Customer Reviews

Delphi in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you frequent the many Delphi newsgroups and programming lists available to all via the Web as I do, you'll note one question in particular that gets asked time and time again. "Can you please advise as to a good Delphi book?" It's a question that comes in many flavors, depending of course upon the proficiency of the writer, but unfortunately is rarely answered sufficiently. Not that there aren't quite a few high-quality books being published on the subject. There are! But like so many informational resources today, these books are usually written in devotion to one or two particular areas of Delphi interest or endeavor! Great for those who already command the language and need to explore in more detail their current needs. And of course there are a few beginner's books to be found, but these seem to mostly rehash simple descriptions of the VCL components, or take the reader on an example-filled journey through basic programming situations without considering the basic information necessary to satisfying the beginner's need to know why! "Delphi in a Nutshell" is the first and ONLY manual on the Delphi programming system that blends a complete overview of the subject with the kind of nuts and bolts information that every programmer, regardless of skill level, needs available every single day! Starting with a very precise look at what a Delphi project is, how it is managed, and the many files that make it up, Lischner continues ferociously into Types, Arrays, Methods, Exception handling, pointers, and just about every conditional need a programmer might come up against! A whole chapter is devoted to the Delphi Object Model, another on Runtime Type Information, and yet another on Threads called "Concurrent Programming"...three subjects sorely under documented over the years. And broaching topics I've not read more than a few paragraphs about elsewhere, the author considers Delphi's command-line tools in detail, explaining what they're for, when to use them, and providing a complete list and definition of every parameter! Finally, the SysUtils unit is broken down in it's entirety, providing not just a brief overview, but a complete listing and explanation of every procedure, function, and constant it provides us, broken down by use in such a way that makes Delphi's own help files on the subject seem amateurish by comparison! The discussion on it's Error-handling hierarchy alone is worth the price of this book. Never before reading this had I really grasped the elegant way Delphi provides for this practical need! Saving the best for last, the largest chapter in this book is called, "Language Reference". Stuck right in the middle, making it easy to get to with the thumb and forefinger, Lischner has documented for us EVERY keyword, directive, function, procedure, variable, class, method, and property that Delphi's version of Pascal provides for us! And these aren't the simple descriptions we're used to dealing with, but detailed explanations of their use, including return values, parameters, and even error conditions. In fact, in the final pages of this chapter he offers a complete list of all the runtime exceptions, their codes, and the exception classes that handle them! Delphi coders have been waiting for this since version one, and it's inclusion here has guaranteed a place for this book on my desk! To be fair, I do have two complaints about this book. First, and as it seems to be with all great reference works, it simply isn't big enough! And I'd like to see the author expand his expertise into other, equally important aspects of Delphi, and programming in general. And second, books such as this, which will undoubtedly be handled on a daily basis, should be bound in a manner that meets this need. This one isn't, and I'm sad to say that after only two nights of reading, I'm already forced to tape the pages back in place! Even at the expense it would cause, I'd lie to see this and other references bound in spiral notebooks, or even offered as unbound, punched pages which could then be placed in readily available loose-leaf binders. If there is, and I certainly hope to see one, a second edition of this book, PLEASE bind it properly! In closing, I just want to say that I own quite a few really great Delphi books, all of them being well used as a reference during my programming excursions, but "Delphi in a Nutshell" is the FIRST one that I have actually read cover to cover! Besides it's necessary factual information, it includes a plethora of tips, warnings, and other practical considerations that could only come from someone who has spent more time actually working with Delphi than most of us could ever attest to. And is written by someone who is so conversant in the language as to make even the most complicated subjects easy to understand and follow! Lischner is to be applauded for not only providing us with an invaluable reference work, but also with a pleasurable reading experience that meets and then surpasses all competitors. For once you can believe what it says on the back cover. ""Delphi in a Nutshell" is the ONE indispensable reference for Delphi programmers!"!

"Delphi in a Nutshell" isn't just another ordinary Delphi book. Once again Ray has manage to take on topics that are unique and not covered in any detail if at all by other authors. The chapters on RTTI and the Delphi object model alone are well worth the price. This goes onto my short list of "must have" Delphi books for any serious program (Ray actually now has 3 of the 5). Good work Ray.

This is a book about Object Pascal the language, something that is long overdue. The Delphi IDE is way cool and I love using it, but the language is what makes the tool worthwhile. When I solve a work problem I do it in the language. The IDE is just a pleasant place to get the work done.

This is a reference manual not a textbook. The author's style is simple and to the point. There are no silly embellishments that get in the way of the information. However, I did read the book from cover to cover and that introduced me to several new Delphi features that I haven't explored before. Now it sits on my desk and gets picked up when I have a problem.

I hope this book is the start of a trend; Delphi books that are about just part of the product. There aren't many books on the Delphi section of the shelf (even at Amazon) and unfortunately way too many of those have a distressing sameness. Part one covers the neat stuff you can do by dropping components on a form (Delphi as Visual Basic) and part two drives off into database programming (Delphi as Cobol). That was fine the first couple of times I read it, but my user interfaces are very simple (usually just one form) and I don't do database programming. My work tends to be mathematical. There have been no books on mathematical simulations in Delphi, but I can tell you it works very well for that job (yes I admit it, Delphi as Fortran).

There is a practical problem with this book. The cover fell off the second day I had it. That's a shame, because the picture of the Lynx is very nice.

I am a novice at object-oriented languages and I'm learning to use Delphi. I recommend this book because it delivers something not found in the the other books out there - a reference to the base language that is up-to-date! The bulk of the book is the language reference section. There are a few other chapters that are masterly-written in a style (reminiscent of Kernnigan & Richie of C-language fame). The author knows his subject deeply his writing is commensurate with this knowledge. I think the short chapters on the Delphi language and the Object model are worth the meagre price of the book alone. I only wish that Lischner would take the time to write a separate Delphi overview covering the VCL - we would all learn a lot!

Don't be discouraged by warnings about the poor binding - I used a glue-stick to put it back together several months ago and it is doing just fine!

I love ORielly reference books, this follows the pattern of most of them, however I was not able to use it to pick up and learn Delphi, as I wanted to. This is not for the beginner, but I have a feeling it will be a useful reference later.

I am using this book a lot. I like the reference style info together with examples. It contains much of what I've always wanted to really understand (memory management, RTTI, interfaces). Great job.

Other reviewers have adequately covered the positive aspects of this book -- with which I largely concur -- but I encountered some annoyances with its organization. Lischner has separate sections for the language reference and the many useful functions in the SysUtils unit. To a programmer, this distinction means very little, and I'd much rather see the two combined into a single reference. He compounds this problem by organizing the two chapters in very different ways. The first is alphabetical -- the second divides functions into logical groups. These groups aren't listed in the Contents, and functions in the SysUtils chapter don't even make it into the index! Cross-references are also inconsistent. For example, the SetCurrentDir function in SysUtils rightfully mentions that it is an alternative to ChDir in the language section; but ChDir doesn't make the complementary reference. Bottom line: this book does little to help those programmers who find themselves writing their own functions, only to discover later that they are provided in SysUtils.

One of the drawbacks to the two most recommended books for Delphi, Mastering Delphi and Delphi Developer's Handbook, is that they encompass so much that it can be hard to know where to start.

Delphi in a Nutshell is highly focused. You read a section, read it again because you *want* to make sure you are understanding what this guy has to say and then move on to the next topic.

I always like the O'Reilly press books because of their high value for the price and this book is yet another fine example of O'Reilly's commitment to excellence. Of course, that darn binding came free the first day and I wasn't happy about that, but I'd buy this at twice the price if they'd do it with a spiral binding as one of the other reviewers suggested.

Buy it, you won't regret it.

If I were going to be shipwrecked on a dessert island and could keep only one Delphi book, this is the one that I would choose. "Delphi in a Nutshell" contains easy to find information on all of the most important features of Object Paschal. The explanations are concise and to the point. Examples are helpful. This book has done more to increase my productivity than any other Delphi Book. It is perhaps not the best recommendation for those new to Delphi and the IDE, but all Delphi programmers will benefit from it. Kudos to Lischner.

This book is a fair reference for the intermediate programmer. However, it stops at Delphi 5, so it's use for those using later versions of Delphi will find a lot missing. The book is organized fairly well and it is easy to find answers to questions that are pertinent up through Delphi 5. It does have some tutorial content, but that is limited and for those seeking programming with Delphi education would be better off with other books. This book is best used as a supplement to an instructional book, like the Cantu books.