Good book for advanced Delphi programmers?
Alexander Lucke
Hi,
does anyone know a good book for advanced Delphi programmers (not
something like "Learn Delphi in five seconds" or "Delphi for
Beginners" !!)?
I need one that describes a little bit more! German books are
prefered!
If you know such a book, please email to <h044...@rz.hu-berlin.de>!
Thanks a lot!
Joseph L. Calkins
I hate to say it, but almost every book I pick up off the shelf on delphi
pretty much sucks. Buying most of these books is like buying a second copy
of the delphi manuals. A 15 chapter book has probably 13 of those chapters
describing things that are very clearly explained in the delphi manuals.
If youre lucky you'll find maybe 1 or 2 chapters that have a few of those
"...oh, thats neat.." sections in them. Maybe I haven't looked at the
right books, but I think every delphi programmer should read the delphi
manuals first. Then when they go to the book store and look through the
table of contents, they'll probably be quite dissapointed in finding the
same stuff they just read.
Alexander Lucke <h044...@rz.hu-berlin.de> wrote in article
<5bb7r3$k...@suncom.rz.hu-berlin.de>...
Dave Calkins
<st93...@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu>
Richf
You might consider "Kick Ass Delphi Programming"
from the Coriolis group. Visit their web page.
I've found it to be very good.
Jason Wallace
Alexander Lucke wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> does anyone know a good book for advanced Delphi programmers (not
> something like "Learn Delphi in five seconds" or "Delphi for
> Beginners" !!)?
Delphi 2.0 unleashed... It's a HUGE book (over 1500 pages) and it
covers everything (including DirectX and a good healthy dose of the
Windows API)
--
Jason
E...@DarkElf.reno.nv.us
Olly Morgan
Jason Wallace wrote:
> Delphi 2.0 unleashed... It's a HUGE book (over 1500 pages) and it
That's usually a bad sign. Too many people try and systematically cover
every minor detail without thinking about the how the content should be
structured in order for it to be useful learning tool. The number of
pages has only a very weak correlation with the quality of the book. The
most laughable attempt is the latest Borland book (which is gigantic).
Half of it is code listings, which in any event are included on the CD.
I think you have to decide which area you need most help in (say Sockets
programming, OLE, Registry, Threads. Then check out the books and choose
the one that best addresses your specific problem.
I recently chose the Peter Norton book, because I thought it was strong
on OLE. (Crap for Threads though!).
Olly.
Jay Boisseau
For Delphi 1, I really liked Delphi Unleashed by Charles Calvert.
For Delphi 2, I have found Delphi 2, A Developers Guide and Developing With
Delphi Object Oriented Techniques to be great.
Jay B.
http://web2.airmail.net/jboiss19
-------------------------------------------------
Man's mind stretched to a new idea
never goes back to its orginal dimension.
==Oliver Wendell Holmes==
-------------------------------------------------
Olly Morgan <O.Mo...@ed.ac.uk> wrote in article
<32DD3D...@ed.ac.uk>...
Joe Hendricks
Jay Boisseau <jboi...@airmail.net> wrote in article
<01bc0411$689ce880$4de6...@jboiss19.airmail.net>...
> For Delphi 1, I really liked Delphi Unleashed by Charles Calvert.
> For Delphi 2, I have found Delphi 2, A Developers Guide and Developing
With
> Delphi Object Oriented Techniques to be great.
Secrets of Delphi2 by Ray(on this newsgroup) is our main reference.
Info at: (http://www.tempest-sw.com/secrets/)
Joe Hendricks, ser...@thassoc.com, http://www.thassoc.com
Scott McMahan - Softbase Systems
Olly Morgan (O.Mo...@ed.ac.uk) wrote:
: Jason Wallace wrote:
: > Delphi 2.0 unleashed... It's a HUGE book (over 1500 pages) and it
: That's usually a bad sign. Too many people try and systematically cover
: every minor detail without thinking about the how the content should be
: structured in order for it to be useful learning tool.
The author wrote most of it himself, and there's even *more* on the CD
that got cut. The parts not written by the author are very good,
coherent and focused on their topics.
Delphi Unleashed is a masterpiece.
Scott
Jeremy North
Yes I agree the book is great, the index sucks though. Worst I've ever
seen in any computer book on the market.
Best index in computer book, Tom Swan's Foundations of Delphi programming
for win 95. Now that is an excellent index.
Jeremy
jed...@isc-durant.com
Paul Motyer
"Delphi Unleashed is a masterpiece." I concur: D2 unleashed in good. I
bought it (a long time ago) and I recommend it as an excellent general
Delphi book. Well done Charlie.
"That's usually a bad sign. Too many people try ..." Before making
comments that may be irrelevant why not LOOK at the book - then you can
comment about the actual book.
--
Paul Motyer
***pa...@linuxserver.pccity.com.au*** currently broken
Croydon, Australia, 3136
Scott McMahan - Softbase Systems <soft...@mercury.interpath.com> wrote in
article <5c0tn6$f...@redstone.interpath.net>...
Herbert M Sauro
In article <32DA67...@DarkElf.reno.nv.us>, Jason Wallace
<E...@DarkElf.reno.nv.us> writes
>Alexander Lucke wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> does anyone know a good book for advanced Delphi programmers (not
>> something like "Learn Delphi in five seconds" or "Delphi for
>> Beginners" !!)?
>
>Windows API)
>
No it doesn't cover everything. It covers somethings (eg DirectX) not
covered by many other books but also misses out large tracks of Delphi.
Herb
--
Herbert M Sauro
email: HSa...@fssc.demon.co.uk
Telephone: 01974 282428
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"He who cannot draw on 3000 years is living from hand to mouth" Goethe
"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"
R Browning.
The Berkshire Brits
"Kick-Ass Delphi" - If this book is for real, it has simply got to win
the Grab-Your-Attention-Title of the Year award!
Look up the following if you are keen to become a Delphi guru:
Delphi In Depth - by Jensen & Anderson
The Revolutionary Guide to Delphi 2 - by Jewell
I found Delphi 2 Unleashed (by Charlie Calvert) very good, but had to read
it alongside The Database Developer's Guide with Delphi 2 (by Ken
Henderson) to get a better picture.
Regards,
Christiana A.
> How about "Kick-Ass Delphi" ? That's a real book ... honest ! : )
>
> Simon R Knight
>
jefsu...@aol.com
In article <01bc0b4d$9c885920$33e42ac2@philb>, "The Berkshire Brits"
<pmb...@netcomuk.co.uk> writes:
>Look up the following if you are keen to become a Delphi guru:
>Delphi In Depth - by Jensen & Anderson
>The Revolutionary Guide to Delphi 2 - by Jewell
>
>
Agree - especially with theh Delphi in Depth book. By the second chapter
you are writing components. Not the strongest in database topics, but
other than that an excellent source.
Delphi Developer's Jrnl
The Berkshire Brits wrote:
> "Kick-Ass Delphi" - If this book is for real, it has simply got to win
> the Grab-Your-Attention-Title of the Year award!
True. Unfortunately, it's got yet another "Ace Breakpoint" story. That
disqualifies it in my book.
> Look up the following if you are keen to become a Delphi guru:
> Delphi In Depth - by Jensen & Anderson
> The Revolutionary Guide to Delphi 2 - by Jewell
Rev Guide maybe (but only for Bob Swart and Brian Long's stuff). Delphi
In Depth has only a couple of DB things from Cary Jensen that are worth
reading (IMHO). The rest of the book is User Manual fodder and an ad for
WebHub.
> I found Delphi 2 Unleashed (by Charlie Calvert) very good, but had to read
> it alongside The Database Developer's Guide with Delphi 2 (by Ken
> Henderson) to get a better picture.
For DB stuff, I agree about Ken Henderson's book. Others to look at:
"Delphi Component Design," by Danny Thorpe (Addison-Wesley, ISBN #
0-201-46136-6, $36.95US, $51.00CAN)
"Secrets of Delphi 2," by Ray Lischner (Waite Group Press, ISBN #
1-57169-026-3 $49.99US, $70.95CAN)
I can recommend Danny's book without reservation. Ray's book is really
strong technically, but Waite Group shortchanged him with some really
inconsistent editing. If you're looking for good info though, Ray's book
is a must-have.
My $.02,
--
Tim Gooch
Editor-in-chief, Moderator,
Delphi Developer's Journal DDJ-THREAD Discussion List
[ http://www.cobb.com/ddj ] [ mailto:list...@cobbtips.com ]
(subscribe ddj-thread <your_name>)
Derek A. Benner
Delphi Developer's Jrnl wrote:
>
> The Berkshire Brits wrote:
> > "Kick-Ass Delphi" - If this book is for real, it has simply got to win
> > the Grab-Your-Attention-Title of the Year award!
>
> True. Unfortunately, it's got yet another "Ace Breakpoint" story. That
> disqualifies it in my book.
>
Really? So, you'd rather have the book as dull, dry and boring as
possible to steepen the learning curve?!? I, as do many others, found
the 'Ace Breakpoint' stories an excellent learning tool. For one thing,
it sure makes it easier to get into the author's/programmer's head to
understand *WHY* he structured it that way! Sure, for someone who
*just* wants a reference manual, this type of material is inappropriate,
but for a *learning* situation, this type of presentation is very
helpful.
> "Delphi Component Design," by Danny Thorpe (Addison-Wesley, ISBN #
> 0-201-46136-6, $36.95US, $51.00CAN)
>
> "Secrets of Delphi 2," by Ray Lischner (Waite Group Press, ISBN #
> 1-57169-026-3 $49.99US, $70.95CAN)
>
> I can recommend Danny's book without reservation. Ray's book is really
> strong technically, but Waite Group shortchanged him with some really
> inconsistent editing. If you're looking for good info though, Ray's book
> is a must-have.
>
> My $.02,
>
> --
> Tim Gooch
Hmmmm... Well, taken as a whole, I'd think your $.02 is really only
$.01 worth. First, Danny Thorpe's book is rather disjointed and overly
dense. (Yes, I realize that the material itself can be dense, but it's
the author's job to make the material *more* understandable, not *less*.
Danny Thorpe does not always succeed at this.) I'd recommend as a
better buy 'Developing Custom Delphi Components' by Ray Konopka, even
though it *IS* somewhat dated. In order of preference my Custom
Components list goes:
1. Developing Custom Delphi Components - Ray Konopka, Coriolis Group
Books
2. Programming Delphi Custom Components - Fred Bulback, M & T Books
3. Delphi Component Design - Danny Thorpe, Addison Wesley Developer's
Press
Derek
Delphi Developer's Jrnl
Derek A. Benner wrote:
>
> Delphi Developer's Jrnl wrote:
> > True. Unfortunately, it's got yet another "Ace Breakpoint" story. That
> > disqualifies it in my book.
> >
> Really? So, you'd rather have the book as dull, dry and boring as
> possible to steepen the learning curve?!? I, as do many others, found
> the 'Ace Breakpoint' stories an excellent learning tool. For one thing,
> it sure makes it easier to get into the author's/programmer's head to
> understand *WHY* he structured it that way! Sure, for someone who
> *just* wants a reference manual, this type of material is inappropriate,
> but for a *learning* situation, this type of presentation is very
> helpful.
No. I want decent writing and storylines in detective fiction, and
clear, concise writing in developer information. I don't think "Ace
Breakpoint" qualifies as either, and it definitely doesn't provide
anything that I'd consider to be advanced Delphi info. YMMV, and you're
more than entitled to your opinion.
> > My $.02,
> >
> > --
> > Tim Gooch
>
> Hmmmm... Well, taken as a whole, I'd think your $.02 is really only
> $.01 worth.
<sarcasm on>
Thanks for your kind commentary on my attempt to help another programmer
analyze books that he/she hasn't seen/read and that I have. I apologize
for intruding on your intellectual space, and I bow in humble adoration
of your superior writing ability and experience.
<sarcasm off>
> First, Danny Thorpe's book is rather disjointed and overly
> dense. (Yes, I realize that the material itself can be dense, but it's
> the author's job to make the material *more* understandable, not *less*.
> Danny Thorpe does not always succeed at this.)
To a newbie perhaps. To an experienced developer, there's no need to do
the level of hand holding that you're suggesting. Accordingly, I
recommend Danny's book only to those who have significant Delphi
experience. Ditto with Ray Lischner's book. Giving a factory service
manual to a shadetree mechanic is a mistake, and giving a newbie one of
these books is a similar blunder.
> I'd recommend as a
> better buy 'Developing Custom Delphi Components' by Ray Konopka, even
> though it *IS* somewhat dated.
Not only is Ray's stuff good, it was first out, and beat the other
component stuff by several months. However, I don't agree with your
assessment of it being superior to Danny's book as a tool for "Advanced
Delphi Programmers," as the title of the thread implies. I have no doubt
that Ray is capable of writing an advanced book on Delphi, but "Custom
Components" wasn't, and I don't think Ray intended it to be. In
addition, I think he'll get more than a few arguments over whether or
not putting business rules in components is really 3-tier C/S, or even a
good idea.
Derek, I aplogize for the sarcasm in this message, but I think I've just
posted my last message to c.l.p.d.m. Apparently, with your opinions
available, there's no need for any from me. This is why CIS and mailing
lists are so popular. If you want to take this up further, send me some
e-mail. I doubt that there's much more of this that anyone else wants to
read.
My $.01, (Note the revision of estimated value)
--
Tim Gooch
Editor-in-Chief, Moderator,
Delphi Developer's Journal DDJ-THREAD - Delphi Discussion List