[free] Delphi 10.1 Berlin Starter Edition

[MilesAhead]

Delphi 10.1 Berlin Starter Edition free.  It has the same language amounting to "free as long as you don't maker over a grand a year using it" we Delphi Programmers are familiar with.

No DB stuff.  But according to the page it can target Windows desktop and tablets/devices that run Windows.  I have downloaded it and will install it in a day or two.  It should be fun to check it out.  I like RAD drag and drop UI.  I have a recent Pro edition of Visual Studio but I cannot feature xaml.  It looks too much like writing web pages in html.  It should be fun to see how long it takes to create a Delphi Windows program with a few buttons and perhaps an edit widget or something.   

[wraith808]

I've come to the point that I don't even look at the designer.  I just use XAML, as I'm not using coordinates, but rather container elements.

No DB elements... but can you utilize third-party components to get around that?  I remember when they used to offer free versions, I'd just use firebird for the database.

[MilesAhead]

I've come to the point that I don't even look at the designer.  I just use XAML, as I'm not using coordinates, but rather container elements.

No DB elements... but can you utilize third-party components to get around that?  I remember when they used to offer free versions, I'd just use firebird for the database.

-wraith808 (November 30, 2016, 08:10 PM)

I don't know.  I haven't installed it yet.  Plus I have never done DB applications other than simple SQL queries.  Afa designer goes, even with simple dialog C++ Switch statement SDI programs I like to use a resource generator GUI to get started.  Once I have the .rc file I can add stuff in using the numbers.  It just seems more intuitive to place and size the initial controls with the mouse.  But then again I don't program for a living.  When I was involved with OS/2 there were programmers there developing the OS/2 OS who could not function unless they used an employee written source code editor.  Apparently this thing was whiz bang macro programmable and the only free editor for OS/2 that could be programmed to such an extent.  It may have been named PMEdit but I don't remember for certain.

I guess if I had to I could do xaml.  But I could probably do web pages in html too.. gritting my teeth all the way.    There's a learning curve with everything.  Sometime I sidestep it completely by not using the tool though. 

[wraith808]

It's pretty easy... as long as you don't fall into the old habits of trying to explicitly position things, but rather use layout.

For example, my tool for NANY (I need to get more time to get back on this)

Code: C# [Select]

1. <Window x:Class="MMAHW.ActiveHoursView"
2.         xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
3.         xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
4.         xmlns:wpfTool="clr-namespace:Xceed.Wpf.Toolkit;assembly=Xceed.Wpf.Toolkit"
5.         Title="MMAHW!" Height="350" Width="350"
6.         WindowStyle="None"
7.         AllowsTransparency="True"
8.         ResizeMode="NoResize">
9.     <DockPanel LastChildFill="True">
10.         <StackPanel DockPanel.Dock="Top">
11.             <TextBlock FontSize="20" Padding="5,10,0,10">Make My Active Hours Work!</TextBlock>
12.         </StackPanel>
13.         <StackPanel DockPanel.Dock="Top" >
14.             <TextBlock Padding="10,10,0,10" FontSize="16">Set Your Active Hours</TextBlock>
15.         </StackPanel>
16.         <StackPanel DockPanel.Dock="Top" Orientation="Horizontal">
17.            
18.             <TextBlock FontSize="14" Padding="15,10,20,10">Start Time</TextBlock>
19.             <wpfTool:DateTimeUpDown FontSize="14" Format="Custom" FormatString="HH" Value="{Binding ViewModel.Model.UserActiveHoursBegin}" Width="60"/>
20.             <TextBlock FontSize="14" Padding="20,10,20,10">End Time</TextBlock>
21.             <wpfTool:DateTimeUpDown FontSize="14" Format="Custom" FormatString="HH" Value="{Binding ViewModel.Model.UserActiveHoursEnd}" Width="60" />
22.         </StackPanel>
23.         <DockPanel DockPanel.Dock="Bottom" LastChildFill="False">
24.             <Button DockPanel.Dock="Right" Height="40" Width="75">Close</Button>
25.             <Button DockPanel.Dock="Right" Height="40" Width="75">Apply</Button>
26.             <Button DockPanel.Dock="Right" Height="40" Width="75">Refresh</Button>
27.             <Button DockPanel.Dock="Left" Height="40" Width="75">Help</Button>
28.         </DockPanel>
29.  
30.         <StackPanel DockPanel.Dock="Top">
31.             <TextBlock Padding="10,20,0,10" FontSize="16">Currently Set in Windows</TextBlock>
32.             <StackPanel Orientation="Horizontal">
33.                 <TextBlock FontSize="14" Padding="15,10,20,10">Start Time</TextBlock>
34.                 <Border BorderThickness="1" BorderBrush="Black">
35.                     <TextBlock FontSize="14" Padding="20,10,20,10" Text="{Binding ViewModel.Model.RegActiveHoursBegin}" />
36.                 </Border>
37.                 <TextBlock FontSize="14" Padding="20,10,20,10">End Time</TextBlock>
38.                 <Border BorderThickness="1" BorderBrush="Black">
39.                     <TextBlock FontSize="14" Padding="20,10,20,10" Text="{Binding ViewModel.Model.RegActiveHoursEnd}" />
40.                 </Border>
41.             </StackPanel>
42.         </StackPanel>
43.     </DockPanel>
44. </Window>

Which results in this:



I use dockpanels to deal with the cases where I'm trying to position containers, and stackpanels to stack things either horizontally or vertically.  And padding to set the space between elements.  If I really want to make it look nice, I use styles in order to change the controls.  Notice that there are no coordinates or anything like that in there.  For most simple projects (and some not-so-simple ones) this is more than enough.  And, though this seems like more to learn, when you get it, it's a *lot* faster than dealing with the designer.  Most of it's handled by intellisense rather than typing.

[MilesAhead]

Thanks for the xaml example.

If I had known this Delphi product used Windows installer I might have passed on it altogether.  My Laptop does not play well with Windows Update or Windows Installer.  I wasted about 2 hours trying to get this thing to install.  When it doesn't just crap out it gives a dialog with the message "something went wrong."  Gee, that must be what they mean by the "enhanced installation experience" listed under "What's New" in the Delphi package.  That must be the ".1" of Berlin 10.1.

The IDE then comes up but there are no project templates under New Project.
I wish they would mark these things with a skull & crossbones icon with the label Warning: Windows MightInstall used for installation.  It is kind of like trying to do an update on this thing.  After 3 boots it comes up and says "update not installed... rolling back."

It seems the faster computers get the longer it takes me to do anything.

[Stoic Joker]

I have a recent Pro edition of Visual Studio but I cannot feature xaml.

-MilesAhead (November 30, 2016, 06:17 PM)

I'm not a fan of XAML either. But you can do a forms based project in VS that will give you the drag and drop components option. The last few project I've done were all in C# using a forms project (using the free VS Community Edition), and it's surprisingly easy to work with.

[wraith808]

I have a recent Pro edition of Visual Studio but I cannot feature xaml.

-MilesAhead (November 30, 2016, 06:17 PM)

I'm not a fan of XAML either. But you can do a forms based project in VS that will give you the drag and drop components option. The last few project I've done were all in C# using a forms project (using the free VS Community Edition), and it's surprisingly easy to work with.

-Stoic Joker (December 01, 2016, 09:35 AM)

At some point, if I use drag and drop components, the ordering and such gets really messed up- which is the reason I stopped using it other than as a reference to how the form looks.  And when you're dealing with it from a programmatic standpoint, figuring out focus and such becomes a nightmare!

[hamradio]

Nice find and not to hijack topic but it appears also goes for C++Builder as I tried replacing delphi with cbuilder and it works...

https://www.embarcad...promotional-download

[Stoic Joker]

I have a recent Pro edition of Visual Studio but I cannot feature xaml.

-MilesAhead (November 30, 2016, 06:17 PM)

I'm not a fan of XAML either. But you can do a forms based project in VS that will give you the drag and drop components option. The last few project I've done were all in C# using a forms project (using the free VS Community Edition), and it's surprisingly easy to work with.

-Stoic Joker (December 01, 2016, 09:35 AM)

At some point, if I use drag and drop components, the ordering and such gets really messed up- which is the reason I stopped using it other than as a reference to how the form looks.  And when you're dealing with it from a programmatic standpoint, figuring out focus and such becomes a nightmare!

-wraith808 (December 01, 2016, 10:16 AM)

True, but I usually just edit the file that says 'never edit this file' to get the tab order to cooperate. Risky...but I'm used to doing it that way from the old .rc files.

[MilesAhead]

True, but I usually just edit the file that says 'never edit this file' to get the tab order to cooperate. Risky...but I'm used to doing it that way from the old .rc files.

-Stoic Joker (December 01, 2016, 11:11 AM)

Yikes!!  Next thing you'll be telling me you remove the tags from your mattresses! 
Probably they tell you not to edit that file because that's the easiest way to get things working the way you want.