I have to ask, because I have heard a lot about how it's like a "next-gen" Pascal language with OOP built-in. This sounds like it would be somewhat worth looking into, but not too sure if I want to shell out big $$$ just to design a perfect app in it. Does anyone have any experience in this, and is it even a good language anymore? I've heard a 50/50 blend of pros and cons on it, and I'm still on the fence about it.
Anyone know if Delphi's still a good language?
Miscellaneous Forums/General Discussion/Anyone know if Delphi's still a good language? I like delphi, I'm not sure about the latest version (although the videos of the IDE that I've seen look nice). I own version 7 (and 4) and have been more than happy with it.
But why not download the trial and find out for yourself?
But why not download the trial and find out for yourself?
It just isn't very popular but it's good.
I still take out my old Delphi 5 when I need to knock out a quick GUI app but it's not my choice for game programming.
The real problem with Delphi is that there's not a lot of docs or books to teach you the core Object Pascal language.
You'll have no trouble finding books to teach you the IDE and components but to learn Object Pascal you'll have to learn Pascal, then learn OOP concepts elsewhere and try to combine them on your own.
BTW: you don't have to shell out any $$$ to try Delphi. Turbo Delphi is free
And there's also the Lazarus project.
EDIT: The cons you're hearing about Delphi are coming from people who just don't like Pascal. Ask them to elaborate on what they don't like about Delphi and I'll bet you they won't have any complaint other than its being Pascal.
I still take out my old Delphi 5 when I need to knock out a quick GUI app but it's not my choice for game programming.
The real problem with Delphi is that there's not a lot of docs or books to teach you the core Object Pascal language.
You'll have no trouble finding books to teach you the IDE and components but to learn Object Pascal you'll have to learn Pascal, then learn OOP concepts elsewhere and try to combine them on your own.
BTW: you don't have to shell out any $$$ to try Delphi. Turbo Delphi is free
And there's also the Lazarus project.
EDIT: The cons you're hearing about Delphi are coming from people who just don't like Pascal. Ask them to elaborate on what they don't like about Delphi and I'll bet you they won't have any complaint other than its being Pascal.
I never had any problem finding books or documentation to learn object pascal, there are more than enough of them out there, and the help has samples for the majority of commands.
I used it for 9 years with SQL to make Windows-based multi-user (and multi-site) stock control/accounting business apps which were installed all over the country (and abroad) including the House of Lords and House of Commons. It's just as good as Visual Basic, very powerful and flexible and easy to learn. We just read all the manuals back in those days before Broadband but later on were able to find some great help on-line. I totally recommend it.
Actually, you can do some amazing programming with Free Pascal and Lazarus. Pascal is not difficult to learn and the Free Pascal compiler generates fairly efficient executables. Another plus is cross platform compatibility...
http://www.freepascal.org/
http://www.lazarus.freepascal.org/index.php
And, OpenGL integration is available...
http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/index.php/GLScene
A nice tutorial if you're curious:
http://www.taoyue.com/tutorials/pascal/
http://www.freepascal.org/
http://www.lazarus.freepascal.org/index.php
And, OpenGL integration is available...
http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/index.php/GLScene
A nice tutorial if you're curious:
http://www.taoyue.com/tutorials/pascal/
No, Delphi totally sucks. Pascal style languages are harder to code than Basic or C++, since they are too formal. Indeed Pascal was meant to be hard to code, since it's a learning language. In the end there's nothing else than C++, all other languages are just for n00bs. Yes, I also code in BlitzMax because it's fun to program like a n00b, and so easy.
Lumooja, you should look into Lisp and/or Haskell if you want to see some interesting, extremely powerful languages, that ultimately make C++ seem rather basic.
I'm not disparaging C++ or it's place in the programming world, for it does still have its place, but to proclaim that all other languages are for n00bs is just elitist and, quite honestly, completely untrue.
I'm not disparaging C++ or it's place in the programming world, for it does still have its place, but to proclaim that all other languages are for n00bs is just elitist and, quite honestly, completely untrue.
delphi is ok. But I far prefer vb.net...
and lumooja... quit trollin.
and lumooja... quit trollin.
Well, the father of Pascal, still one of the most elegant programming languages on the planet, rightfully said that "C++ is an insult to the human brain".
System programming is still done in C. For application development, C++ is a very unproductive language compared to languages like Python, C# or Java. And most C++ projects simply fail, mostly because of the chosen language. What were the benefits and merits of C++ again? Oh, yes, it is so unnecessary complex, complicated and ugly to read, that it just has to be something professional, right?
It is not the choice of language that makes a good programmer. Some of the best programmers in the industry that I have met "only" knew Clipper and Xbase++. But they had style and a very thorough understanding of software design and implementation. A good design does not care in what language it is being implemented, and neither does an algorithm.
But if your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail to you, doesn't it?
Can we now quit the extremely stupid language trolling?
Back to the original topic: I find the question rather strange if "Delphi is --still-- a good language". Do languages turn bad over night? People are still out there making money with it. Companies are still hiring Delphi programmers, both for maintaining existing projects and for writing new ones. Delphi supports .NET and with Free Pascal, there even is an open source and truely cross platform implementation of the language available.
It does not have the hype that C# or Java hava, and neither does it have their market share. But that is something that one should not overrate. Thousands of REAL applications have been shipped that were written in Delphi. But the world is still waiting for Sun and Microsoft to ship applications written in Java and C#. Wasn't Office 2003 already announced to at least replace VBA with .NET? It still hasn't happened. And Sun's StarOffice only uses Java as a makro language. Both companies create languages and frameworks that they expect you to use, but they don't eat their own dog food.
But in the meantime, working Delphi applications have been designed, written and sold. And unless millions of lines of code are going to be re-written in another language, Delphi will not disappear from the market. Neither are Cobol or Visual Basic 6 or Clipper or Xbase++ applications likely to disappear.
Another thought: Java and C# are design-by-committee languages, used by software design committees and large development teams. Not necessarily the domain of one-man-armies and underdogs. The underdog needs an efficient tool set and cannot afford to sit in meetings all day long.
System programming is still done in C. For application development, C++ is a very unproductive language compared to languages like Python, C# or Java. And most C++ projects simply fail, mostly because of the chosen language. What were the benefits and merits of C++ again? Oh, yes, it is so unnecessary complex, complicated and ugly to read, that it just has to be something professional, right?
It is not the choice of language that makes a good programmer. Some of the best programmers in the industry that I have met "only" knew Clipper and Xbase++. But they had style and a very thorough understanding of software design and implementation. A good design does not care in what language it is being implemented, and neither does an algorithm.
But if your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail to you, doesn't it?
Can we now quit the extremely stupid language trolling?
Back to the original topic: I find the question rather strange if "Delphi is --still-- a good language". Do languages turn bad over night? People are still out there making money with it. Companies are still hiring Delphi programmers, both for maintaining existing projects and for writing new ones. Delphi supports .NET and with Free Pascal, there even is an open source and truely cross platform implementation of the language available.
It does not have the hype that C# or Java hava, and neither does it have their market share. But that is something that one should not overrate. Thousands of REAL applications have been shipped that were written in Delphi. But the world is still waiting for Sun and Microsoft to ship applications written in Java and C#. Wasn't Office 2003 already announced to at least replace VBA with .NET? It still hasn't happened. And Sun's StarOffice only uses Java as a makro language. Both companies create languages and frameworks that they expect you to use, but they don't eat their own dog food.
But in the meantime, working Delphi applications have been designed, written and sold. And unless millions of lines of code are going to be re-written in another language, Delphi will not disappear from the market. Neither are Cobol or Visual Basic 6 or Clipper or Xbase++ applications likely to disappear.
Another thought: Java and C# are design-by-committee languages, used by software design committees and large development teams. Not necessarily the domain of one-man-armies and underdogs. The underdog needs an efficient tool set and cannot afford to sit in meetings all day long.
Well, I ask if it's still a GOOD language, because with the ever changing world of different languages for application development, it's almost like Delphi had been put on the back burner by all these others that are out there, and not given a chance at the light of day... I was going to get into it when it was popular, but I was pressured out of that for some strange reason. Now that I've been looking forward to REALLY getting into it, I'm not too sure if that's what everyone else would be using this day in age.
I mean, I do have Visual Studio 2005, and VS 6.0, and those languages are all right. I've been using Visual Basic since 4.0, and haven't looked back ever since. Also, been using Borland Turbo C++ for the better part of 10 years on top of that (even tho I was lucky to pump out a good DOS app). However, I never thought about Pascal until recently... I've been told to avoid using that language in the past, but now, I have a gut feeling that I was missing out on some fun. I probably could be right, but time will tell...
I mean, I do have Visual Studio 2005, and VS 6.0, and those languages are all right. I've been using Visual Basic since 4.0, and haven't looked back ever since. Also, been using Borland Turbo C++ for the better part of 10 years on top of that (even tho I was lucky to pump out a good DOS app). However, I never thought about Pascal until recently... I've been told to avoid using that language in the past, but now, I have a gut feeling that I was missing out on some fun. I probably could be right, but time will tell...
For the perspective of
"Make a job done"
Yes, Delphi IS a good language that works well, check out Lazarus mentioned above, it gives you the capability to compile Mac apps.
"Make a job done"
Yes, Delphi IS a good language that works well, check out Lazarus mentioned above, it gives you the capability to compile Mac apps.
Beware that Lazarus doesn't have any Com/ActiveX support though.
For me, Delphi has been my chosen language for apps for the last 7 years and I have no inkling to change to something else. I was an avid VB 6 programmer for a while but Delphi won me over with ease.
Delphi compiles fast, creates very fast stable exe's and also those exe's do not require external runtime libraries. The language is very easy to learn and not *that* much different from basic.
I'd definitely recommend it for gui apps. I been using it for over 7 years writing apps for customers and it's never let me down.
Delphi compiles fast, creates very fast stable exe's and also those exe's do not require external runtime libraries. The language is very easy to learn and not *that* much different from basic.
I'd definitely recommend it for gui apps. I been using it for over 7 years writing apps for customers and it's never let me down.
Hmm, I'm still a VB6 fan, however Qube you've sold the Delphi to me. Now to find the time to learn it....
I don't think VB6 requires external runtime libraries, not true for VB.net.
I don't think VB6 requires external runtime libraries, not true for VB.net.
Well, okay, you sorta convinced me on Free Pascal and Turbo Delphi for now... Just need to know if you get about the same functionality out of Turbo Delphi as you do out of the full-blown $1,000 package, tho. I'm not about to spend the $1K on the big Delphi package if I don't need to. Some of Borland's Development Suites cost more than a computer system.
Some of Borland's Development Suites cost more than a computer system.
The professional version is sufficient for most people and is much cheaper.
I got Delphi 4 via a PC Plus offer for £99, I then upgraded to Delphi 7 a few years later for about £190.
Expensive, but a good language.
In a lot of the stuff I've done in the past I've used the enterprise version ($$$$), but I've recently updated from Delphi7 to Delphi2007 while downgrading to the professional version which is doing everything I want of it.
For gui windows apps, I use nothing else.
If you don't want to shell out for it, go for the turbo version, or as people have suggested try Lazarus/freepascal (but if you get frustrated, make sure you try the Turbo versions before dismissing it delphi <> lazarus!).
In a lot of the stuff I've done in the past I've used the enterprise version ($$$$), but I've recently updated from Delphi7 to Delphi2007 while downgrading to the professional version which is doing everything I want of it.
For gui windows apps, I use nothing else.
If you don't want to shell out for it, go for the turbo version, or as people have suggested try Lazarus/freepascal (but if you get frustrated, make sure you try the Turbo versions before dismissing it delphi <> lazarus!).