Customer Reviews

Borland Delphi How-To: The Definitive Delphi Problem Solver

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once in a while you'll come across a book that you can't put down. Well, this is it. It doesn't matter if you're using Delphi 1 or Delphi 5, this book has enough tricks and how to's to pay for itself 10x over. It's well organized, concise, plenty of code snippets, and lots of working programs on the CD-Rom. If you want a fun read and like magical code, this How To book will put a smile on your face and add a shine to your programs!

Once in a while you'll stumble across a gem of a book that you can't put down. This is it! If you ever get to a point in your program that you think you need to put some pizzazz in it, this book might be just what you're looking for.

It has something for everyone. It's chaulked full of usefull tidbits that you can add to any application. I'll list a few entries from the table of contents so you know what I mean:
"Size a form's control automatically"
"Add search and replace to my editor"
"Remember the sizes and locations of my forms"
"Make the ENTER key act like the TAB key..."
"Determine system resouces and display them"
"Modify menus at run time"
"Create a readme file viewer"
"Fade one picture into another"
"Play wave and midi files"
"Make a customizable toolbar like Delphi's"

It has 103 of these "How To's" do make your application really shine. Two or three of these features would pay for the book. That's like getting the other 100 for free!

Even though this book is written for Delphi 1, the majority of these tricks will also work for Delphi 2. All of the sample code is on the CD-Rom so you can easily see it working before you install it into your application.

If you want to spruce up your application, I definitely recommend this book. You'll also improve your Delphi techniques by learning how some of these "tricks" are performed. This book is a keeper. Don't leave the bookstore without it!

Once you have been initialized into the world of Delphi, it is time to move on to the realm of developers. When that point is reached, there is no better source of educational exercises than this book. It is split into 123 different problems, each with statement, purpose, list of required GUI objects and properties; source code and complete explanation. Many of the exercises include Windows API calls, which are a must for serious developers. It is sometimes easy to forget that our programming efforts are a collaborative one with Windows. And there are times when it is best to skip the translation and go directly to the source.
Split into twelve chapters:

1. Forms,
2. Standard Components,
3. Document and Text,
4. Mouse and Menu,
5. Graphics,
6. Multimedia,
7. Environment and System,
8. Peripherals,
9. Database,
10. OLE and DDE,
11. The Polished Application, and
12. Tips and Tricks

All of the fundamentals are covered. I found it to be an excellent source of exercises for a course in Delphi. While they may not be exactly what you want, all are very easy to tweak to your tastes.
Although it is not as popular as some other tools, Delphi is an excellent developmental environmental. If you are teaching a course or just want to learn it on your own, this is a superb resource

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.