Post of the Week

Here's a great post about Delphi for .Net, Win32, VCL.NET, and how cool it is.
I wanted to provide a "case study" based on my experiences using Delphi 7&8in tandem.
1) Using Delphi.NET, I was able to start coding for the .NET platformimmediately. Without learning a single new thing about .NET. I used VCL.NET,of course.2) As the need arose, I started working with .NET classes and learningthem - the rest was handled by VCL and the other FX that Delphi provides.This made the learning curve very, very smooth.3) All my expertise and knowledge on the Win32 API, I leveraged withP/Invoke. While it is a valid charge that my code won't run on Mono, Ireally don't care. I am targeting .NET FX 1.1 on Windows. It will be yearsbefore Mono and/or other .NET implementations come close to thebehavior/stability offered by M$ on the Windows .NET FX. Although M$presents .NET as a new platform, I tend to see it as a new framework -nothing more.
4) Maybe this is the best part - I was able to back-port the sameapplication to Win32 in a week or so. AND I have single source compiles forWin32/.NET now. True, there are quite a few IFDEFs here and there, but thatis all it cost.
We all know the famous example - open the Delphi 1 fishfacts app, and itcompiles under D8. Now you have a single source app, compiling on Win16,Win32, and .NET. This definitely says something!
I consider my knowledge of VCL an investment, one that will last well intothe future - Borland gives us reason to believe that even when M$ drops theWin32 API, we will still be leveraging our VCL knowledge - and natively, atthat. While I have occasionally fallen in to the "oh what if Delphi getsdiscontinued" panic, which seemed to be a real threat back in the Del Yocamdays - I think time has proven the choices I made.
What can I say - keep it up guys! We love ya.
Sinan
Good stuff. As I've said many times -- if you are doing Win32 development today, you should be doing it in Delphi.