Software Review of:
Borland Delphi 4.0 Std. 
From the May, 1999 issue of PC Alamode Magazine 
by Russell Albach 

For those who have been members for about two years, you may recall Borland (now Inprise) doing a presentation on Visual dBASE, and some discussion on Delphi. Delphi is one of a generation of programming tools referred to as RAD (Rapid Application Development). In plain speak, programming shortcuts. An enormous amount of work goes into creating an application. Everything from color to GUI (Graphical User Interface) to the app actually performing some function must be created using some tool acting as the interpreter between the programmer and the CPU (Central Processor Unit). The CPU only understands ones and zeros, so a means for the human element to convert his or her intentions into 1 and 0 must be used. These go by names like Basic, Pascal, Fortran, Assembler, C, C++, and newer ones like Visual Basic, JAVA, and Delphi. 

Although they all have the same end goal, different people find one easier to use than another. With these, you create menus, graphics, animation's, sounds, actions, — everything you see and do on a computer. As you might imagine, this is a LOT of work! Delphi speeds the process up by a combination of elements. The VCL (Visual Component Library) has more than 85 customizable components like menus, dialogs, TreeViews, and text boxes. All of these are prebuilt templates that are fully functional and ready to be incorporated into your app. There is a 32-bit optimizing native compiler, an editor, debugger (MS should look into this!) integrated object inspector, and the ever present Wizards. Delphi can be used to develop business applications, games, custom controls, utilities, Web-enabled applications, and complex database applications.

Word processors and spreadsheets are examples of GUI apps that can be created with Delphi (and NO, I have no intention of anything so grandiose). You can use Form Designer to visually create GUI components using the components provided in the VCL. SDI (Single Document Interface) or MDI (Multiple Document Interface) apps are easily done. The MDI is common in spreadsheets or word processors. This is where more than one document can be opened within a single parent window. If you have ever looked in the Windows directories, you have noticed many files with the suffix .dll (Dynamic Link Library). Delphi can create these for you too. Dynamic Link Libraries are modules of compiled code that are used by applications to provide distinct features, and contain code that can be used by more than one application. The BDE (Borland Database Engine) supports scaling from desktop to client-server apps. This means you can create advanced database apps. Delphi includes built-in tools allowing you to connect natively to Oracle, Sybase, Informix, DB2, dBASE, Paradox, Access, and other servers. You can use the DBD (Database Desktop) to browse and modify existing Paradox and dBASE tables, or create new ones. The DBD is a standalone utility that runs outside the Delphi IDE (Integrated Development Environment). 

One of the really nice things about Delphi is you can build stand alone apps, and not have to pay royalties for your own creations. Some publishers require royalty payments if you include run libraries with your app. Run time libraries are required by programs in order to perform certain functions. They are almost always proprietary (only work with the app that they came with), and are copyright protected. If you create an app that requires them, you cannot sell them, or use them in a business environment (more than a single CPU), without permission of the copyright holder. An everyday analogy would be buying a house, and for every day you live in it, you would send a royalty to the surveyors, dirt workers, foundation people, concrete workers, framers, carpenters, masons, electricians, etc.! Once you buy something, it should be yours! If the programming app requires a run library, it should be okay to include it in your creation. I personally stay far away from ALL apps that follow this practice. Happily, Delphi is one that allows royalty-free standalone app creation! 

Delphi comes on a CD disk along with a somewhat skimpy manual. Most of the information is available online after you install it, and the manual is used more as a descriptive aid as to what you can do with Delphi. This is not a problem, as it installs easily. If you want printed manuals, the box has an order form inside. The Delphi 4 Developer's Guide is $14.95, Delphi 4 Object Pascal Language Guide is $9.95, and the InterBase Documentation Set is $50.00. My installation came to around 70MB of hard drive space. Using Delphi is easy — if you have some knowledge of programming. You don't need to be a pro, but neither can you be a total beginner. This is common for all programming apps, so be prepared. With the IDE, you can drag and drop elements into your projects, and Delphi helps by writing necessary code. This does not mean you can create solely with Delphi. You still need to actually do the grind work. I did find a possible problem while doing one of the sample apps. I did not find a control that was required in the sample. I was supposed to set CONSTRAINTS to EXPAND: set AnchorHorz to akStretch: set AnchorVert to akStretch. This would allow an on screen grid to resize as needed according to the screen size. My Delphi did not have either of these controls. I do not yet know if these controls are in the Standard version, or in the Pro one. I have contacted Borland with this question. 

Delphi is a very able assistant, and DOES shorten the development time. Soon, we may have a programming app that will do all the work based on voice commands! 

I tend to like Borland (Inprise) products, and this one is no exception. No application is perfect, as all have quirks, and defects. Delphi Standard, this review subject, should be called Delphi Lite. The reason is, the next version up, Delphi Professional, has many more tools and components. These extras are what really make the product. It should be called Delphi Standard. Next up, Client Server, is business oriented, and expensive. 

There are demos on the web site, and upgrades for existing products. I have just downloaded an upgrade for this version. There is a wealth of information, and groups dedicated to Delphi programming on the web, and I have started collecting! 

Minimum System Requirements: 486DX/66 or higher (Pentium class 60 or 90 recommended), Windows 95/NT with service pack 3, 16MB memory (32 or more recommended), 60MB hard drive space (compact install), CD-ROM drive, VGA or higher, and a Mouse. 

The street price runs from $89.00 to $98.00 for the Standard version, and I believe COMPUSA was the only one to have it in stock locally, though others will order it. Shop PC Alamode advertisers for a deal. 
 

Inprise Corporation
100 Enterprise Way 
Scotts Valley CA 95066-3249 
(408) 431-1000 
http://www.inprise.com