Delphi .Net

Delphi keeps on getting better...

2004-08-11T16:59:00.000+09:30

Programming Language Popularity: The TCP Index for August, 2004
http://developer.com/java/other/article.php/3390001

Apparently Java is on the way down (yeah! suck it!), and Delphi is on the way up (and PHP and Python, whatever...)

Delphi 8 wins big awards

2004-08-10T10:58:00.000+09:30

It looks as though Delphi 8 is beating MS at its own game... check out the awards...

"In a ceremony held at TechEd Europe, Windows & .NET Magazine, SQL Server Magazine, and Microsoft judged the industry's best products in 9 categories - Delphi 8 for the Microsoft .NET Framework was voted 'Best of Show' in the Developer Tools category."

And there's more, check it out here...

oops

2004-08-05T16:23:00.000+09:30

For any subscribers, I had a post show up here a moment ago (now deleted) that was meant for my other blog (virtualemlyn.blogspot.com). Apologies.

Compact Framework Development without Visual Studio .Net

2004-08-05T10:48:00.000+09:30

This must be applicable to Delphi 8, don't you think?

Ongoing D7/D8 work

2004-07-07T10:54:00.000+09:30

I've been a bit quiet on this blog, but I'm still at it with Delphi 8. After settling on only using non-dataaware stuff (for now) in ASP.net, D8 seems very solid, and furthermore you can avoid using any borland specific stuff and have deployments which will go on a plain vanilla .Net framework box (not requiring any borland libraries be deployed), which can be a big advantage in a virtual hosting arrangement.

I've settled on two kinds of basic architectures for client apps at the moment...

If I need really rich client behaviour, or offline functionality, I use Delphi 7 for client apps & ActiveX stuff. To make these disparate pieces talk I use D8 to build ASP.net web services which I put somewhere central.

If I can get away with a web interface then it's D8 asp.net all the way.

D7/D8 are a good pair to work with, because hybrid Win32 & webservice based stuff is a nice choice in the present computing environment (if you need more than a web app can provide, like windows services, or offline stuff, or a more complex interface, as I said above).

I'm looking forward to D9 where all this should come bundled in one package.

10 Must have tools for .Net programming

2004-06-23T09:33:00.000+09:30

Another one that I haven't read yet, but it looks like a definite must read.

The article covers the following:

NUnit to write unit tests

NDoc to create code documentation

NAnt to build your solutions

CodeSmith to generate code

FxCop to police your code

Snippet Compiler to compile small bits of code

Two different switcher tools, the ASP.NET Version Switcher and the Visual Studio .NET Project

Converter

Regulator to build regular expressions

.NET Reflector to examine assemblies

Delphi and .net site

2004-06-11T09:06:00.000+09:30

I need to go through this guy's site (maybe "page" is more appropriate) in more detail. He's not actually talking about Delphi .net (ie Delphi 8), he's talking about communication between Delphi for win32 (ie: 7 or below) and .net apps.

(open the site in a new window)

Delphi .net ASP.NET tip #2

2004-06-09T09:40:00.000+09:30

A basic ASP.NET installation tip...

If you install the .Net framework, then install IIS on the same box afterwards, you'll have issues. Specifically, IIS wont understand your funky .net jive... damn, man! But you can fix it. Just run the following command at the prompt and everything will be funkylicious!

%comspec% /K %windir%\microsoft.net\framework\v1.1.4322\aspnet_regiis.exe -i

Delphi .net ASP.NET tip #1

2004-06-09T09:30:00.000+09:30

Normally when you go to deploy a Delphi based ASP.net app, you need to deploy a bunch of borland dlls with it, at least Borland.Delphi.dll, and say for bdp based SQL Server apps you need Borland.Data.Common.dll, Borland.Data.MSSQL.dll, and Borland.Data.Provider.dll (you also need to put bdpmss15.dll in your system folder for the SQL driver, bummer ey?).

If you don't use any of the Borland components, just use the .net data components, then you don't need these dlls (which isn't clear from Borland's deployment instructions).

So you can write an ASP.net app against SQL server, and only need the following on deployment to a windows box:

The .net framework

IIS installed

MDAC 2.6 or later

Easy!

Out of the blind alley

2004-06-04T16:54:00.000+09:30

Having had to clean up after my own and other people's software messes on many occassions, one of my fundamental programming rules is that Less Code is Good. That doesn't mean I like crazy app-in-one-line obfuscated perl scripting stupidity; I temper it with Simple is Good, which often means more code, as long as it's stupider, and so easier to understand. But generally I prefer components, libraries, etc, to buckets of code.

Along these lines, it's always my preference to use data-aware controls where they can be profitably used. So, in this spirit I jumped into Delphi .Net, swallowed the line that Falafel was putting out, and went for bdp and DBWeb components.

Well, they suck. I tried, I failed, and I'm willing to blaim anyone but myself, so I'm going to declare those components to be shit. They really suck, they would be fabulous for demos but you can't make real software out of them.

...

Anyway, I'm now using non-data aware methods, and they work just fine. Sad but true. Lots of code to write, unfortunately, but that's the way it goes. It's pretty straightforward code, so hey.

Ambrose .Net

2004-06-04T16:51:00.000+09:30

This site looks useful, not Delphi related though.

.Net application performance and scalability

2004-05-28T12:20:00.000+09:30

I've got more reading to do... looks like a useful article.

Also, here's something totally unrelated but very, very interesting!

Delphi.net newsgroups

2004-05-25T10:20:00.000+09:30

Here's a nice looking article from Borland on bdp.

And there are *heaps* of newsgroups on Delphi and .net ... what an idiot! These are the ones I've just subscribed to...

borland.public.delphi.aspdotnet.components.using
borland.public.delphi.aspdotnet.components.writing
borland.public.delphi.aspdotnet.general
borland.public.delphi.aspdotnet.ide
borland.public.delphi.com.interop.dotnet
borland.public.delphi.database.ado-net
borland.public.delphi.database.bdp
borland.public.delphi.database.dotnet
borland.public.delphi.internationalization.dotnet
borland.public.delphi.language.delphi.dotnet
borland.public.delphi.rtl.dotnet
borland.public.delphi.vcl.components.using.dotnet
borland.public.delphi.vcl.components.writing.dotnet
borland.public.delphi.winforms.controls.using
borland.public.delphi.winforms.controls.writing

Lots of reading to do...

A brave fellow...

2004-05-24T10:09:00.000+09:30

Off topic for Delphi 8, but I've just been reading a guy's blog who is documenting his attempts at getting a startup software development effort off the ground. It's here: lachlan.gemmell.com. It looks as though it'll be worth following. Good luck to you, Lachlan!

Some decent 'Delphi 8 does asp.net' links

2004-05-22T09:51:00.000+09:30

There aren't many.. let me know if you find some!

This first one is by Zarko Gajic, who is the author of one of the asp.net demos on the Delphi 8 CD. He shows you how to get it going, and it's an invaluable resource once you do get it going, so do have a look here...

A Beginner's Guide to Asp.Net Programming for Delphi developers

Here's a borland section on IBM's site, with references to using Delphi 8 and DB2 together. I haven't read this :-)

Try GotDotNet.com for a great general purpose .net coding site. No Delphi 8 though.

Or, the Delphi Section on Experts Exchange might be worth a look if you are really stuck!

PS: Ever seen Microsoft advertising Borland products before?
The official Microsoft ASP.net page features Borland!

PPS: Somewhat more randomly, see this wiki on Delphi

For D8: Click anywhere & select with a web grid

2004-05-21T10:00:00.001+09:30

I've converted Karl Moore's code for clicking anywhere on a web grid to select an item, and fixed a bug so that clicking on the currently selected row doesn't cause dramas. Here it is:


procedure TWebForm1.DBWebGrid1_ItemDataBound(

        sender: System.Object; 

        e: System.Web.UI.WebControls.DataGridItemEventArgs);

var

  btnSelect: Button;

begin

  If (e.Item.ItemType = ListItemType.Header) Or

    (e.Item.ItemType = ListItemType.Footer) Or

    (e.Item.ItemType = ListItemType.Pager) Then

      Exit;



  If (e.Item.Cells[0].Controls.Count > 0) Then

  begin

    If e.Item.Cells[0].Controls[0] Is Button Then

    begin

      btnSelect := e.Item.Cells[0].Controls[0] as Button;

      if (sender is DataGrid) and

        (e.Item.itemindex = (sender as DataGrid).SelectedIndex) then

        e.Item.Attributes['onclick'] := ''

      else

        e.Item.Attributes['onclick'] :=

          Page.GetPostBackClientHyperlink(btnSelect, '');

    End;

  End;

End;

Really, really good tips for asp.net grids

2004-05-20T10:54:00.000+09:30

Check out these articles by Karl Moore for some really excellent tips on using data grids (microsoft ones, but a lot of it applies to bdp)...

Nine Steps to a Quick, Editable Web Grid

doesn't apply to bdp. In particular, it shows you how to implement buttons that do add, delete, forward, back, etc... I can't find *any* method of doing this in bdp so far (yowsa!)

essential if you want to get a usable grid using the .net DataGrid.

(where's part 1? No idea...)
The Big ASP.NET DataGrid Article, Part 2

How to Use HTML in a Web Grid

Using Hyperlinks in Your Web Grid

Dates, Currency, Percentages: Formatting your Web Grid Data

Looking Good: Color-Coding Your Web Grid

Little-Known Technique for Confirming Web Deletes (REALLY USEFUL)

Selecting Multiple Web Form Grid Items, Hotmail-Style (SURPRISINGLY TRICKY, GOOD TECHNIQUE)

Click Anywhere and Select, with a Web Grid (BRILLIANT!!!)

The Big ASP.NET DataGrid Article, Part 3

The Lowdown on Using Dropdown Boxes in a Web Grid (I haven't tried this, but hey, if it works then very cool)

Speedy, Personalized Web Data Binding

Quick and Easy Data Paging, with Your Web Grid

Sorting in Seconds, with Your Web Grid

Response to Quality Central Bug

2004-05-19T20:33:00.000+09:30

This is a quality central "bug" (#7827) that I've responded to. It shows how to make the bdp components work for data-aware controls in asp.net where you are using an identity column in SQL Server.

-----------

Report from Delphi for .NET / Database [Add a report in this area]

Report #: 7827 Status: Reported
BDPDataadapter cannot update MSSQL table with Identity field
Project: Delphi for .NET Build #: D8 Update 2
Version: 8.0 Submitted By: Gerald Tavares
Date Reported: 4/6/2004 3:08:18 PM Report Type: Crash / Data loss / Total failure
Severity: Serious / Highly visible problem
Platform: 95, 98, 2000, NT, XP
Resolution: None Resolved in Build: None
My Rating: Not Rated - [Click Bar to Rate]

My Votes: None
Vote for Report
Overall Rating: 1.00

(1 total ratings) Total Votes: None

Description
Cannot update a MSSQL Database Table which uses a auto incr. identity field as a primary key. The update sql is incorrect and causes errors when the autoupdate or update is called,
Steps to Reproduce
None
Workaround
None
Attachment
None

Comments -- [Add a New Comment]

James Merrill at 4/15/2004 8:25:41 AM - [Reply to this comment]
Why no simple example of the incorrect SQL that's generated?

Micromet Software Developer at 5/19/2004 3:16:02 AM - [Reply to this comment]
1 - Drop a bdpConnection component on the form and connect it to your sql server. I'm connecting to database Northwind (I'll be using table Employees, which has an autoincrement key called EmployeeID)

2 - Drop a bdpDataAdapter on the form and click "Configure Data
Adapter..." (right popup menu, or select the adapter and click the hyperlink at the bottom of the object inspector). It'll link automatically to the connection component.

3 - In the "Command" tab, select "dbo.Employees" from the "Table" list box, check the "Optimize" checkbox, then hit "Generate". You'll now find the following 4 sql statements in the tabs below:

************************
SELECT:
SELECT EmployeeID, LastName, FirstName, Title, TitleOfCourtesy, BirthDate, HireDate, Address, City, Region, PostalCode, Country, HomePhone, Extension, Photo, Notes, ReportsTo, PhotoPath FROM dbo.Employees

UPDATE:
UPDATE dbo.Employees SET EmployeeID = ?, LastName = ?, FirstName = ?, Title = ?, TitleOfCourtesy = ?, BirthDate = ?, HireDate = ?, Address = ?, City = ?, Region = ?, PostalCode = ?, Country = ?, HomePhone = ?, Extension = ?, Photo = ?, Notes = ?, ReportsTo = ?, PhotoPath = ? WHERE EmployeeID = ?

INSERT:
INSERT INTO dbo.Employees (EmployeeID, LastName, FirstName, Title, TitleOfCourtesy, BirthDate, HireDate, Address, City, Region, PostalCode, Country, HomePhone, Extension, Photo, Notes, ReportsTo, PhotoPath ) VALUES ( ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)

DELETE:
DELETE FROM dbo.Employees WHERE EmployeeID = ?
************************

The Update and Insert statements are incorrect. To fix the update statement, you need to remove EmployeeID from the SET clause. To fix the insert statement, you need to remove EmployeeID from the field list, and remove one questionmark/comma pair from the VALUES list. So the fixed statements are as follows:

(nb: including blobs in the insert statement seems to break (causes Multiple Step OLE-DB errors). So, I've also removed the Photo and Notes fields).

************************
UPDATE:
UPDATE dbo.Employees SET LastName = ?, FirstName = ?, Title = ?, TitleOfCourtesy = ?, BirthDate = ?, HireDate = ?, Address = ?, City = ?, Region = ?, PostalCode = ?, Country = ?, HomePhone = ?, Extension = ?, Photo = ?, Notes = ?, ReportsTo = ?, PhotoPath = ? WHERE EmployeeID = ?

INSERT:
INSERT INTO dbo.Employees (LastName, FirstName, Title, TitleOfCourtesy, BirthDate, HireDate, Address, City, Region, PostalCode, Country, HomePhone, Extension, ReportsTo, PhotoPath ) VALUES ( ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
************************

Make these changes. You can check that the select statement works using the preview tab (it will, don't bother :-). In the Dataset tab, choose "New Dataset" (you can leave the default name if you have no preference).

4 - Click "OK". The adapter will be set up, and the new dataset will be created. Now, we need to go modify the adapter a little to make it work. In particular, you will see in both the insert statement and the update statement that the parameters in the parameters collection and the question marks in the insert or update SQL (in CommandText) are out of alignment. We need to fix this.

5 - Select the adapter, then in the object browser expand the "InsertCommand". Click on the Parameters collection, then click the build button "...". You will see that the first parameter is "EmployeeID". "Remove" this parameter (it's not actually present in your modified SQL). Also, remove Photo and Notes, as they have been removed from the SQL (see my note above in step 3). Then click "OK".

6 - Select the adapter, then in the object browser expand the "UpdateCommand". Click on the Parameters collection, then click the build button "...". You will see that the first parameter is "EmployeeID" and the last one is "EmployeeIDOriginal". You only need the latter, so select "EmployeeID" at the top of the list, and "Remove" it. Click "OK".

---

You are done! This adapter should now perform correctly for data aware controls such as the DBWeb controls, allowing insert, update and delete. Oh, and don't forget to go from design view to code view and back before doing any work with your DataSet tables collection, or it wont update itself correctly. Just click the tabs in the status bar for the .pas file, then back to Design. Weird, but true, and a very useful thing to do in most circumstances in D8. Saving a lot is also a really good idea!