Comparing Delphi to VB is/was always a shallow comparison.

I understand that most programming jobs out there are databases and forms and submitting data and retrieving data etc. but I don’t understand why people always thought that Delphi was an answer to Visual Basic.

But,I’m sure I’m a “niche” market all in my own.  I have always considered Delphi to be the best alternative to C++, while VB was always just some lame archaic toy. I wish the developers of the Delphi language would pay a bit more attention to the guys who really want to write fast, hardcore, stuff in Object Pascal (the 64-bit compiler basically performs ZERO optimizations).  There used to be marketing ads out there that bore the slogan “The Speed of C++ with the ease of VB” or something along those lines.  I think that is a good way to look at Delphi’s role in the world, if it can possibly keep up.

I’m sure the guys who market this stuff look at their research and surveys and tell me that I’m totally wrong for thinking that it is good marketing to call Delphi a C++ replacement.  But I might also argue back that you cannot and should not look at the numbers alone when choosing a marketing strategy.  Comparing Object Pascal to C++ is important to establishing its legitimacy as what I call a “brick and mortar” programming language.  Pascal used to be one of the big kahunas of the programming world.  There was Asm, C, Basic, and Pascal.  Basic was a teaching language, not much more sophisticated than Logo (if you remember that one).  Asm was a simple alternative to machine code, C was intended as a better Asm, but never intended for serious applications, and to fill the hole, there was Pascal, for the serious engineers who wrote serious stuff and wanted to be productive.

Delphi historically shared very little similarities with VB outside of the basic fact that it had a form designer where you could drop controls. In 1995, VB was still a Pseudo-code language and extremely slow, required lame run-time dlls, didn’t really have objects with inheritance and polymorphism. Enter Delphi… it compiles native, it is optimized, it has a real object oriented language that has almost all of the features of C++ without the headaches. The saddest part of all that is that Delphi hasn’t changed much since 1995 and the changes that HAVE happened since 1995 have been incomplete and ill-conceived. I have given Emb thousands of dollars over the last few years and with Delphi, still have not been able to do some basic things that Xamarin has given me out of the box without serious headaches (Core MIDI anyone?). Even the simplest of my apps are not stable. I appreciate that they are making an effort, but seriously… I want to scream at them just about every day.

Delphi was on top until M$ stole all the developers from Borland with big signing bonuses and then in the ensuing lawsuits Borland caved and basically Gave Microsoft full rights to all it’s patents. Since 1996, there have been no brilliant visionaries working on Delphi and the team over there has basically been coasting on the fact that once-upon-a-time some brilliant guys built something that was WAY beyond what the industry ever thought was possible.

The current offerings alienate their existing user base while making half-assed strides towards new platforms.  Delphi has gone to multiple platforms before, and every time they attempted such a thing, they ABANDONED the platform after just one release.  Delphi for .Net is no more, Delphi for Php is no more, HTML Builder never caught on, nor did intraweb.  Delphi already went to Linux, remember? It was called Kylix, and it only ran on then already outdated versions of Redhat…. again… a half-assed effort that never saw the post-release attention it needed.

The visionaries that once populated the cubicles of Borland went on to give us C#… go figure… C# is the most advanced and productive language ever created and now it is the most popular… GO FIGURE. I still love Delphi and think it has it’s place… but only as a C++ replacement… but the Delphi 64-bit compiler is so bad that I have just started a project to build my OWN ultra-fast compiler that leaves Delphi and FreePascal in the DUST.

 

 

0 Replies to “Comparing Delphi to VB is/was always a shallow comparison.”

  1. Man, this post hits right in the coding feels. You’ve got me reminiscing about the golden days of Delphi being the apex of efficiency and productivity. I definitely agree with you about Delphi having a niche beyond being simply an alternative to Visual Basic, which, as you well pointed out, was pretty rudimentary at its best. And the C++ comparison…now that’s where we hit the meat of it.

    But I’m not sure if I’m on board with your sentiment about Delphi being a rightful replacement for C++. Object Pascal has its own unique potential, much like ‘a sunflower does not dream of being a rose’, if you catch my drift. I’m just wondering if pitting them against each other falls into the trap of ‘apples and oranges’ comparison. Though, I understand the point you’re trying to convey about Delphi’s significant capabilities.

    Your point about the ill-conceived changes to Delphi since 1995 is certainly a bitter pill to swallow. It’s like seeing an old friend who used to have so much vitality and grace, gradually lose their shine due to poor decisions and misguided endeavors.

    Considering your considerable experience (and frustration) with Delphi, I’d love to hear about your efforts on building a bespoke compiler. Given the powerful potential of a fast compiler, what kind of features are you planning to incorporate into it? Do you envision it catering more towards Object Pascal, or do you have plans to make it versatile across multiple languages? Cheers for the great read, keep up the posts!

    1. Got to agree – Delphi’s potential got side-tracked, which is disappointing considering its early promise. The C++ analogy surely had its roots in performance and complexity, though they do stand apart each with its unique approach to problem-solving.

      I’m quite intrigued by the homemade compiler endeavour, it sounds like quite the passion project! Focusing primarily on speed and optimisation is essential, but are there any specific features you’re targeting to outshine Delphi and FreePascal?

      And to touch on the idea of versatility, are you considering support for modern paradigms or going all-in on efficiency for specific use-cases? Do share more if you can; it’s always enriching to hear from someone taking matters into their own hands to push the envelope further.

      1. You hit the nail on the head regarding versatility vs efficiency. Balancing them is certainly a tricky task. In the grand scheme of things, chasing the cutting edge of efficiency often entails making some trade-offs. Specific use-cases demand laser-focused optimization, but can’t we all agree that true power lies in adaptability and multi-paradigm support?

        I’m genuinely curious about how far a new compiler can push the envelope while keeping a hand on practical application without getting too specialized. It’s a fine line to tread. Any thoughts on maintaining that balance, or are we all just dreaming of a silver bullet solution in the back of our minds?

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