I apologize in advance if there is already one or more threads on this subject; feel free to point them out and close this one if so.
After the discussion on the Delphi Starter Edition news post and previous postings from Will and others expressing misgivings about FP/L and its stability compared to Delphi, it has caused me to think about potential "gotchas" in using FP/L for serious large-project development, both in general, and for game development specifically. I'm currently tooling up to start some major projects and am strongly considering going FP/L for them. I have done a bit of research into the features and shortcomings of FP/L, including using several versions and building several projects with them to see for myself firsthand.
That said, there seems to be a significant amount of antipathy towards the FP/L projects in terms of maturity and stability, but a dearth of documented "boots on the ground" substance to those misgivings. I'd like to know what other people's knowledge and experiences are with both products from a comparative viewpoint.
I want to state up-front that I DO NOT WANT to instigate a tool "holy war". Everyone believes the tools they chose are the best for their needs, and I don't want to argue over that or anything else. What I want is simply a side-by-side comparison of features and deficiencies that you think are important and why. What are they missing? What sorts of stability issues have you encountered? What features are missing from either one?
In other words, what important issues should someone who is mulling over the choice to build serious production projects in one or the other consider in his decision?
I think this type of discussion could yield some valuable information, not only for old codgers like me, but for new people looking to get started with development in Object Pascal. I also would LOVE to have a "gotchas" list to keep in mind when using either tool, so I don't beat my head against a brick wall as much trying to find out whether I've fallen down some rabbit hole, or if I just need to keep looking for my own PICNIC errors.
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