Migrating to .NET with Delphi 8

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Migrating to .NET with Delphi 8 Gerard van der
Pol Borland Software Corporation
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Topics / Agenda

• Delphi 8 for .NET
• Support for .NET
• How to migrate your application
• Demos to highlight capabilities

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Delphi Solutions

• Integrated Design and Modeling Capabilities
• Web Services development (e-business RAD)
• Enterprise
• Internet/Intranet development
• Multi-tier development
• Client/Server development
• Database development
• Windows/desktop development

time
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Delphi Support forWindows Platform Evolution
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Delphi for .NET

• Objectives
• Make Delphi a premier .NET application
  development tool
• Evolve the Delphi language, compiler, and IDE
  productivity tools to fully embrace the .NET
  feature set while maintaining a high degree of
  source compatibility with existing Delphi
  applications.

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Delphi for .NET

• Full access to the .NET framework and facilities
• Complete support for ASP.NET
• Complete support for .NET Web Services
• Complete support for WinForms
• Produces safe, verifiable code 100 CIL
• Full interaction with other .NET languages
• CLS provider and CLS consumer
• Language extensions to take advantage of .NET

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Make Delphi 1st class citizen .NET Language
Delphi
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Delphi Technology Foundation
Application Lifecycle Management
Design Driven Development
Future
Strategic
Delphi IDE
Delphi Compiler .NET
Delphi Compiler Win32
Language
VCL.NET
VCL
Web Forms
Win Forms
API
.NET
Win32
Platform
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Strategic Development Goals

• Delphi evolution to .NET
• Delphi technologies to ease transition
• Increase productivity with design driven
  development
• Support for Borland Application Lifecycle
  Management

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Simplify the Move to .NET

• Using existing Delphi skills and assets
• Delphi language syntax eliminates the learning
  curve
• VCL for .NET controls provide a familiar set of
  user interface controls that are backwards
  compatible with existing Delphi source code and
  interoperable with the .NET framework
• Database technologies radically ease the
  migration of database applications to .NET

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Delphi for .NET

• More than just a port
• New code generator
• New linker
• Significant new syntax
• New Runtime Library

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Delphi as a compliant .NET language
CLR/CTS
CLS
Delphi
C
Others
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Assemblies and Delphi

• Treat CLR assemblies like packages
• Direct symbol import from metadata
• No header file translations!
• -lultnamegt to specify which assemblies to link
  against / allow access to
• Package syntax produces assemblies
• Package syntax will still provide option of
  linking code into your exe or external reference

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CLR and Delphi

• TObject System.Object
• Exception System.Exception
• TComponent System.ComponentModel.Component
• Database connectivity ADO.NET
• dbExpress drivers plug into ADO.NET
• GUI System.Windows.Forms (WinForms) and/or
  VCL.NET

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The Delphi Language

• Strings Arrays
• Records
• Classes Interfaces
• Exceptions
• Properties Events
• Sets
• Text files
• Local Procedures
• Variants

• Components
• Streams
• New, Dispose
• Readln, Writeln
• Format
• Component Streaming
• Random
• Virtual Constructors

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New Improved

• Multicast Events
• Include/Exclude events
• Records w/ methods
• Array prop overloads
• Boxing into objects
• Sealed classes
• Final methods
• Operator Overloading

• Unit Namespaces
• Qualified Identifiers
• Nested Types
• Custom Attributes
• Class (static) data
• Class properties
• Class static methods

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What Wont Work in .NET

• _at_, Addr(), Absolute directive
• Real48 six-byte floats
• File of lttypegt
• GetMem, FreeMem, ReallocMem
• Use arrays or New() Dispose()
• ExitProcs
• Old Object syntax (type foo object)
• TVarData, Variant internals

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Above and Beyond CLR

• Delphi syntax for
• Virtual constructors
• Named constructors
• Virtual calls from class methods
• Unsafe types
• PChars
• Variant records

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Delphi Private Protected

• Same-unit private and protected members
  unchanged
• Protected members defined in another unit
  accessible from within the same assembly, but not
  across assembly (package) boundaries
• Delphi protected reverts to strict protected
  across assembly boundaries only methods of
  direct descendents may access strict protected
  members.

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Namespaces

• A namespace is a logical container for types to
  eliminate name collisions
• Namespaces do not have any physical manifestation
• An assembly can contribute to multiple namespaces
• Multiple assemblies can contribute to a namespace
• Example System.Windows.Forms

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Namespaces and Delphi Syntax

• Access CLR Namespaces as units
• Uses System.IO.Text, System.Web
• Delphi unit defines its own namespace
• Dotted names in unit identifiers and file names
• Enhance fully qualified identifiers
• Reserved words / keywords allowed after first
  ident
• Unicode/UTF8 identifiers will be allowed after
  first ident (not in first release)

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Namespace Search Paths

• Specify a list of prefixes to apply to used unit
  names to help bind source code to platform
  particulars
• With nsBorland.Vcl, all source references to
  Classes resolve to Borland.Vcl.Classes
• Uses Classes, Graphics, Forms, Dialogs,
  StdCtrlscompiles fine in Delphi 8 for .NET,
  with nsBorland.Vcl
• Eliminates uses clause IFDEFs required by VCL/CLX
  shared source

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Nested Types

• typeTMyClass class Fdata Integer const foo
  12 type TNestedClass class procedure
  Hello end procedure Greenend

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Using Attributes

• type FooAttribute(Hello, 23) TMyClass
  class SpecialDataAttribute Fdata
  Integer WebMethod, DebuggerStepThrough
  function SampleCount Byteend

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Declaring Custom Attributes

• typeTQuantumAttribute class(TCustomAttrib
  ute) constructor Create constructor
  Create(Name String) property Name String
  property Spin Double property Color
  TQuarkColorend

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Class Statics

• typeTMyClass class class Fdata
  Integer class property Foo String class
  procedure One class procedure Two staticend

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Multicast Events

• Multiple listeners per event
• You can only remove your own listener
• Include(), Exclude() standard procs overloaded to
  operate on events
• Traditional unicast event semantics supported
  through assignment
• Only Delphi read/write event properties
• Delphi read/write events also support add/remove
  for compatibility with CLR, but the result is
  still single assignment

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Event Sample Code

• Type
• TClickEvent procedure of object
• TFoo class private FOnClick TClickEvent
  public property OnClick TClickEvent add
  FOnClick remove FOnClick end
• Include(F.OnClick, MyObj.HandleClick)

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Value Types

• Primitive types can be boxed into object
  wrappers
• Value semantics for assignment copy
• Record types are value types in Delphi
• Records can implement interfaces
• Records can contain non-virtual methods and
  properties
• TObject(12) boxes an integer into an object
• Example TObject(x).ToString

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Operator Overloading

• Take full advantage of CLR value types

Type TQuark record private FCharge
Integer FSpin Single FColor Byte
public class operator Add(a, b TQuark)
TQuark class operator Add(a TQuark b
Byte) TQuark class operator Implicit(a
Integer) TQuark class operator Explicit(a
TQuark) Integer class operator Explicit(a
TQuark) String end
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Operator Overloading
Var q TQuark s Stringbegin q 12
// Implicit conversion from integer q q
4 // Add(TQuark, Byte)// q 4 q syntax
error no Add(Byte, TQuark) s String(q)
// Explicit(Quark) String writeln(q) //
compiler uses Explicit(Quark) Stringend.
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Operator overloading

• Operators only apply to the languages existing
  set of operators (-/div mod xor and or not shl
  shr, etc)
• No new or arbitrary funny symbols
• Explicit operators define what typecasts are
  allowed
• Implicit operators define what silent conversions
  are allowed (like byte-gtinteger)
• Only cast operators may overload by function
  result

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Class Helpers

• A class helper is a syntax trick that makes
  methods and properties appear to exist on object
  types beyond your control.
• Example Delphis traditional TObject base
  class has a Classname method. In Delphi for
  .NET, though TObject System.Object.System.Objec
  t does not implement Classname.However,
  Delphi source code can call Classname on any
  object in .NET, and get the expected result,
  without modifying the .NET object.

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Class Helpers

• Rule 1 Class Helpers are for binding the
  language and class library foundations to new
  platforms while preserving name expectations for
  existing portable code.
• Class helpers are not intended for application or
  component development.

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Class Helper Syntax

• Type
• TObjectHelper class helper for TObjectclass
  function Classname Stringend

• May Contain
• Private / Protected / Public sections
• Class methods and instance methods
• Virtual methods (which can be overridden)
• Constructors
• Class vars
• Properties
• May NOT contain instance data fields

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Unmanaged Exports

• Functions in a managed Delphi for .NET code
  assembly can be called directly by unmanaged
  Win32 x86 code with no COM interop or .NET
  awareness.

Library Foo UNSAFECODE ONfunction Hello(S
String) Double begin writeln(s) Result
Pi end Exports Hello
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High Performance Development

• Superior Web development with ASP.NET and Web
  Forms
• Develop rich client applications with Win Forms
  and VCL.NET
• Improve communication through code visualization
• Get to market faster with new timesaving IDE
  features

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DELPHI APPLICATION LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT
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Ease the Transition to .NET

• Rapidly build rich and reliable applications with
  .NET and Delphi
• Simplify the move to .NET by using your existing
  Delphi skills and assets
• Upgrade your Delphi investments with .NET

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For More Information

• http//bdn.borland.com
• http//www.borland.com
• http//www.borland.com/dotnet
• http//www.borland.com/together