March 7, 2006
Delphi Everywhere
John Kaster reveals one of DevCo's mottos.
According to a newsgroup post by John Kaster (it is the entry "John Kaster (Borland) 05 Mar, 09:45"), regarding a recent Borland conference in Japan:
"I *did* say one of DevCo's mottos is "Delphi Everywhere" and that it would be nice to see it on MacOS, Solaris, and any other major development target... "
That's very nice to know. This was connected with the idea of reviving Kylix. I certainly second this cross-platform approach, which is an integral part of what I dream/hope for Delphi's future. For sure, Borland should only lay the foundation work, and let third-parties and open-source projects fill the gaps and provide libraries for less popular platforms.
Other DevCo News
- “DevCo” – 23 days after spin off announcement by Allen Bauer
- Some additional perspectives on the spin-off of the Borland IDE business... by David I (who quotes my blog!)
8 Comments
Delphi Everywhere
This is all nice, thoughts, plans, roadmaps and so. But, i do not see a new company yet that eventually it all this stuff make comes true...Comment by objectref on March 7, 17:01
Delphi Everywhere
We all know what happened to Kylix... Do you think DevCo will be more effective in porting Delphi on other platforms than Borland has been?Comment by James on March 7, 20:25
Delphi Everywhere
I think one of the problems with Kylix was that it was targeted at Linux. OSX seems a much more sensible market to me - it has a culture of not being free and of paying for a high-quality product, and the sort of developers who work on that platform are the sort who appreciate great IDEs and good UI tools, and don't mind using uncommon languages (eg Objective C), all of which are applicable to Delphi as well. In addition, Apple used to love Pascal and designed a version of object-oriented Pascal (I think this was before Delphi). Someone from those days in Apple might like the idea of Delphi on OSX and be able to support it from within their company. The caveat to that is that if Delphi on OSX was not a high-quality product (say, the calibre of Kylix 1) it would, rightly, bomb. But I know I only use Windows for work now (C++ Builder), and I'd use Delphi on OSX if it was available.Comment by David M [] on March 8, 00:04
Delphi Everywhere
James: MacOS could be a more appealing platform than Linux. Despite its "open" roots, the Linux community is somewhat "closed" about the development tools they use, vi/gcc and Java/PHP/Perl rule. No standard widget API. A lot of user used to console applications. Relatively small desktop user base. Selling a closed source, not-free tool is very difficult. IMHO Borland didn't chose the right approach, they should have tried to move Windows Delphi developers toward Linux, i.e. bundling Kylix with Delphi, discount for Delphi owners, etc. instead of trying to appeal to gcc developers. They should have targeted server development, not desktop. MacOS could be very different. A standard API, large desktop base, customers used to GUI applications, and used to pay for them.Comment by Luigi D. Sandon on March 8, 01:18
Delphi Everywhere
Dont know if this is a solution. But it is interesting. http://www.opendelphi.org/Comment by Cassard on March 10, 11:24
Delphi everywhere
That would definitely be the way to go. In a .NET-dominated (read M$-controlled) windows world, being platform-agnostic, yet capable of delivering hi-performance REAL executables which feel comfortable (read native) in each environment would be a great way to distinguish Delphi from any other dev platform. Ok, there's been Kylix, and it failed to attract developers in the Linux world. That didn't surprise me too much: Linux programmers simply can't conceive a tool which is not completely free and open sourced. Aiming Kylix at them was a mistake. Dot. MacOs developers are different: they are used to pay for what they get, if they think it's useful and reasonably priced. An example: RealBasic (www.realsoftware.com) is a nice object oriented basic compiler with a RAD IDE and a growing community of developers which started as a mac-only development tool "for the masses", and is now a true cross-platform (mac-linux-windows) dev tool. It is not either free or open source (pro version costs 499$), but thousands of mac developers bought it, just because IMHO it is MUCH easier to put together a sw solution with RB than with any other available tool. It can't be compared to Delphi in terms of features, and it lacks some OO wizardries we're used to take for granted, but if you need to solve a problem fast, it works. The simple fact is : developing software on the Mac using available tools (XCode and COCOA/Objective-C) is hard for the novice, and if you accept to climb that steep learning curve, you find yourself stuck in the Apple market, which is an interesting growing niche, but can't be numerically compared to the Windows market. Another problem there is the absence of a true market for component makers. If you need something like, say, ExpressQuantumGrid or ExpressScheduler (to name two great vcl/clx products among thousands) you're out in the cold. Apart from basic GUI objects (buttons, etc.), everything else is up to you. Not very attractive for people like me, who need to deliver first-class solutions in ridiculous time (sounds familiar?). Someone could say : "what about Java? It's free, it's OO, runs everywhere...". Right. But it's SLLLOOOOWW!! And, in most cases, your programs won't look native on both (Win/Mac) platforms, and that is a problem, expecially for the typical Mac user's perspective. Furthermore, buying professional components for java is not something anyone can afford (they're mostly aimed at corporate developers with stellar budgets, not small shops like you and me). Well, to make a long story short, there is a need for a tool like Delphi, with its fast native compiler, unparalleled RAD experience, VCL and its huge component-makers community in the MACOSX world. It would attract both Mac developers and Delphi developers as well, giving them a unique opportunity to target the most important sw markets on the planet with a single source code base and leveraging the skills they already have. I've been a TP/BP/Delphi enthusiast since 1986 (getting old...) and I wrote tons of code since. I recently bought a Mac mini for my daughter, and i've casually discovered a vibrant, committed community of developers who make software the way it should be: easy, powerful and reasonably priced. I'd like to be part of it, but I would miss my beloved Delphi, for the reasons i've (rather lengthly, i admit..) just explained. I don't think Delphi's future is in .Net, I don't like the framework, I'm perplexed about its performances, I think it's a nightmare to deploy and, last but not least, it is completely in the hands of Microsoft. If I'd need .Net, I'd buy VS2005. I really hope DavidI & Co succeed in what they're doing, and I hope they look around and see the opportunities to distinguish Delphi from any other tool. GO DELPHI!Comment by Fulvio Romano [] on March 18, 10:22
Delphi Everywhere
O O O Oh!! This is what I have been waiting for! I have one popular Delphi App and people are asking for an OSX Version. So I would have to rewrite that Application using another Tool - EXCEPT IF there was Delphi for OS X.... I am hoping this to come true!!! PLEASE Borland, Please!Comment by Tom on June 9, 14:27
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Delphi Everywhere
Comment by John on March 7, 16:33