I bought Delphi XE2 Starter edition because I can't really afford the other versions and didn't really read the full spec sheet.
Now I find that my old Delphi 7 programs which use TAdoConnection, won't compile as ADO DB is not included in the Starter Edition (although I seem to recall downloading it seperately for Delphi 7).
I would strongly prefer to Download ADOB and install it - can I somehow?
If not, what are my free and low prices options for database access? Preferably ODBC, although I might be able to live with MySql only.
Update: I intend to purchaser AnyDac/UniDac/MyDac (the choice of which will be another question).
However, I couldn't help but notice that my own generic collection of functions is all in a single unit and if I link that unit's DCU with the XE2 starter edition, voila! I have d/b access in the Delphi XE2 starter edition.
There are some commercial data access packages you can get or perhaps this OpenSource one may work for you: http://www.productivity.org/projects/tmysql/
Some commercial options for Delphi and MySQL (and there is support for other databases as well):
http://www.devart.com/mydac/
http://www.microolap.com/products/connectivity/mysqldac/
http://www.da-soft.com/anydac/
AFAIK you can't download additional modules for Starter Edition (even for pay) from Embarcadero, you have to use some thirdparty solution which doesn't depend on TDataSet (as AFAIK it isn't included in Starter Edition). Some options are
KADAO - if you want to stick with ADO;
ZeosLib - open source, supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, Interbase, Firebird, MS SQL, Sybase, Oracle and SQLite;
UIB for Interbase and Firebird;
If you have the starter edition, you can use ZEOS access components.
You can download the XE2 package from SVN.
That's a bit fiddly, so in case you are unfamiliar with SVN here's a step by step.
Download a SVN client: http://tortoisesvn.net/downloads.html
Create a new folder to put the ZEOS components in; I use c:\borland\ZEOS
Right-click, and choose Tortoise SVN from the menu, then checkout or add.
copy paste the following url: https://zeoslib.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/zeoslib/branches/testing
There's a minor bug in the sourcecode that prevents it from compiling, see this answer how to fix that: https://stackoverflow.com/a/8389516/650492
As per usual you'll have add the directories the source code resides in to the search path, see: How to correctly set "Directories/Conditionals" and "Library" path
Related
I've created some components in Delphi and I would like to give them to somebody else for use, but without source code.
I use the latest version of Delphi (10.2 Tokyo).
What are the steps I need to follow? Thank you!
If you want to share components in Delphi without source code, you must ensure that the other user has the exact same version of Delphi as you have[1]. This won't work with a different version. Note that it does not have to be the same SKU, i.e. you can have Professional or Community and the other can have, say, Enterprise. Only the version (e.g. Berlin 10.1, Tokyo 10.2, etc.) is important.
Then you can either
put them in a package and distribute the bpl and dcp files.
distribute the dcu files.
or both (preferrable)
Note that the user will have to install these. There are instructions in the help files on how to do that (no link, sorry, as the DocWiki seems to be down right now). Note that the package must be in one of the paths in the Windows DLL search order.
You could of course also write an installer, using one of the installer creating applications like InnoSetup (no association), but that is a topic of its own.
[1] That is the reason that many Delphi developers prefer components or classes with source and would not accept or buy one of these without source. Having the source also allows you to fix little bugs.
We have some legacy software programmed in Delphi 2007. I had to upgrade Indy to something quite new from their source snapshot to be able to support TLS v1.2 in my application.
Old Indy was removed and new packages compiled and installed. Note that Indy changed also naming of the packages, currently they are called IndyCore110.bpl etc - with 110 suffix for D2007. Which probably doesn't even matter, since the packages are in any case newly build and the library itself is modified slightly.
Of course, the compiled packages and units from kbmMW CodeGear edition which we used in other parts of the system (and which need to be in the same Delphi environment on the same build machine) are not compatible with the new Indy neither by naming nor by whatever stands for version there, I can't re-install the kbmWM's packages.
If I understand it right, I need to obtain sources for kbmWM in order to be able to re-build and re-install it (while, possibly, fixing some compatibility issues where it comes in contact with new Indy). (Please correct me if this is wrong).
What I don't know is - which edition of kbmWM do I even need, what is the difference between Professional and Enterprise - are they different by component structure or only by licensing/support features? The CodeGear edition - which edition with sources does it correspond to - Professional or Enterprise?
I've attempted to compose a list of components and classes which are definitely explicitly used in our source, maybe this could help in answering the question. Here it is:
TkbmMWClientQuery
TkbmMWClientStoredProc
TkbmMWClientConnectionPool
TkbmMWBinaryStreamFormat
TkbmMWTCPIPIndyClientTransport
TkbmMWPooledSession
TkbmMWSimpleClient
TkbmMWServer
TkbmMWTCPIPIndyServerTransport
TkbmMWPooledSession
TkbmMWDBXConnectionPool
TkbmMWMSSQLMetaData
TkbmMWADOXConnectionPool
TkbmMWCustomConnection
TkbmMWClientIdentity
TkbmMWAccessPermissions
TkbmMWCustomServiceForm
TkbmMWCustomService
TkbmMWBinaryStreamFormat
TkbmMemTable
TkbmMWBinaryStreamFormat
I hope somebody can either consult me on what edition I might be able to use or advise me on installing the precompiled CodeGear edition together with the updated Indy. The Indy version is 10.0.52 downloaded from here: http://www.indyproject.org/Sockets/Download/Files/Indy10.DE.aspx
Again, for record keeping.
CodeGear edition is, in fact a subset of them all, quite close, but not quite as big as Professional. That was actually visible in the Features section of the website.
We did purchase a Professional license and in the end I was able to find a combination of versions of MW and MemTable that compiled on D2007
It was also possible to hack it a little bit in the part of interface with Indy to accomodate for the changes in the newest packages. I won't go into details here, this remains yet to be tested, for now I just know that it all builds together and projects open and compile.
How can i connect a folder in Delphi Library path to a folder in Subversion?
Background
In another Delphi source-control IDE plugin, you can configure what they call "Global Mappings". This means that an arbitrary folder on your hard-drive can be mapped to a folder in source control:
This means that any amount of arbitrary folder in my Library path, i can automatically get the benefits of source control:
get latest
merge changes
history
right from the IDE. The folders just contain arbitrary amounts of source-code files.
That's fine for Delphi 5
That works fine for Delphi 5, but what about Delphi XE6, and their built-in subversion client?
How do i specify a arbitrary mapping between a folder on my hard-drive, and a corresponding repository and folder on the network/internet/cloud?
Update: 3/6/2015
Epocalipse just released their updated VssConneXion for XE6! (and XE7, and their SourceConneXion for the same). Finally, i get to use source control in Delphi again!
It really would be super if Bo...Imp...Co...Embarcadero included some documentation on how to use SVN from Delphi. In the meantime, this question goes unsolvable.
From the image you've provide that other version control is SourceSafe and that probably means Delphi is talking to SourceSafe using the MSSCCI interface.
That would suggest that since Delphi supports MSSCCI, it should also work with any Subversion plug-in that implements the MSSCCI interface.
So one option would be to use Google and search for such a plug-in, of which there are a few to choose from.
I know of at least one such plug-in which is Agent SVN since I'm the author of that plug-in. But unfortunately I can't tell you if it works with Delphi as I've never tested it with that IDE.
But as the plug-in works with several other MSSCCI IDEs I suspect there is a good chance that it will.
I would like to know if there are any open source components available for Delphi XE-2 that can connect to postgreSQL other than using outdated techniques like ODBC.
For now just Win32 support is needed, but if Win64 and OS-X support is also available that would be a bonus.
I googled around a bit, but the only lib that's available (ZEOS) looks like it is no longer in active development.
There does seem to be a patch for Delphi XE2 but I could not get it to compile.
As of right now: No.
You either route through ADO -> ODBC, dbExpress -> ODBC (for XE2*, see below), hope to make Zeos work, or pay for one of the various commercial components (PostgresDAC, DevArt, or AnyDAC, to name a few).
While Delphi XE2 comes with an ODBC driver for dbExpress, it's only for the Enterprise SKU and higher -- it's not available in Pro. For XE2 Pro users and users of older versions of Delphi there's Open dbExpress. I've tried using it before, but always had trouble with it. It's been updated since I've last used it though, so maybe whatever problems I had (which may have been my own fault) aren't an issue anymore.
All this said, ODBC isn't really an outdated technology. On non-Windows systems it seems to be the preferred DB-agnostic API. That said, it seems that many environments prefer to implement their own connectivity (e.g. QT, GNOME) rather than relying on ODBC exclusively. However, for the PostgreSQL project itself, their default (and best supported) connectivity API is ODBC.
Update: In fact, Microsoft is making ODBC their premier connectivity API for SQL Server starting with SQL Server 2002 (codenamed Denali). See: Microsoft Aligning with ODBC and Microsoft is Aligning with ODBC for Native Relational Data Access. This is the last release that will support OLE DB, and Microsoft is encouraging developers to use ODBC.
Turns out you can get ZEOS to work on Delphi XE2 and as far as I've tested all DB functionality works.
Here are the steps to follow:
Use SVN* to download the Delphi XE2 archive for ZEOS at:
https://zeoslib.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/zeoslib/branches/testing
Put the zeos folder in the appropriate place, I'm assuming c:\borland
Do not open Delphi yet, but instead open
C:\borland\zeos\packages\delphi16\ZComponent.dpk in wordpad and remove the trailing {$IFDEF} (remember to keep the ; in place).
Open c:\borland\zeos\packages\delphi16\ZeosDbo.groupproj.
Choose build all
Open c:\borland\zeos\packages\delphi16\build in explorer, copy all .bpl files and copy those to c:\borland\delphixe2\bin
Component -> install packages -> [add...] and choose
c:\borland\delphixe2\bin\ZComponentDesign.bpl
as a SVN client I've downloaded SVN-tortoise from: http://tortoisesvn.net/downloads.html
Combined with both the SVN plug-ins for Firefox
I want to install a Firebird database driver, and to have it available within the Delphi XE IDE. I want the database driver to be usable on the same basis as other, supplied database drivers (eg Interbase, SQL - from within the Data Explorer in the IDE). I have obtained an appropriate driver.
The driver consists of a Delphi project, which compiles to a DLL; and modifications to two .ini configuration files (dbxconnections.ini and dbxdrivers.ini). I assume that the DLL is the actual driver, and I have compiled the project without problem.
I have got this far, and this is where I realised that I do not know what is involved in installing a new database driver; what is involved in installing a new database driver into an IDE; nor where the elements of the installation need to reside.
So my question is:
What steps are needed to install a dbExpress database driver into the Borland XE Delphi Professional IDE?
Some of the specific points I don't know about include -
Does the driver need to be registered with all of Firebase, Delphi and Windows?
Do I need to employ a specific registration procedure to accomplish registration?
Are there any elements I am missing to accomplish my aim?
Where should the installed components be located?
All four vendors, Embarcadero, Borland, UniOpen, and Firebird provide documentation (most of which is very comprehensive) but I have been unable to extract from them what I need to do and where to do it.
I have searched multiple questions on SO, but all of seem to start from the basis that the OP knows what is involved in driver installation.
All the products (except the driver project) generate multiple files in multiple locations, and it is not clear what components belong where. For example, I have multiple versions of the two configuration files residing in:
C:\Users\User\AppData....
C:\Users\Public\Public Documents...
C:\Program Files\Vendor....
....
In addition these products install files into:
the registry (multiple keys);
C:\Program Files....;
C:\Program Files (x86)....;
C:\Windows\System....;
C:\Windows\System 32.....
and probably more.
Environment:
Machine: Lenovo Thinkpad W510
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate
Delphi: Embarcadero® RAD Studio XE Version 15.0.3953.35171
Database: W1-V2.5.0.26074 Firebird 2.5
Database Driver: UniOpen Native DBX Driver
Also Installed:
Embarcado Borland® Developer Studio 2006 Enterprise Version 10.0.2288.42451 Update 2 (XP Version)
Borland Delphi Version 7 (XP Version)
In summary:
What steps and locations are needed to install a dbExpress database driver into the Borland XE Delphi Professional IDE?
You missed a file. :)
DataExplorer, from the best I can tell, uses dbxdrivers.ini. My installation of XE has a single copy of that particular file, located (Win7 64) in C:\Users\Public\Documents\RAD Studio\8.0. The connection types listed in DataExplorer come from the list of installed drivers at the beginning of that file, and each driver has one or more configuration sections which follow that list.
The driver files listed in the configuration section have to exist in a location findable (like any other Windows DLL) by LoadLibrary. The documentation in the link explains the way the API function searches for DLLs; basically though, the IDE has to find it somewhere on the PATH.
The vendor or author of your particular driver should be able to provide the info that needs to go in the dbxdrivers.ini file. (I'm not familiar with UniOpen personally, and don't have FireBird on this particular machine.) The IDE only reads that file during startup, so you'll need to (re)start the IDE after making the additions.
This post at the Embarcadero Delphi Database->DBExpress forum may help with defining aliases for your Firebird databases, and describes connecting via the TSQLConnection component. (Look for a post by Ralph Horbury-Smith.) If you don't have a Developer's Network ID, you'll need to register with the Embarcadero site; the link I provided uses HTTPS for some reason. You can also get to their forums via NNTP; I'm not using a newsreader, so I'm not sure what the address would be. There's a link to connection info on this page at Embarcadero.
There's also some information available on the Delphi XE documentation Wiki pages that might help as well.
EDIT: Found one more link at the DBExpress forums that might interest you. It has a link for another FB DBExpress driver and specific information for the dbxdrivers.ini file for that driver. It's the post by Phillip Flores (about the 3rd one down on the page).
I am accepting #Ken's answer. His response provided links to various resources. I am summarising the answers to the specific points I had that I have obtained from the references.
There is no need to amend dbxconnections.ini - the IDE will do that for me.
I need to amend dbxdrivers.ini appropriately and place it in the IDE directories.
The actual driver needs to be somewhere on the path - typically System32.
There is no need to register the driver with Windows.
Apart from the items listed above, there is no special procedure needed to register such drivers.
The list here appears complete.
EDIT:
My conclusions in this summary were premature and I have asked a further question to try and obtain further information. The strikeout in the list above marks the incorrect elements.