marcocantu.blog

Tiburon Unicode Video #5

2008-08-08T19:11:10.323Z

Another beta Tiburon YouTube video, covering Unicode. This time I'm showing the UniApiSpeed example, that times 10,000 invocations of the GetUserName and SetWindowText API calls. The same exact program (which is interesting it itself) is compiled in a beta version of Tiburon (things might change in the final version) and in Delphi 7, the the video shows the result... which is very positive at least for one of the two cases.

This is the fifth (and final) video of this series, which covers the example in the first chapter of my coming Delphi handbook focused on Tiburon. I'll get more videos out, but probably after I take some time off in the coming weeks... as for now I'm fully focused on the book.

PS. There is my dog barking at the very end of the video... but I decided to let that audio in, and this is the second "appearance" of my dog after he barked in my open mike during one of the CodeRage events.

Tiburon Unicode Video #4

2008-08-07T13:29:17.543Z

Another beta Tiburon YouTube video (below), covering Unicode. This is the fourth of the series of "Beta blogging" videos. This one shows the example "UnicodeWinApi", highlighting how Tiburon redirects Win32 API calls to the "WideString" version, how smooth the migration will be, and also how to use Unicode text within the editor (something Delphi 2007 already allowed). One more video for the series, should make it available tomorrow.

Let me know if you are interested in more video demonstration of the examples in my coming "Delphi ???? Handbook"...

Tiburon Unicode Video #3

2008-08-06T12:08:21.819Z

My third Tiburon Unicode Video is now on YouTube and linked below. The example in this video is called UnicodeData and extends the previous example by showing the formal name of the Unicode characters (a good part of them, at least). Again, this is an example in my coming Tiburòn book.

Tiburon Unicode Video #2

2008-08-05T11:49:18.139Z

My second Tiburon Unicode Video is now on YouTube and linked below. The example in this video is called UnicodeMap and shows a lot of Unicode UTF-16 characters in a string grid. A lot of Unicode characters of many different fonts, in a simple Delphi application. Again, this is an example in my coming book.

PS. Captured with the free CamStudio, not as powerful as Camtasia, but quite nice. And sorry, but I don't think I'll have time to upload and manage the video on multiple services.

Tiburon Unicode Video #1

2008-08-04T13:35:28.653Z

My first Tiburon Unicode Video (including audio) is now available on YouTube and linked below. Notice that I have 5 already captured, so I'm certainly going to release them even if you suggested me to focus on the book. Second, I'm using "small moving window" rather that full screen, because this is what I find works best on YouTube. Third, I'm using YouTube to save your and my bandwidth and because I cannot host them myself.

The example in this video is called FromAsciiToUnicode and is the first example in my coming "Tiburon Handbook" (no, the name will be different). Enjoy.

Busy Writing Tiburon Book

2008-07-31T12:56:34.697Z

I'm not very active on the blog because I'm busy writing my coming Tiburon book. The book is not going to be an update of my Delphi 2007 Handbook but a brand new volume specifically focused on new Tiburon features. The reason is simple: Tiburon has so much new stuff in it that I should have no problems writing 300 pages specifically focused to those new features. Right now I have almost 200 pages done!

It might be that later on I published a combined Delphi 2007 + Tiburon Handbook, possibly updating the material of the previous book, to highlight any difference and integrate the two. Right now the book is going to have four parts:

Part 1: Unicode (introduction, UnicodeString, porting)
Part 2: Delphi 2009 and its Compiler (IDE, Compiler, RTL)
Part 3: Win32 development (VCL, Vista, Ribbon, COM, Translation)
Part 4: Database and Remoting (Dataset and dbExpress, possibly BlackFish, new DataSnap, possibly Indy and some Internet-related topics)

The plan is still to show you the compiled demos in action (along with some limited source code) on YouTube, but this is taking more time than I was expecting... as book writing and some other consulting is taking precedence.

vb2delphi Version 0.3

2008-07-24T17:25:02.594Z

Albert Almeida has released a new version (0.3) of his Visual Basic 6 to Delphi source code conversion tool. The tool is hosted on my site, at http://www.marcocantu.com/tools/vb2delphi.htm, and many new features and speed optimizations. According to the author, new features include (among others):

Translation of function calls with variable number of arguments and named arguments.
Len and LenB translated to Length or SizeOf depending on argument; just like VB does.
Translation of type conversion function(CInt, CStr, etc) to appropriate Delphi equivalents(StrToInt, StrToFloat, VarToDateTime, etc) depending on argument.
Some arithmetic functions(Int, Abs, Fix, etc) are converted to their Delphi equivalents(Abs, Floor, Ceil, Sign, etc)
Translation of Get, Put and Seek statements.

If you still have existing VB6 code around and want to try to keep it in Win32 (and don't migrate to VB.NET), you can consider a Delphi translation with the help of this tool. Try it out, and contact Albert if you want extra features (or consulting) or simply provide feedback about the tool.

Delphi Unicode Experiments Video

2008-07-22T14:32:26.479Z

I've uploaded on YouTube a very simple video (no audio, for now sorry, taht will come in the next few days), with a compiled Delphi application showing Unicode support. In the first part I fill a grid with the first 127 ascii chars or the full 256 elements. Than I do the Unicode version, and some of the characters (added by Windows, not part of the standard) are not there. The final portion shows how Delphi interprets a constant character with the Euro symbol depending on the character type.

This is meant only as an experiment to test the capture software and the capture mode (small window following the mouse). Let me know how you like it, and I'll get you more, with my narrating voice as well (or shoudl I pick some music?)! I have a few small Unicode programs (part of my upcoming book) ready to show.

PS. I was allowed by CodeGear to blog about the upcoming Tiburon release of Delphi. As this is beta software, things can change in the final release. Don't take anything I write or show fro granted... and the usual extra disclaimers.

A New DataSnap in Tiburon

2008-07-22T14:03:22.874Z

Among the many CodeGear blogs about Tiburon, one of the most interesting new areas seems to be the new DataSnap (or dbExpress remoting) architecture. DataSnap used to be called MIDAS in the early days...

Steve Shaughnessy blogged about it in Tiburon DataSnap enhancements and Andreano Lanusse covered it as well in Tiburon - more about DataSnap.

Very, very interesting stuff. This new remoting architecture will not be tied to COM any more (like MIDAS / DataSnap was, even if only internally). I also like the fact is is way more open (in terms of platforms and languages on the client side). And the flexibility seems much greater...

Delphi Documentation Online

2008-07-22T13:30:44.840Z

It might have passed unnoticed in the middle of all the Tiburon blogs, but I think this is really relevant. CodeGear launched docs.codegear.com, the new central location for products documentation. From there you can download the latest help files for all products and in various formats (including PDF!).

What might not be apparent, as you first visit the site, is that portions of the documentation, including portions of the Delphi help are now available online for browsing. For example, you can find the help page about properties at:

      http://docs.codegear.com/docs/radstudio/radstudio2007/RS2007_helpupdates/HUpdate4/EN/html/devcommon/properties_xml.html

It is not a CodeGear MSDN, but it is promising... and reasonably fast for now (I guess it might get slower if many developers find it).