Oregon Delphi User Group

We’ll be going over how to create XML documents in Delphi using the XML Binding Wizard to create the document from either an XSD or XML file. We’ll use a web broker based REST server to serve up the document and then read it in using a Delphi client. As we do that we’ll define what a REST server is and why it’s replacing SOAP servers. We will also look at using the web services wizard to read in WSDL from a SOAP based web service.

Debugging your applications is an old topic. But there are always new tricks to be learned. One product that can go a long way in trouble-shooting is CodeSite by Raize Software. One member, David Cornelius, has been a long-time user and proponent of CodeSite and will share his expertise with the group. Even though this product has been out for a while, he still get requests once in a while on how to use CodeSite effectively.

This month, the Oregon Delphi User Group will be looking at integrating help into Delphi applications. Just Great Software produces a complete help authoring tool called, HelpScribble that simplifies the task of producing help files and manuals in multiple formats. These files can be used to provide context-sensitive help in your Delphi programs, stand-alone software manuscripts, or even online documentation–all from the same help project file. PRESENTERS The discussion leaders are long-time members of this group, Homer Jones and Dan Lowe.

We have decided we want to meet again! I don’t know how regular this will be, but this month, we’re getting together, once again on the 3rd Monday of the month to talk about programming with the great Delphi programming tool. The emphasis this month will be using Firebird with examples and member experiences shared. Download: PowerPoint Slides PRESENTER Our main presenter is Alfonso Presa. Alfonso was born in Cuba and received a Bachelors degree in Computer Science at ISPJAE (Tech University of Havana).

Delphi® is one of the most respected and widely used Rapid Application Development (RAD) environments today. Over 1.7 million developers worldwide choose Delphi over other tools because Delphi radically speeds desktop, workstation, touch, kiosk, and Web application development without sacrificing an ounce of programming power or control. Applications built with Delphi are lightning fast, compact, provide rich UIs, and can connect with virtually any database or data source “out-of-the-box”. RAD Studio 2010 helps you go further and get there faster with more than 120 new and enhanced features that help you finish projects faster and reach more users.

CodeGear Delphi 2010 Launch tour!

We will have one final “regular” meeting of the Oregon Delphi User Group. It’s been a good run, lasting 15 years, but as things change and people move on, other venues of networking and professional development will, and have already begun, to take its place. There is no prepared topic as there will likely be reflections over the past years and discussions of future trends. However, continuing the theme of our March meeting, another project, a very different one (involving GUIDs, Unicode, and reporting), has had its own “Conversion Story” and several lessons learned from that experience could be shared as interest dictates.

The following is a preview of the March 15, 2010 ODUG meeting… It is a story of corruption in high places, and the daunting task of doing away with the evildoers – at least those responsible for the unrest. To the casual observer, everything seemed normal, but down deep, where access to the critical information took place, events unfolded with far reaching implications. Some said that corruption was just a fact of life.

Delphi® is one of the most respected and widely used Rapid Application Development (RAD) environments today. Over 1.7 million developers worldwide choose Delphi over other tools because Delphi radically speeds desktop, workstation, touch, kiosk, and Web application development without sacrificing an ounce of programming power or control. Applications built with Delphi are lightning fast, compact, provide rich UIs, and can connect with virtually any database or data source “out-of-the-box”. RAD Studio 2010 helps you go further and get there faster with more than 120 new and enhanced features that help you finish projects faster and reach more users.

This month’s meeting will be a demonstration of three commercial applications written in Delphi: File Extractor Pro, Cell Phone Analyzer, and SIM Analyzer Pro. File Extractor Pro is a data carving tool. It allows the user to carve deleted files from a logical partition in either NTFS or FAT12/16 and FAT32. A standalone image file in both raw bit stream format (think DD file) and compressed sgzip with 64k size clusters.

Using DLLs when you distribute your application allows you to replace individual components of your application suite without having to kick all users out of the program. For instances, the Accounts Payable module can be replaced without shutting down the shipping department. DLLs can be very useful in many situations and once you learn a few tricks, are really quite simple. We will talk about how to structure your application to use DLLs to make updating installed applications much simpler to manage and keeps customers working happily.

It’s the middle of the summer, so let’s set the serious work aside and have a little fun for a change. I bet we can still learn something… First, I found an old OpenGL program that displays fireworks and thought it would be fun to look at the code and watch splashes of color explode–especially since some major fireworks displays in the area were canceled this year due to budget constraints.

There is a saying that any technology that is sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic! There are a lot of new features and language enhancements in the last three versions of Delphi that may seem like magic to those who do not know about them. And there are some features that have been in Delphi for a long time that some don’t realize are there. On May 18, 2009, the mysteries of the unknown and the secrets of the masters will be shown in real applications.

Anders Ohlsson from CodeGear will be at our group in Portland to talk about the latest Delphi products for both Windows 32 and .NET, show how to move your existing projects to the new environments, demonstrate modeling techniques to improve your code, and give you insight on rapidly creating web applications. There will be discounts on Delphi 2009, C++Builder 2009, or RAD Studio 2009. And one lucky winner will walk away with a free copy of RAD Studio 2009 Pro!

The end of the year is fast approaching. Since we only meet every other month, this is the last meeting this year. I had asked CodeGear to come out and show us Delphi 2009 and talk about new developments, but that doesn’t seem to be an option for us right now. So for our November meeting tomorrow night, I would like to open up the floor to discussion on Delphi news and developments and invite you to share your opinions on where the programming tools are heading.

Several months back, we had a meeting on XML and I promised a “Part II” that would go into web services. That will finally be fulfilled at our next regular semi-monthly meeting. There will be a brief introduction to web services, what they are, and who might be using them. Then we’ll get into the code by creating three web services in Delphi 2006, each increasing in complexity, and each with a VCL client to use them.

This month, the trials and tribulations of creating and running DLLs in Delphi will be discussed. We will talk about whether or not you really need DLLs, how to handle versioning, and interface design. PRESENTER Gene Juhos of Sysmatics started his programming career writing code for an IBM 3741. He’s written useful code in COBOL, FORTRAN, C, C++, Assembler, CADOL and lately mostly Delphi. He took his first Delphi training class in 1996 using Delphi 3.

We don’t have a formal presentation planned, but will discuss whatever topics arise from the group. Delphi on a laptop will be available to write sample programs wherever the night’s discussion takes us.

This month we’ll explore some custom-written non-visual components that have been useful in several projects, encapsulating common functionality for ease of use and consistency. This isn’t a new topic, but is a great starting point to discuss unit testing. Unit testing is not a new topic either, but one that more people should look at. Studying these two topics together could branch in various directions, depending on questions and preferences from the audience.

Quality Assurance is the elusive goal of every product manager–and the bane of every programmer. OK, I don’t know that for sure, but producing bug-free applications can drive a programmer crazy if he has to work with loose guidelines or tight time-constraints. But aren’t those both par for the course? This month’s format will be a little different. There will be an introduction by David Cornelius, focus on examples with Chris Newcombe, then the audience is encouraged to share their “worst bug ever” and how they overcame it.

We don’t have a formal presentation this month, but instead will discuss a few topics that may include the following (based on audience preference): Utilities written in Delphi How to call a web service CodeGear’s RAD Studio 2007 What is Blackfish SQL? Others? PRESENTER David Cornelius has been using Borland’s software development tools since the mid-80’s. He is the coordinator of the Oregon Delphi User Group, works for Retail Dimensions, is a contract programmer through CorneliusConcepts.

Starting with Delphi 2006, the base product has a VERY cool feature previously only available in 3rd-party add-on products such as Code Rush and Castalia. The feature is Live Templates and allows the user to write macros with customized paramters. It is a great productivity enhancement and is much more powerful than many people realize. With Live Templates you can: fix typos automatically; insert large code snippets with a couple of keystrokes; remind yourself of obtuse parameter options; greatly speed up coding.

Experience the CodeGear products first-hand in Portland! You will be provided with a CodeGear update, as well as presentations and demonstations showcasing the new products. As if the opportunity to check out our newest, coolest toys wasn’t enough, we will also give all attendees a special product discount, and enter your name in a raffle for products and even an 80GB iPod! PRESENTER David Intersimone from CodeGear, and Michael Li from InfoCan Management

We have no specific planned presentation this month. We’ll gather as colleagues in the industry and friends that like to talk about computers and programming and see what topics emerge!

Did anyone “attend” the virtual CodeGear conference last week, CodeRage? There were some good sessions, although I didn’t have time to listen in on all I wanted to. If you missed any of them, they’re all available at the CodeRage web site. The topic this month is just a loose discussion around Borland/CodeGear and speculation about how they’ll do this year. Delphi 2007 for Win32 was announced on Friday and has several really nice features and improvements.