I used to work in Delphi 6, and got very used to having CodeRush's various helpful IDE additions. Many are now in the IDE itself, or I've managed to replace with something else, but the one feature I REGULARLY find myself wishing I had in Delphi 2007 still, is the ability CodeRush had that added little "connecting lines" between components that were linked to each other (lines showing the connections between TDataSets and TDataSources, for instance).
Does anyone make something that does that in the newer Delphi IDE?
=== * LATER NOTE / Clarification * ===
Andreas is correct in his comments below... "I don't think that he meant structural highlighting which works on the source code. He wants "connection lines" between components in the form designer."
He also says "as far as I know there is no such tool for Delphi 2005 or newer".. which is a bummer if true. (...and if that IS the case, what's the best place to make Delphi IDE feature requests?)
I don't think it exists. The best place to make form designer feature requests is here.
another freeware/opensource option would be to look at CNPack which supports structural highlighting and runs well in Delphi 2009. The library contains many other enhancements to the IDE also, some which are duplicated in other packages such as GExperts. I run both CNPack and GExperts in both 2009 and 2006 without any problems.
You want Castalia, which works fine here on my D2007 for structural highlighting.
Castalia from Twodesk
Related
There is a code base in delphi 2006 with no development for last many years. If the development needs to be activated what are the options.
Continue developing in 2006. (Not sure of IDE support etc.)
Migrate to Delphi XE2. (Not sure of what it takes)
Recode it in Java.
It seems the second option is more viable but what it would involve to do that? I read some things on Unicode support and also not sure of graphics library support.
Just to put thing in perspective, I am a Java programmer all along with experience on C/C++. However I am trying to understand it more from the perspective of what is the least resistance path to go to market strategy.
Thanks in advance.
I cannot say anything about recoding it in Java. Depending on whatever the code base does, it might be a good option, given that you say you are experienced with Java (and, I assume, not with Delphi).
Regarding Upgrading to Delphi XE2:
Check whether any 3rd party components have been used.
If not, you will probably be able to upgrade to Delphi XE2 with very few changes.
If yes, check whether the source code of these components is already available.
If not, you will have to buy new licenses of these components (and this time take the license that includes the source code!) if you want to upgrade to Delphi XE2. If you are really unlucky, the company who developed these components has gone belly up. Then you are either stuck with Delphi 2006 or you will have to find a replacement for these components.
If you already got the component's source code, you might still want to check whether to upgrade them to Delphi XE2. It might save you some headaches. Upgrading well written components is not a problem for an experienced Delphi developer (I have done so countless times over the years), but might prove nearly impossible for somebody who doesn't know the possible pitfalls.
The only breaking change between Delphi 2006 and XE2 (actually it happened between Delphi 2007 and Delphi 2009) is the switch to Unicode strings. Switching an existing code base might be painless or a real pain in the lower back, depending on how well written it is to begin with and how it (ab)used strings.
Another option you have not yet mentioned, might be upgrading to Delphi 2007, which basically was more of a bugfix to Delphi 2006 than a real release in its own right. If I remember correctly Delphi 2006 packages worked with Delphi 2007 without even recompiling.
A year ago I moved from 2006 to XE (not XE2). This was quite painless. The biggest thing was unicode. But even that was relatively easy (in my specific case probably). Most is handled by Delphi in a correct way. Biggest problems were the import components, especially when character strings were used as byte strings, which in my field (music, midi) is the norm. There is a white paper on strings conversion on Embarcadero.
I only use components with source available. If you don't, you might have have to repurchase the licenses.
It is a long jump taking 2006 to 2011/2012!
But it is possible if you consider that:
You have to convert String variables using the new conversions methods ;
You have to check all the versions between 2006 and xe/xe2 to know how the libraries have changed, bacause some have been spplited, others merged, and a few deleted ;
You have to buy/download the upgrade (if any) of your 3rd party components.
If you do that 3 things, the applications will compile just fine.
It's always easier to upgrade the IDE than rewriting the code, if there's any complexity in code beyond trivial cases like "Hello, World".
Big road blocks in Delphi 2006 might be: old components without source code, unicode issues, possible use of obsolete technologies (BDE mainly), and possible some low level hacking, like using undocumented features.
You get old versions of Delphi free when you buy XE2 licence. However Delphi 2006 is not there. Delphi 2007 is almost same (but better). It may even be possible to use D2006 binary packages with Delphi 2007.
When rewriting, first task for you is to find out what the software actually does. Line by line. Then you need to duplicate that in Java, hopefully in Java style, and then you need to verify against the old software that the functionality is actually there, duplicated.
So, you can choose between complete rewrite or something between recompile and partial rewrite, if there's problem with old components.
Read also this, old but good text: Things You Should Never Do, Part 1
That said, you need business reason for rewrite, and someone willing to pay for it.
Should I upgrade from Delphi 2009 to delphi XE?
As I don't use all the technologies, such as mobile, cloud computing, profiling, 64 bit, new database drivers, I don't need to change to the new XE?
What would change my mind?
Does the new Delphi IDE help me to write less code? Is the package management better?
Do you feel that the IDE gives more automation? And is it worth the upgrade?
I use Delphi XE all day every day, and I wouldn't use anything else.
It is the most stable version of the IDE that I have ever used. The compiler has had a huge amount of attention paid to it, and it works, and doesn't have the many internal failures, internal access violations, or other ways that compilers fall down, that every Delphi release since Delphi 2005 has. So the main feature that makes Delphi XE the best version ever is stability. It is even more stable than my old standby - Delphi 7. And delphi 7 is pretty stable, but working all day in Delphi 7, I did experience regular crashes, something that is finally a thing of the past, with Delphi XE. Okay, I've crashed XE's IDE a couple times, but it's rare.
The second reason is that it comes with great tools; A version of final builder, a version of CodeSite, and a version of AQTime are included. CodeSite was new to me with XE, but I love it, and now that I have used it I couldn't live without it. AQTime is an old friend of mine, and the version included with XE does most of the things that the full standalone AQTime will do, that I need it to do. The final builder version included, is also a huge time saver, especially if you have complex builds to do, including several Delphi application compiles, and an installer script to run, and perhaps other steps.
I like the code-formatter. I am not a big fan of Generics, but you can use them now, and they don't kill the compiler. I still prefer simple readable code, to a morass of generics, and I don't like the way that you do constraints with generics using IUnknown-style reference counted interfaces. Not nice, and not fun.
I don't use much of the database, cloud, or multi-tier application development features. I can't report on that aspect, but I do know that there's a lot more in the RAD XE product than any single developer, however intrepid, can probably even discover.
(Ethical Disclosure Footnote; I work for embarcadero. But even if I didn't, I'd still say everything above. Perhaps, I'd state it even more strongly.)
Does the new Delphi IDE help me to
write less code? Is the package
management better? Do you feel that
the IDE gives more automation?
No real changes there I think.
The area with possibly the most noticeable differences is generics. If you use generics at all then you should upgrade. The versions that followed 2009 have far fewer bugs and wrinkles in the implementation of generics.
In addition to what David said, there also is the new RTTI in Delphi XE which might make the upgrade worthwhile.
Besides the generics improvements, there are new features in the IDE. The addition of a code formatter, IDE Insight improvements to help you find things, integration of SVN, the reworking of the configuration manager, custom build tools, form designer changes, and more. There's also a bunch of new stuff in RTTI.
See this page for a list of what's new in XE, and go up a level from there to see a listing of what's changed specifically from 2009 to XE.
I think it's worth it...
Many bug fixes - they have focused alot on closing out issues. You cannot discount this...you'll never get any more fixes in your current version and the time saved by not having to work around just a single bug or two certainly pays for the upgrade cost if your time is valuable.
SVN integration is handy.
"Show In Explorer" from the project manager. (I don't know if it's just me, but I use this alot and it saves me time.)
If you like code formatters, there's a new option to format all sources in the project.
Debugger visualizers are kinda cool
Third Party Tools included: somewhat crippled, but very usable versions of: AQTime, Beyond Compare, CodeSite, IPWorks, Finalbuilder (depending on Pro/Enterprise)
Online help updated quite a bit
Can it help you write less code? Yes, as you can now rely on generics more due to many fixes from 2009, 2010 and XE. There's also some additional live templates added if that's what you are after.
What would change your mind? I'd say the bug fixes, additional Third party tools, and Online Help improvements make it a no-contest upgrade for the Pro edition. If you are going for Enterprise upgrade, and not using dbExpress, or other enterprise features, then it might be a little less convincing of an update depending on your budget.
The Help has been improved a great deal in XE - in 2010 it was a (bad) joke. 'Show in Explorer' is also great, although not enough reason to lay out that much money. Also much better support for REST, JSON etc. And XE just feels very mature and stable - I don't work for Embarcadero, but I use XE every day, as much as possible - unfortunately I am currently working on a project that uses components compiled for Delphi 5 without source code so I can't use XE for everything. There are some VS guys in my shop who think 'Delphi is Dead' and give me some grief - I am proving them wrong with XE...
I've begun working with using Lazarus to make some simple utilities for my own use on Ubuntu 9.10. I know many people like the modular Delphi 7 layout, but I prefer a docked layout.
I'd also like to have the Delphi 2007 palette menu. Is this possible within the latest version of Lazarus (v0.9.28.x) ?
How can I configure Lazarus to look like, or behave like, Delphi 2007/9/10?
NOTE: This question is very old. It's now (2023) possible to configure Lazarus to appear more Delphi-like, and has been for a few years. Here's a good guide.
Kudos and thanks to the Lazarus developers for their amazing work!
I'm not sure that you can make it look like the newer Delphi IDEs.
I've used it in the past and I think that the D7 look is the only available option.
You could always edit the source and change it.
There is no option to have the palette menu like Delphi 2007 in Lazarus. I think there is also a reason for this: the Lazarus developers are mostly 'hard core, oldschool' Delphi programmers, and this kind of programmers seems to prefer the Delphi 7 tools menu.
You can try Anchor Docking. It Helps, but, not change the menu.
From the Lazarus main menu pick "Package" - "Install/Uninstall Packages" and install the "anchordockingdsgn" package
https://wiki.freepascal.org/Anchor_Docking
It's open source, you can code it...
Do you know any good TLB editor (even commercial) that can be used instead of the one which comes with Delphi? It gives headaches in a lot of situations (big TLB, rename an entry ... etc.)
Thanks!
As I already mentioned in this question the Type Library support is really really buggy, especially in Delphi 2005 - 2007.
In Delphi 2009 and 2010 it got better, although there are still many bugs (try to rename a class). BUT since Delphi 2009 the editor uses the RIDL text format instead of a binary format and so you can (and often have to) manually edit the TLB when the editor did something stupid.
To answer your question: No, it doesn't make sense to replace the editor, because you would loose all the automatic RIDL to Delphi code conversions.
We opted for an IDL -> (midl) -> TLB -> (tlibimp) _TLB.Pas workflow. Manually updating an IDL file is a good bit different from visually editing a TLB file, but as programmers we prefer to type out our interfaces anyway.
This workflow is from the pre-RIDL era, so we might update in the near future.
The TLB editor from Delphi really sucked, but it got a major overhaul in Delphi 2009.
If updating to a newer version is an option, you can try to migrate to Delphi 2010 and see, if that solves your problems.
For Delphi IDE, Is there any tool/expert to know the name of the function where the cursor is, without scrolling the code editor?
CnPack offer that too for free ;-)
Castalia is the tool you want, for all IDE's including the post-Delphi 7 versions.
Castalia at TwoDesk
The Structure Pane provides this information when a code window is open.
Funny, nobody mentioned GExperts - that's a free addon for Delphi, works flawlessly with all editions from Personal to Architect. And has a lot useful stuff in it. Personally I don't even touch Delphi if there's no GExperts installed - but that's me :D
I never used it personally, but CodeRush for Delphi might be the tool you are looking for (on the linked page search for "breadcrumb").