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  • Delphi XE2 Looks Awesome


    I have just come back from the RadStudio XE2 launch here in Auckland, apparently New Zealand is the first to receive the XE2 unveiling.

    XE2 is the biggest update to Delphi since, well since, Delphi 1.

    - 64 bit - yes well a bit boring but pretty cool to have -
    - FireMonkey - much more wizz bang - a brand new component library (in addition to VCL) that is vector based, skinnable with various themes and styles and work on all target platforms.
    - multiple platforms, yes Windows 32bit 64 bit but also MacOSX and iOS - yes you make make native iPhone and iPad apps
    - LiveBindings

    Linux missed out this year.

    FireMonkey was very exciting. You can do some very nice things with it. Properties can be animated on events - so you can animate a button in location or colour, you can do the animation in a certain time and you can use various patterns of animation. So for example you can move a label into place using a sinusoidal path so that movement speeds up and then slows down as it reaches its destination.

    Vector based it means that FireMonkey will scale to any size without pixelization. FireMonkey can do 2d and 3d objects, it can even display 3d models from 3D studio. In windows FireMonkey uses DirectX and on the Mac and iOS it uses OpenGL which certainly promises some interesting possibilities.

    You can build up your own components, so for example you can have a listbox and then drop in a timage and a tbutton along with a checkbox items. Before you would have to do all your painting to handle that now it is a simple case of drag and drop objects. Every object is now a container - nice!

    The livebindings are also very useful but I won't go into them. It basically means you can make any object data aware (not just database aware).

    Seeing an app run in Windows and then being deployed on a Mac - and looking like a Mac app is very exciting and opens up many possibilities. Standard VCL will be Windows only so if you want to deploy an application you will need to use FireMonkey.

    Hopefully XE2 will be out in September.

    There was plenty more information and some nice demos but I am sure Embarcadero will have plenty of info up soon.

    It also looks like Embarcadero are going to put in more effort to ensuring more new programmers start using RadStudio - which is a great thing .

    So rebirth of Delphi? I believe it may be.. I guess only time will tell but I am very excited about possibilities open to me and my company. Possibilities that I thought we could only exploit by going to other technology. Nice to be able to stick with Delphi.

    Read more about it in David I.'s blog post at blogs.embarcadero.com.
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Delphi XE2 looks awesome started by czar View original post
    Comments 22 Comments
    1. azrael11's Avatar
      azrael11 -
      Just look at jon's site to get another taste of XE2.... http://delphimax.wordpress.com/2011/...iphone-native/
    1. czar's Avatar
      czar -
      To answer Travelers questions about Delphi 7 (from the forum). I all honesty if you are using Delphi without requirement for VCL then XE2 will probably not change your mind. However, if build applications with buttons and edit boxes etc and you have been frustrated that everything looks too Windows like then XE2 will be great. I have been using TMS to build applications that standout from the business applications but are still familiar to users. So XE2 provides a path to continue that but then have access to Mac etc

      Because FireMonkey uses the GPU you can do some wicked stuff to your screen. For example you can have a dialog box pop up and at the same time blur the rest of the form. Or desaturate it or make it sepia or whatever. If you want to you can even make a 2d form but the rotate it in 3d and still have all aspects of the form active. Finally Delphi will be able to do the sort of things we have always had to do ourselves using directx or opengl.


      If you have a RadStudio presentation in your area I highly recommend going along. We were there all day and we served a great lunch and sent home with a FireMonkey T-shirt for our trouble
    1. LP's Avatar
      LP -
      "...make native iPhone and iPad apps..."
      Does this mean Delphi will be able to generate an ARM executable? Or do you mean running the application on a Windows server and displaying its output on iPhone using HTML in web browser? (something they've already shown using Delphi Prism)

      Any ideas about how they are going to integrate Delphi with XCode?
    1. czar's Avatar
      czar -
      Delphi will create native code for Windows 32, 64, MacOS and iOS. You can use RadPHP together with PhoneGap to make jquery/html 5 apps - but that is not Delphi.

      To create for MacOS, or Win32 or Win64 it is a simple case of setting target within Delphi on your PC. On the Mac a debugging assistant is running so you can still set break points etc. So you can F9 on the PC and see result on the Mac (which can be on a network somewhere) You can do the bulk of debugging on your PC and when you are - deploy to Mac and continue debugging. The idea is that creating for iOS will be like that too - however, it isn't like that out of the box. Instead you have to do a few steps and use XCODE for compiling and debugging.
    1. SilverWarior's Avatar
      SilverWarior -
      What language is used during presentations?
      I come from Slovenia wich is quite small so there is no presentation in our country. There are presentation in Italy, Austria and Hungary, but since I can't speak Italian or Hungarian and my Germain is verry bad I'm afraid that if presentations are in natives countries language I won't understand a thing.
    1. czar's Avatar
      czar -
      There will be plenty of material available through Embarcardero very soon. Oh and before I forget they plan to have starter version available from launch-day rather than 6 months later. Unsure if multi-platform is included but they would be stupid to limit those features.
    1. Traveler's Avatar
      Traveler -
      Ah well, its not only the vcl. The mac/iphone support sounds pretty interesting too.
    1. czar's Avatar
      czar -
      That is true.
    1. azrael11's Avatar
      azrael11 -
      Quote Originally Posted by Lifepower View Post
      "...make native iPhone and iPad apps..."
      Does this mean Delphi will be able to generate an ARM executable? Or do you mean running the application on a Windows server and displaying its output on iPhone using HTML in web browser? (something they've already shown using Delphi Prism)

      Any ideas about how they are going to integrate Delphi with XCode?
      The IOS section is very confuse yet... The compiling is a combination of XCODE and classes and the rumors says very unstable yet... Let's wait and see...
    1. czar's Avatar
      czar -
      It was clear the the iOS support was only put in now because they felt that we would rather have it with rough edges than not have it until XE3 - I watched as they created an application in windows and then compiled it in XCode - was no biggie. I would rather have limited iOS support now so that I can start to get to grips with the possibilities and then have a more polished version down the track. I mean, seriously people, Delphi can now create software for multiplatforms, things are looking up. Its a wonderful thing. I am still excited about all the new possibilities, and I won't even have to learn Object C
    1. LP's Avatar
      LP -
      Quote Originally Posted by czar View Post
      I would rather have limited iOS support now so that I can start to get to grips with the possibilities and then have a more polished version down the track.
      I agree, I have several research projects going on with iOS and if Delphi could target this platform *right now*, it would be really great, and I don't care if it won't be all stable/polished at first.

      So if I understood correctly, Delphi itself won't generate ARM code, but it would do so through XCode? I am asking this because to develop for iOS you would need a Mac machine. If Delphi could generate executables by itself on Windows for iOS, that would be a real money saver.
    1. czar's Avatar
      czar -
      At the moment iOS native code (for ARM proc) is complied from your project file in XCode. With XE2 there will be files that you need to install on the mac to update xcode.

      I have a Macbook so that is fine but on my PC I use virtualbox and I run Snow Leopard inside that. Works a treat. Cheaper than buying Mac hardware.
    1. azrael11's Avatar
      azrael11 -
      Quote Originally Posted by czar View Post
      but on my PC I use virtualbox and I run Snow Leopard inside that. Works a treat. Cheaper than buying Mac hardware.
      I think is the best option for now....
      But i hope embarcadero have at list VCL in MacOS...
      VCL is what delphi users fell happy...
      For me maybe i buy the started edition for now and wait for the long waiting XE3 to come...
      (I dont want to mess with XCODE i dont like it)...
    1. czar's Avatar
      czar -
      I received an email yesterday to say RadStudio XE2 available 1st of September. Putting my order in on Monday
    1. cdsaenz's Avatar
      cdsaenz -
      Quote Originally Posted by czar View Post
      I received an email yesterday to say RadStudio XE2 available 1st of September. Putting my order in on Monday
      Yess! I got the same promise from the local Delphi representative ... I'm pushing to try to put that order soon! Also stayed on Delphi 7 so this will be huge
    1. cdsaenz's Avatar
      cdsaenz -
      I got the same message a few days ago from the local Codegear dealer! Crazy trying to put that order immediately!
    1. VilleK's Avatar
      VilleK -
      "Delphi XE2 Starter" available here now:

      http://store.embarcadero.com/DRHM/st...ctID=232737600

      Presumably the other editions will follow real soon.
    1. czar's Avatar
      czar -
      According to this page start includes ability to make MacOSX and iOS apps

      For developing 64-bit Windows applications:
      PC running a 64-bit version of Windows or a 32-bit development PC connected with a PC running a 64-bit version of Windows
      For developing OS X applications:
      PC running Windows connected with an Intel-based Mac, with 2 GB RAM or more, running OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or OS X 10.7 (Lion) over a local area network using a SSH, VNC or Windows file sharing solution
      For developing iOS applications:
      On Snow Leopard: iOS 4.2 or 4.3 with compatible version of Xcode
      On Lion: iOS 4.3 with compatible version of Xcode
    1. LP's Avatar
      LP -
      Anybody knows what "Support & Maintaince" package means? It is added to the cart by default and is worth $270. I suppose if you deselect this, you won't be able to send reports with Quality Central and won't be able to download updates?
    1. vgo's Avatar
      vgo -
      Support & Maintenance is a yearly subscription, you pay that fee every year and get new Delphi versions as they are released, it's cheaper than buying a separate license every year. You DON'T need this for patches/updates, but as you know there's no more updates for the old version when a new one is out.

      I've had the support & maintenance package for years and for that get an email from Embarcadero with download instructions and license codes for the new version(s). I just received such an email for Delphi XE2 and I'll be installing it later.