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OWL was the coolest framework way ahead of MFC... I miss it... 
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A_Griffin wrote: though adjusted for inflation it's not quite so dramatic
Adjusted to inflation it would be around $70... $1500 is a magnitude larger than that...
Skipper: We'll fix it.
Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?
Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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Yes, OK. I actually had a decade earlier in my head, which would more or less double it - even so, it's still an order of magnitude away.
So I exaggerated used poetic licence.
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A_Griffin wrote: adjusted for inflation it's not quite so dramatic
Beer was 70p a pint, today it is £3.50 so inflation doesnt account for that increase.
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No - but beer might account for (some of) the inflation of certain waistlines
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Its the red wine for me. Lethal stuff.
Still, dropped another 2 kgs, getting there...
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It ran great on my Apple II clone
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
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Well, that's kind of comparing apples and oranges. And if that would be a stretch, if you compare the capabilities of Turbo Pascal 2.0 and Delphi 10.2.
But in general, yes, it is a shame that Embarcadero went way overboard with their pricing, that's why I stick with FreePascal/Lazarus instead...
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I still use Delphi 6 for maintenance of a codebase where I work.
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Both C++ Builder[^] and Delphi[^] have free versions called Starter versions. These went away for a few years but are back.
If I recall correctly they compile to windows only. The other versions for Andriod, IOS, Windows or whatever else they support are expensive.
I also have Delphi 2006 (to support some old apps) but their more recent offerings will compile the code just fine.
Jack of all trades, master of none, though often times better than master of one.
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It's embarcadero. They are still hanging on currently, but one of their feet has stepped in grave since years ago, which serves the right. Their doom came from their greed.
Who in the right mind would want to fork out 2,500 US dollars for an IDE, when there are Visual Studio Community and Intellij IDEA Community and Android Studio?
Also the online learning resource for their Delphi is too few, while Java and C families have plenty.
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I use Delphi regularly. On Delphi XE7 these days.
I still don't see any of the other popular IDEs deliver the same blinding-fast compile time and self-contained EXEs. Deployment is true xcopy-deployment with no runtime dependencies other than Win32. So for me it delivers great value.
I will however agree on the pricing issue. Major reason why I don't upgrade the IDE often . Embarcadero releases a new version every year or so, but I find it harder and harder to see what's new. At least they are still working on the product.
One application I maintain is built using Delphi 7 (from 2002). The EXEs still work flawlessly on Windows 10 - even look like proper Windows 10 applications. That may be more a testimony to how well MS backwards compatibility works, but still...
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Lets not forget that it was a top engineer from Borland that went over to microsoft to build something small, what was it called again? Oh yes C#
Everything good from that language has been thought up by the same guy that made Delphi so great back then.
I use VS too when at work, but my own projects are all still in Delphi.
Even Delphi 7 (now more than 10 years old) still is a lot more productive than the latest VS.
Delphi was always best until and including Delphi 7. Then it went backwards real hard because Borland just did not care anymore and they where trying to incorporate dot net in Delphi.
Now thanks to Embarcadero Delphi XE10 is getting back on track again, granted the price is not cheap but the product really is way better then VS.
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Agreed. I am glad Anders (now doing TypeScript) has given so much back to the community through microsoft...
But in my mind, Delphi was always the fastest way to get Windows Programs done well!
I hope it stays around for a Long long long time...
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Delphi still is the fastest way to get Windows programs done well.
VS en C# are not bad, but when talking about database programming and memory managment VS is still decades behind Delphi. I miss DataModules so hard in VS and EntityFramework is just way to much overhead, slow and not flexible.
Also visual inheritance in VS is very bad supported.
Its just unbelievable that a tool like Delphi 7 (from 2002) can often do a better job than the latest VS !
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Delphi was always more expensive.
It was one of the few "RAD" platforms that compiled to native exe and did not need a "run time"; i.e. harder to decompile if that was a concern.
(Never thought of C++ as "RAD").
"(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then".
― Blaise Pascal
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You can always use Lazarus[^]. It's free.
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Can't resist bringing up old memory, don't you? Absolute direct memory access. I still remember a small app I wrote as screen saver which inserts arrow keys, Page UP, Page DN into the keyboard buffer simulating like someone is editing the source code. Drive our network guy crazy thinking someone has taken control of the PC. Another one is simulating a crack on the CRT screen too, by manipulate video buffer directly. Fun those days. Yes all Delphian are grandpa/grandma now, I'm included.
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Using Turbo C++ and the peek & poke commands I wrote a program to flash the caps lock & num lock to send morse code!
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Embarcadero still exists and is selling Delphi - C++ Builder. You can visit them at their web site for further information on the product line. Using Delphi since Turbo Pascal, the VCL product allows me to build quick and robust Windows applications.
Firemonkey which gives access to the iOS / Android world still needs a little help in getting there but that is due to the volatile smart device world.
Finally they provide a way to have a Datasnap application for Linux and Windows so you can extract from a database to have a central area for the users to retrieve information.
Borland's name was sold long time ago and that is pretty much history.
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We still use Delphi today. Supporting about 30 applications. Ranging from NT Services to client applications.
We are way behind the upgrade cycle (annual upgrades with large price tags are not for me).
We don't do .Net stuff that often, and have been on Oracle for the DB for a long time.
Now more MySQL in the mix, plus plenty of SQLite for small stuff... Occasionally we support MSSQL environments. All through the same component sets... Kinda nice.
As custom application developers, it's hard to walk away from all the years of libraries we have built, and the speed of compilation as well as a single EXE without DLL hell... And without the BLOAT...
We are probably 5 years behind on the upgrade cycle, which is fine for me. Low risk. Our view is that IF Embarcadero ever stops publishing Delphi... We will be able to support our clients for 10 years beyond that. And during that time, we will review what to move them to.
Most will probably end up in the cloud at those times.
Beyond my own lifetime, it is not my call!
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Embarcadero is actively extending Delphi and C++Builder, and their mobile FMX cross-platform is (in my opinion, and we use both) a lot easier than VS/Xamarin. C++Builder IDE supports drag/drop GUI development, unlike C++ VS. We have used Borland/Embarcadero C++ for our major applications since OWL, and have never had any show-stopper issues. C++Builder now uses Clang as the back-end compiler, so language compliance is about as good as it gets. C++Builder + FMX + the excellent framework-neutral 3rd party controls from TMS Software together allows us to target Windows, iOS, OSX, Android and soon Linux from a single code base. Borland->Inprise->Embarcadero has been a rocky road, and more than once we considered and essayed (for commercial, not software reasons) porting to VS, but it was just too hard. So we stuck with them, and lucky for us Embarcadero seems to be going gang-busters, though still a minute market share cf Microsoft VS.
DaleC
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It seems that a lot of people disagree with me regarding the death of Delphi, considering the sheer amount of replies, however, lets look at reality, i.e. programming index, made of independent people who have no reason to promoto certain language.
When we look that those graphs, Delphi's popularity is pitiful. It's rank is even lower than Visual Basic, the programming language that people love to hate and consider noob. And Delphi's position is even lower than VB. I wonder how much money does Embarcerado make from Delphi these days.
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After hearing that some people here like to see it when their stinkers dogs assault poor innocent cats, I have just stumbled over these things:
CAT ARMOR by PrintThatThing - Thingiverse[^]
This is probably less efficient: Cat Space Helmet[^]
What self respecting cat would ever run around like this?
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
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