I was making a Delphi application, and wanted to test it on another PC to see if everything was working properly. I compiled and built the executable file, of course and I transfered all of the files from the Project folder to the other PC. When I launched the .exe file on the PC, nothing would happen. I then ticked the "Build with runtime packages" option in Project Options:
This made the .exe go from around 300 KBs to around 30 KBs, but now, instead of being able to launch the application on another (non-Delphi) PC, that PC got an error saying it was missing various files required to open the .exe .
I sent the same thing to various friends and all reported the same problem.
My application is a rather simple lottery prototype application, so I don't understand why I'm having trouble opening it on other PCs. Are there other special options I need to enable for this to work?
When you use runtime packages, you need to distribute those packages. These are the .bpl files that your program links to. It will be a subset of the packages listed in the runtime packages edit box in your screenshot. You should just list the packages that you use.
The net result of doing this is that the total amount that you will have to distribute is much greater than a single monolithic executable. Because in a monolithic executable the unused code can be stripped. If you want to minimize the size of your program, and make life simple, do not use runtime packages.
It would be worthwhile reading Embarcadero's documentation:
Working with Packages and Components
Solve the first problem.
Using Runtime Packages will not solve the problem of your EXE not running on certain PC's. All it does is increase the complexity of deploying your application (as you have found).
Unless you need Runtime Packages for other, specific reasons, then you are far, far better off NOT using them, especially if you do not understand them (which based on the way you describe having discovered them does appear to be the case, if we're being honest).
Concentrate on finding out why your application does not run as a single, stand-alone EXE.
With all of the problems involving runtime packages your EXE is currently not even reaching the point of running your application code, and this may be where your original problem lies. Which means that once you have solved all the issues created by Runtime Packages, you will stil be left with an EXE which does not run. i.e. your original problem.
What does your application do when it starts ? Does it attempt to load files from any specific locations ? What are those locations ? What are the files ? Are you using any third party libraries which may expect DLL's to be present or other external files ? Are you trying to read or write settings to the registry or any external files (INI files etc).
What is the OS you are trying to run on ? This can be a very significant question for applications compiled with older Delphi versions. Have you tried configuring the EXE to run in Compatibility Mode for older versions of Windows ? (something that you do in Windows itself, not when compiling the EXE).
These are the questions you should be focussing on. Not runtime packages.
Gday,
A small tool that's been around for a while to help you with this is Dependency Walker. You can find it at http://www.dependencywalker.com. It's helped me out on more than one occasion. This will tell you what files (usually BPLs as stated in the other responses) need to be sent with your EXE.
Also look at NSIS to create a simple installer, and put your EXE and supporting BPLs and any other files in the same directory.
Related
The software that I have found myself supporting, from time to time fails to run on different PC's. Generally they are new Win7 installs.
The error message is "this application failed to start because rtl90.bpl was not found..."
To rectify the problem I have out PC Support copy the rtl90.bpl file to the users system32 directory, however i would like to ensure this error no longer occurs.
I have googled and found the followling link rtl90.bpl problem
My question is this:
The option to "Build with runtime packages" is already selected under the Project options for this program, and does not appear to make any difference to the users getting the problem.
Do I have to specifically Add the missing rtl90.bpl file to the project?
Please note that I know very little about delphi programming.
Since you are marked the option Build with runtime packages in your project, the final exe will require be deployed with some additional bpl files. To avoid that dependencies you must uncheck that option y build your project. Now your exe wil be bigger but without dependences.
That package is a runtime package containing the VCL. You presumably also need to deploy rtl90.bpl for the RTL and possibly some others. By enabling runtime packages you are promising to deploy those packages where the executable can find them.
You have 3 main options:
Deploy the packages to a location that is contained in the PATH variable. Usually this means modifying PATH. You should never write to the system directory. It is owned by the system and you should respect that.
Deploy the packages to the same directory as the executable file.
Disable runtime packages and therefore build a single self-contained executable. The RTL/VCL code will be statically linked into your executable.
Option 1 is poor in my view. Relying on the PATH variable and the ability to modify it is fragile. Option 2 works but seems rather pointless in comparison with option 3. You deploy more files and larger files when you choose 2, so why choose it.
In summary I recommend option 3. Statically link all RTL/VCL code into your executable.
The only situation where option 2 wins, in my view, is when you have multiple related executables that are all deployed to the same directory. In that situation sharing the RTL/VCL code can make sense.
I have two PCs both with XE2. I thought that I had installed identically on both but have problems installing 3rd party packages on one while the other is just fine.
I want the same on both anyway. The easist would probably just to "migrate" the working set-up by moving in into my Dropbox folder. Can I do that? If so, how?
If not, can I (easilly) backup my registry settings on one machine and then import them on the other?
I suppose I could just sort out the problem on the one PC, but am not having much luck so far. I would rather invest the time in only having one Delphi setup. And since I am moving lots of other stuff to DropBox anyway ...
The tool for this is now built into Delphi XE8 and higher.
It's found here:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\20.0\bin\migrationtool.exe
Online documentation:
http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/Rio/en/Settings_Migration_Tool
Install CnPack wizards from http://www.cnpack.org
From the CnPack toolbar select IDE Config Backup/Restore (image below) and save this file somewhere safe
Copy the components to the second delphi machine . Keep the exact same directory structure.
I store my components as follows this helps backing up, moving etc., but you can use your own structure
D:\components_bds\DCU
D:\components_bds\BPL
D:\components_bds\ComponentsThemselves
Use the restore config file from CnPack to restore your components on the new machine
This is also useful if your testing components that you plan to remove later and keeping a backup of your installation incase something goes wrong you can save time with new delphi installation if hard drive dies. Keep a copy on flashdrive or somewhere safe
You may compare/diff the config file created by cnPack using a tool like Beyond Compare and see what the differences are to find out why third party components give problems on one of the machines. It may be a Delphi registry/installation problem or a problem in the paths of the thirdparty components. Components need to be installed in an order perhaps it did not find the needed dcu or dll it depends on.
I don't know of any way to do so with DropBox. Here's an old post I made (related to Delphi 7, but with correction of registry keys still applicable) in the CodeGear newsgroups; hopefully it will help.
(It probably goes without saying, but back up the existing registry settings on the destination machine before starting by using RegEdit and exporting them, just in case. You'll at least be able to get back to the point you're at now if something goes wrong by deleting the imported entries and then importing the saved ones.)
You can't, without some difficulty anyway. (Especially if you have
third party components installed, as they may have placed files in the
%SYSTEM% folder you may not know about.)
You may be able to (for going from the old computer to the new
computer running the same exact version of Windows!) by exporting the
registry keys under HKCU\Software\Embarcadero and
HKLM\Software\Embarcadero from the old machine, and then after
installing Delphi on the new machine (in the exact same folder
location) importing that registry file.
Many of the compiler, linker, and other settings are configured on a
per-project basis, and should transfer over when you move your source
code to the new machine.
Third-party components are a problem, as I mentioned above. You may be
able to get away with using the registry export/import if you copy
each third-party component set from the old computer into exactly
the same location on the new machine before importing the registry
file. You'll probably have to track down some .BPL files that end up
in the $(BDS)\Bin and possibly other folders under the $(BDS)
tree; the IDE will tell you about missing stuff when you try and start
it. Make sure you answer "Yes " when asked if you want to try and load
it again next time!
Most of my development is hobby stuff or wannabe releases. Instead of dying trying to move my XE2 Pro from my Dell Inspiron N7110 Win 7 machine to my new Win 10 SSD machine, I'm seriously thinking of switching to Lazarus. I've used Lazarus 2.x with Indy 10, ZeosLib, and Firebird and successfully created a working distributed internet system. I also created Lazarus version of my XE2 Blackjack program. When compared to XE2, Lazarus (IMO) has only two weakness and neither are deal breakers for me. BTW, I have successfully duplicated Lazarus (with all installed components) from one machine to another simply by copying and pasting the Lazarus directory and it works. Try that with Delphi.
Sam
We have a software package which is about 16 years old. It's gone through just about every version of Delphi (besides .NET ones). Over the years, things have become very confusing when it comes to cross-referencing and keeping proper setup for additional packages (like third-party libraries). I was wondering if there is some standard practice when it comes to keeping large projects (and groups of projects) like this organized.
So to explain the current setup...
This is a multi-application system. Meaning, there are 12 executable projects (and a few DLL and service projects) involved. We also keep things in SourceSafe and multiple developers work on the same code on different computers. All of these projects are more-so dumped into a central folder. The "Root" folder contains THE major EXE project (along with about 20 folders, all containing units and forms) and it almost seems like an endless hierarchy of folders and files. This one project alone has half a million lines of code involved.
Then all the additional applications aren't necessarily separated properly from this major project. Each of these projects has its own folder based in the main project's root.
The two major concerns of mine are:
How to properly set up the DCU files so that they aren't mixed in with the projects? DCU's should NOT be placed in the SourceSafe (and any similar file, for that matter) or otherwise, any file compiled from the project. Visual SourceSafe makes files read-only when they're not checked out, and DCU files (and EXE files and more) cannot be written to in this case. So how to properly separate any of such file to a remote location to avoid any mixture with the source code?
How to properly set up packages and libraries? We have the following:
QuickReports 5.05
NativeJpg library V302 -
Another anonymous reporting library
Our own component package, which requires QuickReports, NativeJpg, and the other anonymous library
All 4 of those libraries are stored in completely different places of each computer, and need some centralization. The biggest pain of setting up each new developer's computer is locating these from the lead developer's computer and copying them to the same place on each other computer (and making sure the library path is correct, etc.).
We also need to keep completely separate environments for different versions of Delphi on the same computer. This means a copy of the projects on each computer, a copy of packages and libraries on each computer, a copy of the projects and packages and libraries in the SourceSafe, etc. Each computer needs to have an identical setup. We already utilize environment variables to direct our projects where to look for certain project files (and libraries).
Another new concern: XE2 introduces 64bit capabilities. We don't plan on 64bit compiling yet, but we certainly will in the future. How do I properly differentiate 32bit from 64bit in all these projects?
What I'm really asking for is a reference to a good tutorial on how to optimize such an environment and keep it organized the best. I don't expect anyone to take the time and answer all this in the question. The projects are over 15 years old, have had the hands of 200+ developers from around the world in it, and has a LOT of cross-referencing between projects. For example, one project may use a unit from another project, and vice-versa. I personally don't like this concept, but I also didn't design it to begin with. I've been given the task to get this system organized and thoroughly documented how to set up Delphi on a new computer for new developers to work on our projects. As I'm looking at our projects (as I'm not necessarily a developer of the system, but am being pulled into development), I'm seeing a lot of confusion in how the code is organized.
I am assuming that possibly Embarcadero has some guidelines and standards on setting up such an environment?
Location of DCU files
Regarding the DCUs that are the output of the compilation process, you should specify a DCU output directory in each project file. The default value for this, in the latest version of Delphi would be fine: .\$(Platform)\$(Config). This results in sub-folders of the project directory like this: Win32\DEBUG or Win64\RELEASE.
If you set-up your project files using option sets then you will be able to control this setting (and all others) from a small number of option files.
Location of 3rd party code
You should always use 3rd party library as code. If the vendor charges more to receive the library as code, pay up. Once you have done so you simply include the source code into your version control system (VCS) and treat it largely the same way as you treat your own code. I say largely because you should avoid modifying it.
Once you have all your code in the VCS then you can put the entire source code onto a new machine with a single checkout operation.
Organisation of your projects
I personally have a strong aversion to using compiler search paths. I don't use them and include every unit that is required in a project in the .dpr file.
If you do use search paths then you make it impossible to work on variant projects.So for example, suppose you have a client that has discovered a bug in the version of the software you released 2 years ago. You would like to address that bug by releasing an upgrade to the 2 year old version of the software. It is perfectly plausible that asking them to upgrade to the latest version is not viable. Perhaps they have not paid for the upgrades. Perhaps the full upgrade has breaking changes that they do not want to tackle right now. A perfect example would be all the Delphi developers still using Delphi 7.
Now, having motivated the scenario, how would you create a build environment for the 2 year old project? If you are using search paths then they will refer to today's libraries. You would be forced to change your search path, or copy the old libraries over the top of today's libraries.
That entire headache is trivially side-stepped by not using search paths and by including all your source in the VCS.
What you should be aiming for is to be able to checkout any historic version of your program and have it build immediately. You should be able to do this with full confidence that you are building identical software to what was built at the time that version was released. This also requires you to have build automation but I can't imagine you are lacking that for a project of this size.
I'll address folder organisation. This comes from a software suite which has 50+ exe's and dll's and plenty third party libraries, so I guess I know where you are coming from...
We use Perforce as a source control system, so my default workspace's root folder is called Perforce, but I also have a couple of other workspaces set up and they are in Perforce2, Perforce3, etc.
General folder setup (starting from the workspace root folder)
General
Components
Delphi
Indy
Indy9
Indy10
MadCollection
v2.5.8.0
v2.6.0.0
Plugins
Releases
Released
... a folder for each release we publish ... (and equal to a branch in Perforce)
Work
Acceptance
Sub1
Sub2
My Environment library path in the IDE is empty (not even the BDE standard paths are in there). This ensures that a project's paths declare all path's needed and that projects are not reliant upon a particular machine's IDE setup.
We have an environment var (ie MRJ) set up in our IDE's that points to "General\Components\Delphi" so in a project's options we declare the paths to our components as $(MRJ)\MadCollection\2.6.0.0.
General holds IDE plugins and components used by our projects. We keep all versions we use in source control. That way when I have to switch back to an old release to track down a problem, I can simply pull it and build it as its library paths will still point to the version of the components that this specific release needs.
The organisation of folders in a particular work branch (Acceptance or one of its subbranches) follows this pattern:
General
Includes
MainComponent1
Project1
Project2
Shared
MainComponent2
Project3
Project4
Shared
Shared
Windows
SoftwareSuite
Scripts
Tools
MainComponent1
Project1
Dcus
Project2
Dcus
MainComponent2
Tools
Tool1
Dcus
Tool2
Dcus
The General folder holds all platform independent sources/files, the Windows folder holds all Windows specific files. Each component can hold multiple projects and will have a share folder for sources shared between those projects. The shared folder directly under General holds sources shared by all projects. The Windows folder is set up in a similar manner.
Note that each project has its own dcus folder. This is configured in the project options. As the path can be entered as .dcus, we (at least I) have this set up as the default for any new project. Each project sending its dcus to a unique folder ensures two things:
it is easy to keep dcu's out of version control by simply setting up a filter in your version control software.
more importantly it ensures that compilation/build of a project never interferes with the compilation/build of another project. I can safely change settings and build knowing that I won't be bothered by dcu's lying around from a previous build from another project.
I recommend the following practices:
Keep your library path simple, and make sure everything in the library path is either a folder that ships with delphi, or a DCU binary (library) folder in your d:\Components\ folder.
Use a MODERN type of version control. I recommend Mercurial over others. Source Safe is crap, stop using it.
Back up your environment (export registry keys etc) and restore it to the other developer PCs in a standardized way. You can keep a few .reg and .cmd (batch) files around to automate setup of a new system. you can put these scripts in your component repository in your version control system.
Outside the scope that was largely discuss before, I would recommend :
Unit testing - with DUnit for example
Continuous integration. Just to be sure that all these projects can compile on another machine and that tests are ok.
So this is heavily related to project organization and VCS strategy.
For a similar setup, a company I worked for found this configuration useful:
all third party libraries (components etc.) go to a fixed location (C:\Delphi\name-version)
Delphi projects can be checked out from version control anywhere (drive C: or D: and folder name does not matter), as all projects and scripts use relative paths
all projects are sub folders of one main project folder so checking out this one will bring the Delphi projects and other relevant resources to the workstation, and a version control update is easy to do
we use a build script (written in Apache Ant) which sits in the main folder, and iterates over all folders to build the Delphi apps and run unit and integration tests against a development database server, to verify all changes work before checking in to source control
the build script can also be run automatically on a build server (Hudson CI) on every commit to see if something broke
And a note about component libraries: avoid package installation where possible, prefer creation of components at run time. If you quickly need to apply a fix to a five year old version of a project, uninstalling / installing a dozen of packages can become frustrating. At least for non-visual components, run-time creation is a huge time saver.
Checking in third party code in source control can be very helpful, for example to share fixes which are not yet available as new official releases. Best practices are covered in the Subversion documentation chapter Vendor Branches.
Plus, with Subversion you can use svn:externals to place a specific version (tag) right into a project directory structure. This can be used both with third party library and with your own source code, and makes dependency management easier and workstation setup easier.
p.s. the Ant build script defines the search paths for everything, so it is 'the reference' for all developers how to configure the IDE, where to put the third party libs and which compiler flags to use
p.p.s. your project sounds like a lot of fun - I am open for contract work :)
My team use virtualization and when we see back it was a real good move.
We use MacBook Pro laptops and VmWare Fusion, but I'm sure other packages work fine as well like VirtualBox or VirtualPC.
It is always a good feeling to know that when a new developer starts or an old installation got trouble it is just to copy a new VM image from the master image and the setup is exactly as the original. The master image is stored on a fast USB2-disk. Now when Thunderbolt and USB3 is coming it would be even faster to copy an image. And there is no real concern about performance on a modern computer as long as there is memory. 8 GB should be enough to run 2 images in parallell. Another advantage of virtualization is that it is so easy to try What if scenario. Experiment with different configuarations and versions without any risk to disturb the real working environment.
Btw I also think that SourceSafe is crap... :-)
Somé tips:
Make one groupproject file for all the apps belonging to the project, each app in its own dir under the groupproj file
You should be able to specify which file types to include into your version control system. Make sure you set Delphi to write DFM files in text format.
You could tell Delphi to output DCUs in subdirs named 'dcu' under each app (less visaul clutter).
Third party stuff often insists on installing in distinct locations, there's not much you can do about it. Make a document describing how to setup a complete working environment and keep it up-to-date
Develop in virtual machines. A new developer gets a copy of the VM.
Maintaining for different Delphi versions? Rethink that, try to go to one version. If you absolutely must have two groupprojects and directory structures for each version. [I'm assuming you're not compiling the same app with two Delphi version, that's developer hell]
Delphi XE2 will output to different 32/64 subdirectories, that should give no problems.
With the desire to be able to reproduce a given revision of a project that is utilizing 3rd party visual component packages, what goes in SVN and what's the best way to implement/structure the SVN repos?
For non-visual components, the rule seems simple to ensure no reliance on outside repos - "no svn-externals reference to any outside repo allowed". I have a shared repo that I control, which is the only 'svn-externals' reference allowed. This makes it easy to implement and share these types of runtime itemss with sourcecode in different SVN projects. Any reference this internal shared repo is by 'svn-externals' using a specific revision number.
Visual packages seem to go counter to being able to be version controlled easily as they may have to be reinstalled at each revision. How to best create a SVN project which is able to be recreated later at a specific revision number...is there a recommended solution?
Previously we didn't worry about 3rd party components as they don't change often and we never had a real good solution. I was wondering if others have figure out the best way to handle this problem as I'm doing a spring cleaning/internal reorganization and wanted to do it 'better' than before.
Technically, the RTL/VCL source should also be in the SVN repo as well (if there's a Delphi hotfix/service pack released.)
My solution will likely be to create a virtual machine with a particular release of the Delphi environment with all visual controls installed. As we add/update visual controls, or update Delphi with hotfixes/service packs then we create a new version of the virtual machine. We then store an image of this VM revision on a shelf somewhere. Is this what you do? Does the Delphi activation/licensing work well (or at all) in this scenario?
Thanks,
Darian
You can prepare "start IDE" (and possibly "build") scripts for your projects and maintain them as project evolves in repository.
Regardless of your decision about keeping components in separate repositories and using externals, or including them in a single repository with possible branching, you should also include compiled bpl files for every component build and for every branch prepared for a specific Delphi version.
You should definitely try to keep most (if not all) of paths relative, in a worst case use environment variables to point to your root project dir.
Start IDE script allows you to keep each project and Delphi version environment spearately configured on a single Windows installation.
It should include necessary registry keys for your project and Delphi:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-${DelphiRegKey}\Disabled Packages]
[-${DelphiRegKey}\Known Packages]
[-${DelphiRegKey}\Library]
[${DelphiRegKey}\Known Packages]
"$(BDS)\\Bin\\dclstd${CompilerVersion}.bpl"="Borland Standard Components"
"$(BDS)\\Bin\\dclie${CompilerVersion}.bpl"="Internet Explorer Components"
"$(BDS)\\Bin\\dcldb${CompilerVersion}.bpl"="Borland Database Components"
(...)
"${CustomComponentPack}"="Custom Components"
[${DelphiRegKey}\Library]
"Search Path"="${YourLibrarySourceFolder1};${YourLibrarySourceFolder2}"
(...)
You can then prepare batch file:
regedit /s project.reg
%DelphiPath%\bin\bds -rProjectRegKey Project.dpr
Where ${DelphiRegKey} is HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Borland(or CodeGear in newer versions)\ProjectRegKey.
Basically it is easier when you will dump your current working configuration from registry, strip it from unnecessary keys, change paths to relative and then adapt to make it work with your project.
In such configuration, switching between projects and their branches which have different sets of components (and/or possibly using different Delphi version) is a matter of checking out a repository only and running the script.
Fortunately for us, we don't have to worry about a hotfix/service pack; we're still on Delphi 5. :D
Sigh, there was a time when an entire application (settings and all) would exist within a single directory - making this a non-issue. But, the world has moved on, and we have various parts of an application scattered all over the place:
registry
Windows\System
Program Files
Sometimes even User folders in "Application Data" or "Local Settings"
You are quite right to consider the impact of hotfixes/service packs. It's not only RTL/VCL that could be affected, but the compiler itself could have been slightly changed. Note also that running on the same line of thought, even when you upgrade Delphi versions, you need to build using the correct version. Admittedly this is a little easier because you can run different Delphi versions alongside each other.
However, I'm going to advise that it's probably not worth going to too much effort. Remember, working on old versions is always more expensive than working on the current version.
Ideally you want all your dev to be be on main branch code, you want to minimise patch-work on older versions.
So strive to keep the majority of your users on the latest version as much as possible.
Admittedly this isn't always possible.
You wouldn't want to jump over to the 'new version' without some testing first in any case.
Certain agile processes do tend to make this easier.
By using a separate build machine or VM, you already have a measure of control.
TIP: I would also suggest that the build process automtically copy build output to a different machine, or at least a different hard-drive.
Once you're satisfied with the service pack, you can plan when you want to roll it to your build machine.
It is extremely important to keep record of the label at which the build configuration changed. (Just in case.)
If your build scripts are also kept in source control, this happens implicitly.
When you've rolled out the hotfix/service pack, fixes to older versions should be actively discouraged.
Of course, they probably can't be eliminated, but if it's rare enough, then even manual reconfiguration could be feasible.
Instead of a VM option to keep your old configuration, you can also consider drive-imaging.
To save on the $$$ of VMWare LabManager, look for a command-line driven VM Player.
You might have to keep 2 "live" machines/VMs, but should never need more than that.
It's okay for an automatic build script to fail because the desired configuration isn't available. This will remind you to set it up manually.
Remember, working on old versions is always more expensive than working on the current version.
Third Party Packages
We went to a little bit more effort here. One of our main motivations though was the fact that we use about 8 third party packages. So doing something to standardise this in itslef made sense. We also decided running 8 installation programs was a PITA, so we devised an easy way to manually install all required packages from source-control.
Key Considerations
The build environment doesn't need any packages installed, provided the object and/or source files are accessible.
It would help if developers could fairly easily ensure they're building with the same version of third party libraries when necessary.
However, dev environments usually must install packages into the IDE.
This can sometimes cause problems with source compatibility.
For example new properties that get written to IDE maintained files.
Which of course brings us back to the second point.
Since Third Party packages are infrequently updated, they are placed within a slightly different area of source-control.
But, NB must still be referenced via relative paths.
We created the following folder structure:
...\ThirdParty\_DesignTimePackages //The actual package files only are copied here
...\ThirdParty\_RunTimePackages //As above, for any packages "required" by those above
...\ThirdParty\Suite1
...\ThirdParty\Suite2
...\ThirdParty\Suite3
As a result of this it's quite easy to configure a new environment:
Get latest version of all ThirdParty files.
Add _DesignTimePackages and _RunTimePackages to Windows Path
Open Delphi
Select Install Components
Select all packages from _DesignTimePackages.
Done!
Edit: Darian was concerned about the possibility of errors when switching switching versions of Design Packages. However, this approach avoids those kinds of problems.
By adding _DesignTimePackages and _RunTimePackages to the Windows Path, Delphi will always find required packages in the same place.
As a result, you're less likely to encounter the 'package nightmare' of incompatible versions.
Of course, if you do something silly like rebuild some of your packages and check-in the new version, you can expect problems - no matter what approach you follow.
I usually structure my repository in SVN like this:
/trunk/app1
/trunk/comp/thirdparty1
/trunk/comp/thirdparty2
/trunk/comp/thirdparty3...
I have, right in the root folder (trunk) a project group (.groupproj, or .bpg on old delphi) that contains all my components. (allcomponents.groupproj).
Installing on a new machine, means opening that package, and installing the designtime components. That's a drag on all versions of Delphi older than 2010, but 2010 and XE have a lovely feature so you can see at a glance, which components are designtime components.
I also, sometimes, will save myself the trouble of installing those components by hand, by making a build.bat file, and a regcomponents.bat file. The regcomponents just runs regedit , and imports the keys needed to register all those components, after build.bat has built them, and everything else.
When you move up from one delphi version to another, it's sure good to have both a batch and reg file, and a group project, to help you. Especially if you have to go through and do a lot of opening of project/packages and saving them as MyComponent3.dpk instead of MyComponent2.dpk, or updating the package extension from 150 to 160, or whatever your packages do.
I have a query about the option in Delphi to build with or without runtime packages (Project->Option->Packages).
The executable file size seem to be smaller (389KB) when I checked the box "Build with runtime packages" compared to when I uncheck the box (3,521KB). Why is that the case?
I am having so much trouble building an installation disk for it and can't figure out what files should be included in the installation. I wonder if this might have anything to do with it, but I have tried both options already.
When you build with runtime packages, the VCL and RTL are loaded from the packages and so their code doesn't have to be linked into your EXE. So the EXE gets smaller, but the total installation gets larger since you can't use smart linking to reduce the size of the packages.
As you've already noticed, using packages causes trouble for memory leak tracing, and it also causes trouble for debuggging. It's generally only worthwhile to use them if you're using plugins that will also need runtime packages.
The answers so far miss one crucial point: Runtime packages are useful in the same way as DLLs are useful if you have a suite of applications that work together and are installed together. You could of course link the VCL and third party libraries into all of them by building them without packages, but depending on the number of applications and used libraries the size of these applications combined will be larger than the size of them built with runtime packages plus the size of those runtime packages. This will make for larger setup packages, which isn't the big issue it once was.
But using all these applications at the same time will also bring a much higher load for the system. Since every application uses its own copy of the VCL and the other libraries all these need to be loaded from disc into memory, which causes more I/O. And then there will be several copies of them in memory, each taking up space for the code. When runtime packages are used each application will have its own memory area for data, but they will all share the same copy of the packages' code in memory.
For a single self-contained application without any special needs definitely build without packages.
Regarding your question "what files should be included in the installation": you can use Dependency Walker to track down the library dependencies.
One of the main reason for using run-time packages is when you need module granularity to deploy/update over a medium that does not accept well large files, like over a wire with a low bandwidth.
Because the run-time packages remain the same until you change your Delphi version - like forever for those still on D7 ;-) - it allows to deploy new versions or new applications without the payload of the RTL/VCL.
But like with DLLs, you have to be careful with the versioning.
Don't know about D2010, but in D2006 there is an option in the project menu called "Information for ProjectName".
This will show you which packages are included after you compile.
However, as Mason has stated, there is little advantage to using run time packages, and quite a few disadvantages.