| Delphi - 2008/05/04 | C++Builder - 2008/04/28 | Kylix - 2007/04/08 | Delphi PHP - 2008/05/02 | Delphi .NET - 2008/05/04 |
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| Delphi - 2008/05/04 | C++Builder - 2008/04/28 | Kylix - 2007/04/08 | Delphi PHP - 2008/05/02 | Delphi .NET - 2008/05/04 |
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2008/05/04 - Updated Delphi books at Lulu
I'm about to publish a new book on Lulu.com (about IntraWeb - currently available for 99 Euro as PDF edition), and have published updated versions (and lower prices) for the other books.
Updated are the Delphi for Win32 books (prices are for print / download versions):
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 - 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:
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:
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.
2007/03/15 - 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!
2007/01/14 - JVCL Team releases JVCL 3.30
JVCL is a library of more than 600 visual and non-visual components for Delphi 5, 6, 7, 2005 and 2006; C++Builder 5, 6 and 2006 (Borland Developer Studio).
JVCL is distributed subject to the Mozilla Public License Version 1.1 (http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/MPL-1.1.html) and is completely free for all developers (open source, shareware or commercial) and includes the full source to all components.
2007/01/13 - JCL Team releases JCL 1.98
The JCL Team is proud to announce that the stable release of JCL 1.98 is available for download at sourceforge.
This release contains several changes, additions and bugfixes.
The JCL supports C++Builder 5 and 6, Kylix 3, Delphi 5, 6 and 7, C#Builder 1 (experts only), Delphi 8 (experts only), Delphi 2005 (Win32 and .net), BDS 2006 (Delphi, C++Builder, and Delphi.net) and Turbo Delphi (Explorer and professional).
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:
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 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:
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?
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:
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 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
2003/09/01 - Borland Conference Europe
2003/08/22 - The Delphi Magazine Collection 2003
2003 August - The Delphi Magazine #96
2003/07/17 - Data Abstract
2003/07/12 - RemObjects SDK 2.0
2003 July - The Delphi Magazine #95
2003/06/30 - TurboPower OfficePartner at SourceForge
2003/06/03 - Dr.Bob Examines VCL for .NET
2003 June - The Delphi Magazine #94
2003/05/17 - Mark Miller and Developer Express
2003/05/09 - DB2 UDB and SOAP: Database Web Services Follow-up with DataSnap
2003/05/06 - Borland C#Builder announced
2003 May - The Delphi Magazine #93
2003/04/25 - Drill into DB2 UDB Tables for Decision Support
2003/04/14 - Dr.Bob Examines Assemblies and DLLs
2003 April - The Delphi Magazine #92
2003/03/28 - Data Entry Input Validation
2003 March - The Delphi Magazine #91
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.
2003/02/28 - Delphi 7 Companion CD on-line
2003/02/22 - Delphi 8: Multiple Inheritance for Interfaces
2003/02/20 - Delphi for Microsoft .NET Preview Update
2003/02/07 - First SideWinder Screenshots
2003/02/04 - Borland SideWinder: a C# IDE for .NET
2003 February - The Delphi Magazine #90
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
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.
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).
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?
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).
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
All Eagle Software products have been acquired by Developer Express Inc and Mark Miller has joined Developer Express as Chief Architect IDE Tools Division.
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.
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.
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.).
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
