RTC SDK and Delphi 4 support: Keep it or Drop it?
Danijel Tkalcec
with Delphi 4. Since Delphi 5 came with a number of changes like the new
Text format for DFM files and the new "FreeAndNil" function, I was thinking
about dropping D4 support and keep later RTC SDK releases compatible only
with Delphi 5 and newer.
I am having the same thoughts about RTC Portal and the new RTC W/A
Framework,
but before I make the final decision, I would like to know what RTC SDK
users
think about this. Does anyone think that Delphi 4 support is still
important, or can I
safely dismiss this outdated IDE?
Thank you for your input =:o)
PS. I am currently using Delphi 7 for all my development and testing.
Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec
Malcolm
.. but I don't need D4 :o)
Malcolm
Danijel Tkalcec
>I imagine most replies will be for keeping it ..
> .. but I don't need D4 :o)
I imagine that there won't be many developers who are using D4, but what
about D5 and D6? Can I drop support for all Delphi versions prior to D7, or
are a lot of developers still using D5 and D6?
Regards,
Danijel
Ole Ekerhovd
Regards,
Ole
"Danijel Tkalcec" <r...@deltasoft.hr> skrev i melding
news:482efa21$1...@newsgroups.borland.com...
Eugene Mayevski
You wrote on Sat, 17 May 2008 16:23:13 +0200:
DT> I am having the same thoughts about RTC Portal and the new RTC W/A
DT> Framework,
DT> but before I make the final decision, I would like to know what RTC SDK
DT> users
DT> think about this. Does anyone think that Delphi 4 support is still
DT> important, or can I
DT> safely dismiss this outdated IDE?
What does "keep support for ... " mean for you? Do you have real expenses /
costs related to testing, changing or otherwise maintaining the cost of
Delphi 4 packages? If you have those expenses, calculate if they are
justified. If you have no expenses other than maybe separate packages
needed, why stop supporting them?
With best regards,
Eugene Mayevski
http://mayevski.blogspot.com/
Danijel Tkalcec
I hope I do not have to explain the meaningless of trying to keep an Open
Source project compatible with an IDE version which nobody is using anymore.
Regards,
Danijel
Danijel Tkalcec
> "Eugene Mayevski" schrieb:
>>
>> What does "keep support for ... " mean for you? Do you have real expenses
>> / costs related to testing, changing or otherwise maintaining the cost of
>> Delphi 4 packages? If you have those expenses, calculate if they are
>> justified. If you have no expenses other than maybe separate packages
>> needed, why stop supporting them?
>
> I hope I do not have to explain the meaningless of trying to keep an Open
> Source project compatible with an IDE version which nobody is using
> anymore.
By the way ... if you check the webpages of major Delphi VCL component
vendors, you will see that most of them have already dropped support for
Delphi 4 and some have even dropped support for Delphi 5. So ... why would
the RealThinClient components need to remain compatible with Delphi 4?
Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec
Danijel Tkalcec
> Please don't drop D6, I use it all the time.
Ok, thank you for your feedback.
It looks like there are still a lot of D6 users out there.
Regards,
Danijel
Dave White
news:482efa21$1...@newsgroups.borland.com...
> I imagine that there won't be many developers who are using D4, but what
> about D5 and D6? Can I drop support for all Delphi versions prior to D7,
> or are a lot of developers still using D5 and D6?
I was using D5 exclusively until a couple of months ago, then I 'upgraded'
to D7. I have D2005 and D2006 sitting on the shelf, but I'll be sticking
with D7 for the forseeable future.
So there may still be some other D5 holdouts out there
Danijel Tkalcec
> "Danijel Tkalcec" wrote:
>
>> I imagine that there won't be many developers who are using D4, but what
>> about D5 and D6? Can I drop support for all Delphi versions prior to D7,
>> or are a lot of developers still using D5 and D6?
>
> I was using D5 exclusively until a couple of months ago, then I 'upgraded'
> to D7. I have D2005 and D2006 sitting on the shelf, but I'll be sticking
> with D7 for the forseeable future.
>
> So there may still be some other D5 holdouts out there
You are probably right about that. So far, I have received a few E-Mails
from licensed RTC SDK users and the oldest Delphi version reported to be in
use was D5. So ... the question remains if Delphi 4 is still in use.
Regards,
Danijel
Danijel Tkalcec
requires a special package (all standard Delphi 4
VCL packages end with "40", while D5 and newer have no version indicator in
their name). Delphi 4 also has NO support for storing DFM files as text,
while Delphi 5 and later have that support. Storing DFM files as Text is
particularly interesting for developers using Version Control. There have
also been quiet a few changes from Delphi 4 to Delphi 5 in standard Delphi
units, where a number of functions have been moved from one unit to another,
for which the RTC SDK now has a lot of IFDEFs in the uses area (even the
Demos).
So ... if nobody is using Delphi4, or if those who are using D4 plan to
upgrade to a later version (at least D5), I'd like to drop support for
Delphi 4 in future RTC SDK and RTC Portal versions, and not bother about D4
for the upcoming RTC components.
Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec
Eugene Mayevski
You wrote on Sat, 17 May 2008 21:41:13 +0200:
DT> Delphi 4 in particular has been a thorn in my eyes for a while because
it
DT> requires a special package (all standard Delphi 4
DT> VCL packages end with "40", while D5 and newer have no version
indicator in
DT> their name).
This was changed in D6, not in D5.
Eugene Mayevski
You wrote on Sat, 17 May 2008 20:36:40 +0200:
DT> I hope I do not have to explain the meaningless of trying to keep an
DT> Open Source project compatible with an IDE version which nobody is
DT> using anymore.
You don't have to spam the newsgroup with all your flow of mind, in this
case. If you want to solve the problem - solve it. If you want to produce
another junk thread in the group - stop it.
Danijel Tkalcec
> Hello!
> You wrote on Sat, 17 May 2008 20:36:40 +0200:
>
> DT> I hope I do not have to explain the meaningless of trying to keep an
> DT> Open Source project compatible with an IDE version which nobody is
> DT> using anymore.
>
> You don't have to spam the newsgroup with all your flow of mind, in this
> case. If you want to solve the problem - solve it. If you want to produce
> another junk thread in the group - stop it.
What's up, Eugene? Got up on the wrong foot today? ;)
Regards,
Danijel
Danijel Tkalcec
> Hello!
> You wrote on Sat, 17 May 2008 21:41:13 +0200:
>
> DT> Delphi 4 in particular has been a thorn in my eyes for a while because
> it
> DT> requires a special package (all standard Delphi 4
> DT> VCL packages end with "40", while D5 and newer have no version
> indicator in
> DT> their name).
>
> This was changed in D6, not in D5.
Damn. You are right about that.
I wish they would have changed that sooner.
Regards,
Danijel
Michael Justin
> RealThinClient SDK can currently be used with all Delphi versions, starting
> with Delphi 4. Since Delphi 5 came with a number of changes like the new
> Text format for DFM files and the new "FreeAndNil" function, I was thinking
> about dropping D4 support and keep later RTC SDK releases compatible only
> with Delphi 5 and newer.
I would vote for 'Delphi 6 and up' - however, the last stable D4/D5
compatible relase should be available for some time for the developers
who still use these versions.
Best Regards
Michael Justin
Danijel Tkalcec
Those were my thoughts also, after realizing that D5 requires a separate
package just like D4 (completely forgot about that). Making the current RTC
SDK and RTC Portal release (which are both compatible with D4 and D5)
available for download for another year is not a problem. Since the next RTC
SDK update will be version 3.0 (the one with support for FPC/Lazarus and
Linux), and RTC Portal v3.0 is also "in the works", it would make sense to
keep the last version 2.x of both component sets available for download.
Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec
Kevin Powick
I would upgrade if a future release was stable, fast, didn't rely on
.Net for the IDE, had a great/functional help system, and offered some
worthwhile features that I'm not getting now from D7 combined with
various 3rd party experts/add-ons.
--
Kevin Powick
David J Taylor
[]
> Does anyone think that Delphi 4 support is still important, or can I
> safely dismiss this outdated IDE?
I would suggest drop Delphi 4 - it was buggy (like many even numbered
releases) in any case. Of course, as a Delphi 5 user I am biassed!
David
Danijel Tkalcec
Would the option as recommended by Michael Justin work for you?
In other words, would it be OK if the current stable RTC SDK and RTC Portal
releases working with D4+D5 remain available for download for another year
but that the next major update for both components (v3.0) is only kept
backwards compatible with D6 and up? The new releases will most likely still
work with D5, but there would be no official support for D4 and D5 in the
next releases.
Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec
David J Taylor
[]
> In other words, would it be OK if the current stable RTC SDK and RTC
> Portal releases working with D4+D5 remain available for download for
> another year but that the next major update for both components
> (v3.0) is only kept backwards compatible with D6 and up? The new
> releases will most likely still work with D5, but there would be no
> official support for D4 and D5 in the next releases.
>
> Best Regards,
> Danijel Tkalcec
That's OK.
David
Benedictum
Even though I have RAD2007 I still go back to D5 because of some components
which are no longer supported and not available with newer IDEs.
"Danijel Tkalcec" <r...@deltasoft.hr> wrote in message
news:482efa21$1...@newsgroups.borland.com...
Danijel Tkalcec
>I am still using D5 because of applications that I still maintain with it.
>Even though I have RAD2007 I still go back to D5 because of some components
>which are no longer supported and not available with newer IDEs.
Would it be OK for you if the current stable RTC SDK and RTC Portal releases
working with D4+D5 remain available for download for another year, while the
next major update for both components (v3.0) is only kept backwards
compatible with D6 and up? The new releases will most likely still work with
D5, but there would be no official support for D4 and D5.
Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec
Danijel Tkalcec
Actually, I should have been asking if there are any problems with the
current release of the RTC components which need fixing before we can move
on to the next major upgrade which would be kept backwards compatible with
the last release but only have official support for D6 and up. If there are
no known problems with the last 2.x release, then it should be no problem
using this stable release for maintaining old applications in D4 and D5.
Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec