective?

2003/07/17 - Data Abstract
RemObjects Software Inc, the makers of RemObjects SDK (among others), have just announced a new data access framework called Data Abstract. Read my analysis and comments, or check their website if you want to know more (a more detailed review will be available in the January 2004 issue of The Delphi Magazine).

2003/07/12 - RemObjects SDK 2.0
RemObjects Software, Inc. has announced the immediate availability of the RemObjects SDK 2.0 for Borland Delphi and Kylix. This is the second version of the RemObjects SDK remoting framework, and includes many enhancements and new Enterprise-level features such as advanced new channels, session management, server discovery, asynchronous communication, and more.
RemObjects Client SDK for .NET is also available (as well as on the C#Builder Partner CD), allowing developers to take the step to .NET and build native RemObjects clients for the .NET Framework and the Compact Framework, now. RemObjects Client SDK for .NET is the first step in providing a seamless cross-platform solution for both Delphi/Kylix and .NET, client-and server-side.
For more information of the previous version of RemObjects, you can read my review of RemObjects SDK 1.0.

2003 July - The Delphi Magazine #95
My Under Construction column in the July issue of The Delphi Magazine is about ASP.NET Web Services (with Delphi for .NET). In this article, I show how to build, test and deploy a Delphi for .NET web service on the .NET framework, as well as how to import such web services with Delphi 7 in order to illustrate some potential compatibility issues between Delphi 7 and Delphi for .NET.
Also in The Delphi Magazine, I've reviewed Mastering Delphi 7 by Marco Cantù (with contributions from others), plus Web Services Development With Delphi by Peter Darakhvelidze and Eugene Markov.

2003/06/30 - TurboPower OfficePartner at SourceForge
TurboPower's OfficePartner is now available from SourceForge. OfficePartner is the easy way to integrate your projects with Microsoft Office; you can access COM services in Microsoft Office with easy to use VCL components.

2003/06/03 - Dr.Bob Examines VCL for .NET
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I'll show how to migrate a VCL application (the game of Memory) to VCL for .NET, and finally to WinForms on .NET, all using the Delphi for .NET Preview command-line compiler (including a special section on the Dfm2Pas migration utility).

2003 June - The Delphi Magazine #94
My Under Construction column in the June issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Delphi For .NET, ODBC.NET, ADO.NET And MySQL. In this article, I show how to use MySQL with the Delphi for .NET preview compiler, through both ODBC.NET and (for greater performance, but at a cost of some cash!) ADO.NET.

2003/05/17 - Mark Miller and Developer Express
All Eagle Software products have been acquired by Developer Express Inc and Mark Miller has joined Developer Express as Chief Architect IDE Tools Division.

2003/05/09 - DB2 UDB and SOAP: Database Web Services Follow-up with DataSnap
This new article shows how to add authentication to DataSnap applications using a special Login method; points out that the importance of combining this with SSL certificates for increased security; and describes how to deploy the DataSnap server application on a Web server machine.

2003/05/06 - Borland C#Builder announced
Borland has just announced C#Builder for the Microsoft .NET Framework, to be available June 6th, 2003 in four editions: Personal, Professional, Enterprise, and Architect. A special upgrade price is available for current Delphi, C++Builder, JBuilder or Kylix users: $499 for C#Builder Professional (upgrade) and $999 for C#Builder Enterprise (upgrade).
For more information about C#Builder, see the C#Builder Visions section of this website.

2003 May - The Delphi Magazine #93
My Under Construction column in the May issue of The Delphi Magazine is about DCon Planning With Delphi And ASP.NET, where I continue to work on my schedule-choosing web application for DCon 2003, but this time I'm using Delphi as an ASP.NET scripting language, courtesy of the Delphi for .NET preview compiler (and a lot of head scratching to work round the problems which came to light.).

2003/04/25 - Drill into DB2 UDB Tables for Decision Support
This new DB2 article on the IBM-Borland portal demonstrates how you can build decision-support functionality by drilling into IBM DB2 Universal Database tables using the Decision Cube component of Borland Delphi.

2003/04/14 - Dr.Bob Examines Assemblies and DLLs
This time in my monthly Dr.Bob Examines column, I've examined Delphi for .NET and specifically experimented with .NET assemblies and "regular" DLLs, discovering the differences between them (assemblies can hold classes) and how to use them (in different ways).

2003 April - The Delphi Magazine #92
My Under Construction column in the April issue of The Delphi Magazine is about DCon Planning With IntraWeb 5.1, when I calculate that with over 40 technical sessions in two days, there are over 100,000 possible ways you can pick and follow the DCon 2003 sessions. Making sure you don't miss that crucial session may not be easy, so in this column we build a semi-intelligent DCon 2003 planning application with IntraWeb 5.1.

2003/03/28 - Data Entry Input Validation
This new DB2 article from me, published on the new IBM-Borland portal shows you how to build data entry forms on top of IBM DB2 Universal Database as database tables and records, and how to perform data entry input validation using Delphi, Kylix, and C++Builder.

2003 March - The Delphi Magazine #91
My Under Construction column in the March issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Distributed Apps On The Cheap, examining how to use the RemObjects SDK to build multi-tier applications in Delphi 7 Professional.

Important Note: In this article, I suggested that Delphi 7 Professional developers could purchase a DataSnap licence to be able to deploy the applications that make use of the ClientDataSet and DataSetProvider. Unfortunately, it turns out that it is not possible to purchase a DataSnap licence for Delphi 7 Professional. Technically, the presence of ClientDataSet and DataSetProvider in the product makes it possible to create a multi-tier application with Delphi 7 Professional (plus a third-party tool like RemObjects SDK) using these components, but it would not be legal to deploy such an application because the required runtime licence for DataSnap cannot be obtained without purchasing Delphi 7 Enterprise or Architect. I apologise for any confusion caused.
On the tiny bright side: it is possible to use RemObjects SDK in combination with Delphi 7 Professional to produce multi-tier applications, as long as you stay far away from the ClientDataSet and DataSetProvider components.

2003/02/28 - Delphi 7 Companion CD on-line
The companion CD submissions for Borland's IDE products are now available for download - you can now browse the Delphi 7 Companion CD disk 1 and disk 2 (with four submissions from me on the first disk).

2003/02/22 - Delphi 8: Multiple Inheritance for Interfaces
The first public news item from the Borland Developer Network mentioning Delphi 8 is the article about Multiple Inheritance for Interfaces, a new feature first introduced in update 3 of the Delphi for .NET preview command-line compiler.

2003/02/20 - Delphi for Microsoft .NET Preview Update
The Borland Developer Network features information and a link to the Delphi 7 Registered Users page from where we can download the new Delphi for Microsoft .NET Preview Update.
This 14.6 Mb update includes additional new Delphi RTL and VCL units, a dfm2pas.exe that enables you to convert dfm files to pas files for the .NET framework, as well as a "GUI" interface (plug-in) for a more convenient approach to .NET application development. This accumulative update to Delphi for .NET Preview includes the previous update that was available in November of 2002.
I'm preparing some new articles about the new Dfm2Pas tool as well as more advanced ASP.NET stuff like Code Behind etc.

2003/02/07 - First SideWinder Screenshots
Jason Vokes from Borland EMEA has sent me the first two screenshots of SideWinder, which can now be seen at http://www.drbob42.net/SideWinder.

2003/02/04 - Borland SideWinder: a C# IDE for .NET
According to InfoWorld,Borland is getting ready to go up against Microsoft's Visual Studio .NET with an IDE (integrated development environment) for the Microsoft .NET Framework.
The IDE with codename Sidewinder does not yet have a formal product name and will not ship until this summer. Sidewinder is a C#-based development environment for building applications on the .NET Framework, including ASP.NET, ADO.NET, and WinForms, according to Borland.

2003 February - The Delphi Magazine #90
My Under Construction column in the February issue of The Delphi Magazine is about MySQL Data Access Libraries. In this article, Bob Swart evaluates various third-party libraries you can use to get at your MySQL databases from Delphi apps: ZEOS Library, DirectMySQL and TmySQL (all are freeware or GPL), plus Core Lab MyDAC for Windows and finally the microOLAP MySQLDAC components (commercial products).

2003/01/29 - DSOAP discontinued and available for free
After the creation of the RemObjects SDK, further development on the DSOAP toolkit has been discontinued. For a better remoting solution that doesn't depend on the Microsoft SOAP Toolkit or COM, make sure to check out RemObjects SDK and my detailed review.

2003/01/20 - Raize Software releases Raize Components 3
Raize Software, Inc. announced the availability of Raize Components 3, the latest release of the company's highly-acclaimed VCL component library for Borland Delphi and Borland C++Builder. More than 30 new components have been introduced bringing the total to over 115. In addition, all components in the library have been enhanced in some manner--be it in appearance, functionality, or architecture.

2003/01/20 - Maximize DataSnap efficiency in Delphi
Delphi's DataSnap technology, formerly known as MIDAS, enables you to construct multitier applications. In this article on CNET TechRepublic's Builder.com I explain how to get the DataSnap Server and the DataSetProvider components to work together.

2003/01/13 - www.DrBob42.net
It's been up-and-running for two weeks now, but for those of you who didn't notice yet: apart from www.DrBob42.com (this website), I also have a .NET specific entrance at www.DrBob42.net - with subtopics about C#, ASP.NET, SOAP and Delphi for .NET.
All Delphi for .NET related news is now published mainly on the special Delphi for .NET page.

2003/01/10 - TurboPower at SourceForge
A number of SourceForge projects have been started for TurboPower products, such as:

2003/01/07 - TurboPower discontinues retail business
It is my sad duty to report that - as stated in the press release at http://www.turbopower.com - TurboPower Software Company is immediately withdrawing from the retail component and developer tools market, after almost 18 years!
TurboPower Software intends to open source our VCL and CLX component libraries to the maximum extent possible. The resulting open source projects are hosted at http://sourceforge.net and the SourceForge forums associated with those projects replace the functionality of newsgroups hosted at news://news.turbopower.com.

2002/12/31 - Delphi 6 Update: official run-time patch
The public beta of the Delphi 6 Variants code changes has completed. This Update Pack resolves run-time errors with certain variant operations on Windows 95/98/NT4 systems that have original (unpatched) versions of DCOM. It also resolves a possible deadlock issue.

2002/12/10 - Memory: from VCL via VCL for .NET to .NET
In this article, I'll show how to migrate a VCL application (the game of Memory) to VCL for .NET, and finally to WinForms on .NET, all using the Delphi for .NET Preview command-line compiler (Update 1).
You can download the complete source code from the Delphi for .NET Samples page, with the complete implementation of the VCL, VCL for .NET, and WinForms editions of Memory.

2002/11/27 - Dr.Bob Examines IBM DB2 UDB
A new portal has been created to support the cooperation between IBM's DB2 and Borland's RAD development environments such as Delphi and Kylix. I have written five articles for this web portal, of which four are already published and available online and described in my latest Dr.Bob Examines column.

2002/11/22 - Delphi for .NET Update
The VCL for .NET update to the Delphi for .NET Preview Edition has now been posted for public availability. Developers can get access to this through the Delphi Registered users site. This update to the RTL compiler also includes core VCL technology!
An article on the Borland Developer Network contains more details (and the readme).

2002/11/13 - Delphi 7 Architect/Enterprise CORBA Update
There's a Delphi 7 Enterprise/Architect CORBA Update available for download for registered Delphi 7 users only. This update resolves the following VisiBroker issues:

  • Memory leak in marshaling Corba calls.
  • IsMultiThreaded is defaulted to True.
  • Deadlock situation in Orbpas45.dll.
  • Memory leak in Variant to ANY conversion.
A readme file is available for more detailed information.

2002/10/23 - Delphi 7 - Update 1
Delphi 7 Update 1 contains an updated MSSQL dbExpress driver dbexpmss.dll that fixes the problem with empty user names and passwords. It also fixes an issue with extra NULL characters being added to VARCHAR columns.
Apart from the updated MySQL driver, the Delphi 7 Update 1 also contains documentation updates, including fixed helpfiles for the Professional and Personal version!

2002/10/19 - Connect Delphi 7 to DB2 with dbExpress
This article from me, published on the new IBM-Borland portal shows you how to use IBM DB2 as the database for applications written with Borland Delphi 7 Studio and dbExpress. Specific topics include how to connect the seven dbExpress components to DB2 and use them to build visual forms on top of database tables.

2002/10/11 - TXMLDocument for Delphi 6 Professional
Paul Gustavson has posted a package to Code Central that enables TXMLDocument for Delphi 6 and C++Builder 6 Professional users. This material is extracted from SAMS' forthcoming book C++Builder Developer's Guide (2nd Edition).

2002/10/07 - IBM DB2 and Borland Zone
A new portal has been created to support the cooperation between IBM's DB2 and Borland's RAD development environments such as Delphi, C++Builder and Kylix.

2002/09/13 - JPEGs to BMPs (and back)
In this article on CNET/TechRepublic, I show how we can use the TJPEGImage component to transform BMP files into JPEG files (and back).

2002/09/11 - Delphi 7 Launch in The Netherlands
Delphi 7 Studio was launched today in the Isala Theater at Capelle a/d IJssel, The Netherlands on September 11th, 2002. Right after the launch, I published the latest issue of the Dutch Delphi OplossingsCourant with articles on Delphi 7 Studio and the Delphi for .NET Preview command-line compiler.

2002/08/30 - Delphi 7 Architect 30-Day Trial Edition
A 30-day Trial Edition of Delphi 7 Studio Architect is available as a download now (at 169MB). Note that his trial edition does not contain the Delphi for .NET Preview command-line compiler!

2002/08/29 - Delphi 7 Studio Now Shipping
Delphi 7 Studio is shipping now, and available in four editions: Architect, Enterprise, Professional, and Personal. A full Delphi language version of Kylix 3 ships with Delphi 7 Studio Architect, Enterprise, and Professional editions. Delphi 7 Studio Architect is priced at $3,499, Delphi 7 Studio Enterprise at $2,999, Delphi 7 Studio Professional at $999 and Delphi 7 Personal at $99 (but check your local Borland websites for promotional pricing for Delphi 7 Studio).

2002/08/28 - dataWeb announced TurboDB 4
dataWeb announced TurboDB 4, a major update for its industry-strength database engine for Delphi, Kylix and C++Builder. The new version features full Unicode support, multi-session and multi-threading capabilities and the ability to store all database objects within one single database file. These features enable TurboDB developers to build up-to-date Web Services and Web applications running under Windows/IIS as well as under Linux/Apache.

2002/08/19 - IBM's DB2 with Borland's RAD Tools
IBM and Borland will team-up and bundle trial editions of Borland's RAD tools with IBM's DB2 and vice versa. IBM will bundle Borland's Delphi 7 Studio Architect, C++Builder Enterprise and Kylix Enterprise 30-day trial versions with the most current version of DB2 Universal Developer's Edition and Personal Edition.
Borland will offer DB2 Universal Developer's Edition with Delphi 7 Studio Architect and Enterprise, C++Builder Enterprise and Kylix. Borland said bundling would begin "later this summer".

2002/08/07 - Delphi for .NET compiler preview
The Borland Developer Network now features an article with a first look at the Delphi for .NET compiler features and new language syntax by John Kaster and Danny Thorpe, as well as an article about using Delphi for .NET as a script language for ASP.NET.

2002/08/06 - Borland Delphi 7 Studio Announced
The official press release with the announcement is now published by Borland, and the Delphi 7 Studio information is available on the Borland website.

Kylix News: Kylix 3 Enterprise (only the Delphi language) will be included in the Architect and Enterprise box, while Kylix 3 Pro (again only the Delphi language) will be included with Delphi 7 Pro.

2002/08/05 - Delphi 7 Pre-Announced
CRN.com is the first to state that Borland will announce Delphi 7 this week, in four different editions: Delphi 7 Architect (that's a new one), Delphi 7 Enterprise, Delphi 7 Professional, and Delphi 7 Personal (the free one).

2002/08/02 - Delphi 7 DataSnap License
Great News: John Kaster (Borland DevRel) has posted a message in the borland.public.delphi.non-technical newsgroup about the upcoming Delphi 7 DataSnap License. In short: Delphi 7 Enterprise includes an unlimited deployment license for DataSnap servers. Delphi 7 Pro users get permission to use ClientDatasets as a local database (as long as that data is only stored locally and does not get resolved back to a persistent store on another machine).
According to another message from John, this new license is also valid for Kylix 3 Enterprise developers!

2002/07/24 - Borland Kylix 3 Announced
Borland has announced Kylix 3 - the Delphi and C++ IDE for Linux. Apart from the press release, there's now also Kylix 3 information available in PDF-format, such as the Data Sheet, the FAQ, the System Requirements, the Features & Benefits, and the Feature Matrix itself.
Also available now is a PDF-file with information about What's new in Kylix 3

2002/07/22 - Borland RAD Strategies in 2002
For those of you who missed BorCon 2002 (or those of you who want to see some of those slides again), Anders Ohlsson has published a number of slides that are very interesting to read (again).
Especially the Delphi 7, the Delphi for .NET Preview Edition, Delphi for .NET and Language Extensions slides are worthwhile.

2002/05/26 - BorCon 2002 Delphi News
Summary: Kylix 3 (codename Cortez) will ship in 2002, and will contain a Delphi as well as C++ IDE. Delphi 7 (codename Aurora) will ship in (the second half of) 2002 (and will contain a preview edition of Delphi for .NET, consisting of DCCIL command-line compiler and VCL for .NET). A .NET Development Studio (codename Galileo) will ship in 2003 - supporting multiple populair .NET languages (including Delphi for .NET). Finally, Borland previewed a programming language for Web Services creation & scripting (codename Charlotte).

2002/05/18-22: Borland Conference 2002
The 13th annual Borland Conference is held this week from Saturday (May 18th) until Wednesday (May 22nd), in Anaheim, CA (USA). I'm doing four sessions myself, with potentially an additional two bird-of-a-feather sessions, so stay tuned.
The latest news and updates will be reported "live" from BorCon in Anaheim and can be read in my special BorCon Report.

2002/05/15 - Future of BDE and SQL Links
An article is published on the Borland Community website in which the Borland RAD Team reveals the plans for future database access in Delphi and C++Builder.
Basically, dbExpress will replace SQL Links (which won't be included after 2002), and the BDE is 'frozen' (dBASE and Paradox tables are recommended to be migrated to InterBase 6).

2002/05/14 - HeadConv becomes JEDI DARTH
For the past year and a half Project JEDI member Alan C. Moore has been working closely with me to reorganize the source code for HeadConv - Dr.Bob's C DLL Header Converter. That task is now complete. You can download DARTH from the DARTH homepage.

2002/05/02 - Preview screenshot of Delphi.NET
Delphi.NET was previewed at SD West (where Borland received the Jolt Hall of Fame award), and we can now take a look at a screenshot of some Delphi.NET source code (using namespaces it would seem), the command-line compiler (called dccil), and a Delphi.NET compiled application ConvertIt.
More news will be made available at the Borland Conference, and will presented in my BorCon 2002 report (for those of you who will not be in Anaheim themselves). Stay tuned for more news.

2002/04/19 - Amazon.com XML interface
Amazon.com now offers an XML interface to Amazon.com associates (like me), so we now have the flexibility to display dynamic product information in any way you choose. Take a look at my example how to search Amazon.com using XML and WebSnap (implemented in Delphi 6 and Kylix 2).

2002/04/15 - Delphi/Kylix Database Development
I've finally finished my review of Delphi/Kylix Database Development, a new masterwork from Eric Harmon about dbExpress (available in both Delphi 6 and Kylix 2). The book covers many topics, ranging from setting up a database connection to single as well as multi-tiered (DataSnap) database applications.

2002/04/11 - Borland Development Studio for .NET
Borland has just announced that it will preview a development studio for the Microsoft .NET Framework at the 2002 Microsoft Tech-Ed Conference. More information will follow later.

2002/04/06 - WebSnap CGI with Login and Sessions
Some of you may have read my article in the March 2002 issue of The Delphi Magazine already. In this article, I'll explain that WebSnap session management using the TSessionsService component is not available for every possible target (not without using the alternate TCookieSessionsService). Specifically, you'll find it won't work at all for CGI applications nor any Kylix web server application on Linux. In this article, I'll explain what the problem is, what to do about it, and how I solved it for my own situation using WebSnap CGI web server applications written in Delphi 6 Enterprise as well as Kylix 2 Enterprise.
The article also covers a number of deployment issues (specifically on Linux).

2002/03/29 - Kylix 2 BizSnap Chapter
I have been working on an BizSnap chapter for the Kylix Developer's Guide - adding more coverage of Kylix 2 to this book. The BizSnap chapter is now published on my website (in six weekly parts) covering XML Document Programming and Web Services support.

2002/03/27 - Updated SOAP and DataSnap papers
My latest Delphi WebBroker application is the updated dynamic paper configurator and generator. The new version shows lots of different ways for a SOAP Server Application (in Delphi 6.02, C++Builder 6, Delphi 6/6.01, or Kylix 2 Enterprise) to use a SOAP Data Module to export the Biolife dataset to a SOAP Client Application (again in Delphi 6.02, C++Builder 6, Delphi 6/6.01, or Kylix 2 Enterprise) using a SoapConnection component.

2002/02/25 - Delphi 6 Container Classes
Once you know how container classes work, you can use them to store items in various meaningful ways. In my latest Delphi article on TechRepublic, you'll see what the Delphi 6 container classes can do and when to use them. Then download a sample demo app that puts them through their paces.

2002/02/22 - Turbo Pascal 5.5
Borland is offering Turbo Pascal version 5.5 (2-May-1989) to the Borland community free of charge. Turbo Pascal 5.5 was the first Object Oriented language that I used (I had little experience with C++ or Java at that time). I learned Object Oriented Programming with this tool, and especially from the great language guide (the first two chapters are made available as well).

2002/02/20 - Delphi 6 Update 2
Delphi 6 Update 2 has just been released. This is an important update, since it not only fixes a number of defects, but also makes sure that Delphi 6 and C++Builder 6 can co-exist on the same system!
The Borland Community article contains the list of fixes. Among others, a number of SOAP issues have been resolved, and we can now write SOAP Clients with Delphi 6.02 Professional (but not SOAP Servers, for which you still need the Enterprise edition).

2002/02/13 - Borland's .NET Strategy
Borland has announced its .NET Strategy, which can also be read on the Borland Community website. According to this, the Borland strategy for the .NET platform features Delphi, C++Builder, Kylix and JBuilder, that support the capabilities of the Microsoft .NET Framework, including ASP.NET and application interoperability through XML Web Services. During the second half of 2002, Borland plans to release development products that support the .NET platform optimized on Intel Architecture.
For more information, read the comments by SD Times, and the FAQ on the Borland .NET website, or my own .NET section.

2002/01/03 - Delphi 6 Developer's Guide
It's available: Delphi 6 Developer's Guide by Xavier Pacheco and Steve Teixeira. You can download/read a sample chapter in PDF format (chapter 3 about Adventures in Messaging). With a little help from my friend Micha Somers, I have written the Active Server Pages/Objects chapter for this book.
For more information (and the topics of the co-authors Ray Konopka, Dave Sampson, Dan Miser, Nick Hodges and me), see the Table of Contents of Delphi 6 Developer's Guide.

Also available: older Delphi News (2001 and earlier).

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