June 23, 2008
June 08 Delphi 2007 Updates
There was a recent flurry of Delphi 2007 updates worth noticing... even though most of them are minor issues.
There was a recent flurry of Delphi 2007 updates from CodeGear worth noticing... even though most of them are minor issues. All of this updates can be downloaded from the Delphi 2007 or RAD Studio 2007 registered users download page (provided you login and you are a registered users of the product):
The Help update has limited new information, but still worth the long downlaod (in my opinion), something you can also achieve by running the "Check for Updates" program of the CodeGear RAD Studio programs group. The linker update seems to be a C++Builder specific issue (but I might be wrong). The GIF and JPEG support can be handy (you get the "Extras" folder of past versions of Delphi) but some sort of readme or description would have been handy. The license update adds distribution rights for a .NET database access file.
Even if these updates are far from terrific, the fact that CodeGear is investing time on those while somewhat busy with many other things (Embarcadero, Tiburon) is a positive sign.
7 Comments
June 08 Delphi 2007 Updates
So, Marco, you think that the fact that CodeGear hasn't abandoned Delphi 2007 a year after its release is a positive sign? This really highlights how poor their support is (and has been for a long time). Personally I'd quite like to see another update to Delphi 2006 to iron out some of the remaining issues (although I know this will never happen). I'll be waiting to see how long it takes CodeGear to stop updating 2007 before deciding to purchase any future versions of Delphi.Comment by Joe on June 24, 14:44
June 08 Delphi 2007 Updates
I just don't get the negative thinking. There are parts of the IDE/Language/Compiler/etc... that will most likely never be updated, maybe replaced, but not seriously updated. I am alright with that. Frankly I would rather have the limited resources at CodeGear working on new features like Unicode, Multi Core, and Cross Platform Compilers, then on fixing old IDEs. Lets face it, in the current CodeGear model the best updates are the releases of new versions. Like it or not Software Assurance is your best way to go. You can lament the lack of legacy product updates if it makes you happy, but I don't think you will get any better service from another IDE vendor.Comment by Michael on June 25, 03:09
June 08 Delphi 2007 Updates
>Even if these updates are far from terrific Actually, the linker bug is a major, major bug that it is great to have resolved. It is definitely a terrific fix! You might not have been aware of this if you don't use C++Builder for large projects - but it is a great fix to finally have. (I agree backporting it to BDS2006 might please some people, too. But I'm just happy to see they're working on, and fixing, this kind of thing.)Comment by David M on June 25, 04:09
June 08 Delphi 2007 Updates
"Lets face it, in the current CodeGear model the best updates are the releases of new versions. Like it or not Software Assurance is your best way to go." Sorry, but for complex projects this model does not work at all, SA or not. I can't change Delphi release in the middle of project just to get some fixes, because it means waiting for 3rd party libraries being available (and often paying for new releases as well), porting of existing internal libraries, and a whole retest (new bugs could be introduced - and often happened). Frankly, I'd prefer longer release cycles and interim service packs (ready to pay for support) to fix current issues without "breaking changes" and new issues. I don't care of new features if the "old" ones are still shaky, unfinished, unreliable or broken. That is the model that made the last four releases a nightmare. And this model is one of the reasons Delphi looks unreliable to upper management. Mine is really tired of hearing "this does not work in this release - when will it be fixed? we need to wait for the next release to get it working". Check for example Sybase's Powerbuilder support: http://www.sybase.com/detail?id=1034764 I understand CodeGear resources issues, but CodeGear should understand customer issues too - as long as they want to be a *professional developers* supplier. Supporting the current release and the previous one, backporting fixes, would be a strong selling advantage, IMHO. Upgrades would become more appealing, when the risk to buy a useless "Delphi 2005" is little.Comment by Luigi D. Sandon on June 25, 18:47
June 08 Delphi 2007 Updates
"Sorry, but for complex projects this model does not work at all, SA or not." It is the model my company has used with Delphi since Delphi 1. I am not advocating changing IDE revisions mid development cycle. I know that can be a problem. We have specific internal releases for that task here. I am also not advocating that CodeGear ignore unstable features as they got forward. I do think that they should spend an amount of time fixing the older features as they work towards the next build, and not just introduce new ones. I think D2007 went a long way along this path. "I understand CodeGear resources issues, but CodeGear should understand customer issues too - as long as they want to be a *professional developers* supplier." I think they do understand customers issues. Look at QualityCentral. Of the top 9 issues all but 2 are requests for new features. So from thCodeGear point of view by focusing on new features they are paying attention to the customer issues. Maybe with EMBT owning CodeGear the Release/Update cycle will change, but I doubt it, EMBT appears to use the same subscription service for update cycles. I mean no offense, just how I see things.Comment by Michael on June 25, 23:11
June 08 Delphi 2007 Updates
"Look at QualityCentral. Of the top 9 issues all but 2 are requests for new features." I do not know if that's a good statistical analysis - don't know how many people reviews single bugs and vote on them - especially in the past when votes are limited - I did it only sometimes due to the time needed - and I'm in the "top ten" per number of reports, submitting a good report is a time consuming activity, no much left to review other ones unless they hit us badly. It's much easier to vote for new well known and long awaited features like "generic", "64 bits" and "firebird driver" (the latter it's a good open source project candidate - why no one starts it and everybody wants it from CodeGear?). I am not saying that some of those new features are much needed - but too often Delphi run too much forward leaving big holes behind. Resources should be balanced between the two tasks - new releases and fetures, and mainenance of current version.Comment by Luigi D. Sandon on June 27, 00:30
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June 08 Delphi 2007 Updates
Comment by Luigi D. Sandon on June 24, 11:07