Today David I of Embarcadero published the first public preview video of Delphi 64 bit, showing 8 byte pointers, VCL integration, and database integration. It is coming for real! You can find the preview at  http://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi/64-bit .

Key points of the video:

  • Integer, LongInt and Cardinal types will remain 32 bit
  • Int64 will remain 64 bit
  • NativeInt, NativeUint will be different depending on the platform
  • Pointers will depend on the platform, of course!
  • Support for the 64 bit address space
  • Every project will (possibly) have multiple target platform (see image below)

Embarcadero (on the site above) is accepting request as beta testers of the 64 bit compiler, apparently giving precedence to delphi XE registered users. But I'm not sure about the details. In any case, it is very good  to know that the long promised Delphi 64 bit native compiler is now close to being a real product.