Delphi 4 Developer's Guide (Developer's Guide Series) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

~ (Author), Steve Teixeira (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This authoritative and comprehensive title covers the basics of Delphi programming in depth, while demonstrating why Delphi 4 is even more powerful than its predecessors. The text begins with a tour of Delphi 4 basics, including improvements since version 1. After observing object-oriented Pascal programming, including advanced language features, the authors turn to the strengths of using the Visual Component Library (VCL) application frameworks. They include several invaluable sections for corporate developers, including a "coding standards" document. Sections on combining VCL with ActiveX controls round out the basic tour.

Advanced topics include graphics programming, building dynamic link-libraries (DLLs), printing, and multithreading. A rich tour of VCL components, including instructions on how to create custom components, and ActiveX internals follows.

The rest of the book examines strategies for creating applications, from traditional two-tiered, client/server database applications to applications that use the Internet to deliver HTML on the fly using server-side Delphi objects. Finally, the authors look at n-tiered applications that make use of Delphi's powerful MIDAS architecture for distributed computing. --Richard Dragan

Product Description

The Delphi 4 Developer's Guide is an advanced-level reference showing developers what they need to know most about Delphi 4. The authors deal with developers every day and offer sound skills, advice, and technical knowledge on the most advanced features of Delphi 4. Topics will include: Advanced level components including embedded links, special features and DLLs including creating your own Visual Component Libraries, Advanced OOP and object Pascal. It discusses issues about application design and frameworks concepts for client/server, enterprise and desktop level database apps, along with Delphi's Multi-tier Distributed Applications Services Suite (MIDAS) and how it works with Delphi.

• The most advanced developers' technical reference on Delphi 4
• Steve Teixeira and Xavier Pacheco are the award-winning authors of the Delphi 2 Developer's Guide and key members of Borland's Delphi development team
• The latest information on the best ways to build efficient, usable applications with Delphi 4 including Borland's new enterprise featurse, cross-component compatability, and Internet enabling capabilities
• CD-ROM contains all the author's source code plus an additional 500 pages of text that covers graphics programming, extending the Windows shell, using ActiveX controls with Delphi, printing, multimedia programming, and much more!

Product Details

• Paperback: 1185 pages
• Publisher: Sams (August 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672312840
• ISBN-13: 978-0672312847
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,071,623 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars database developers should read this book, August 13, 1999

By A Customer

There is enough material for teaching c/s, tiered applications, sql information and many titles that imply database developing. Sure there are lots of things for non-database developing...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Please try harder, August 20, 2000

By	Isaac Rabinovitch (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it does provide a lot of material(ActiveX, OpenTools, MIDAS) that doesn't seem to be concentrated in any single book. On the other hand, the book is not well thought out, the writing is dreadful, and a good chunk of the material is rehashed from the book that comes with the product.

If you want to buy just one Delphi book, and need to know about a lot of different topics, this *might* be the one for you. But don't use this book to learn Object Pascal. (Use the Delphi 5 help file and/or Ray Lischner's "Delphi in a Nutshell".) Don't rely on it for basic Win32 concepts. (There are many C-oriented books on this subject, and reading them with a Pascal eye is good practice.) Do buy this book if you want to explore a lot of different Delphi topics.

A note on the text. Out of 37 chapters and appendixes, 13 are supplied only as PDF files on the CD/ROM! On the other hand, many, many source code examples (I haven't the heart to count them) that *should* have been on the CD/ROM only, are in the hard-copy text!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST, August 6, 1999

By A Customer

This is the best book out there on Delphi 4. Delphi has always been my favorite development environment, it is better and more powerful than Visual Basic 6 (Though I use both and VC++ 6). If you are a total beginner then you should think of getting "Teach Yourself Delphi 4 in 21 days" simultaneously along with this book. I was able to create moderate Delphi apps within two months of doing so. Delphi has a steeper learning curve as compared to Visual Basic but it's worth it...

Khurram Zaveri