• VCL Subscription;
• ExpressGridPack;
• ExpressQuantumPack;
• ExpressNavigationPack.

DevExpress customers can find the "What’s New" in this release at http://www.devexpress.com/Support/WhatsNew/VCL/files/12.2.6.xml

Thank you, DevExpress, for updating your components to XE4 and your continued support of our customers and products.

Share This | Email this page to a friend

Developer Direct: Registration for London, Franfurt/Paris and Moscow (English)
Register for this series at http://forms.embarcadero.com/forms/EM13Q2ENWebinarDeveloperDirect

• 10:00 - London
• 11:00 - Frankurt / Paris
• 13:00 - Moscow
• 14:30 - Mumbai/Bangalore

Developer Direct: Registration for Moscow (Russian)
Register for this series at http://forms.embarcadero.com/forms/EM13Q2RUWebinarDeveloperDirect

• 12:00 - Moscow

Developer Direct: Registration US/Canada
Register for this series at http://forms.embarcadero.com/forms/AMUSCA13Q2DeveloperDirect

• 7:00am - Honolulu, Hilo, Kailua Kona
• 8:00am - Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau
• 10:00am - San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Phoenix
• 11:00am - Denver, Calgary, Edmonton
• 12:00pm - Chicago, Dallas, Houston
• 1:00pm - New York, Washington DC, Toronto, Montreal
• 2:00pm - Halifax

If you missed any of the US/Canada episodes, you can catch up by watching the replays:

• Episode 1 - Welcome to the new Season, news, RAD iOS App Dev Now!!! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3NOvaDsVlg
• Episode 2 - The Multi-Device Enterprise (Using Enterprise Data in Your Mobile Strategy) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkgOtVevk6k
• Episode 3 - From Desktop to Multi-Device User Experience and Beyond - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjIFkiYu3q4
• Episode 4 - What’s True Native and Why Does True Native Matter? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OZ_Me0EFQA

You can join the chat on Twitter at www.twitter.com/embtddirect and add #embtdd or simply email the team directly anytime at developerdirect.online@embarcadero.com.

Share This | Email this page to a friend

Delphi XE4 for iOS application development is part of our third generation of development for FMX.  FM3 contains 3 years of continuous development with refactorings, improvements, enhancements and new innovations.  iOS programming with FireMonkey 3 takes developers way beyond what was available in FireMonkey 1 with multi-device (Windows, Mac and iOS) capabilities including:

• Multimedia - audio and video playing and capturing
• Layout Management - Layout, GridLayout, FlowLayout
• Anchors
• Touch and Gestures
• Actions
• Form Families (for desktop, iPhone and iPad form factors)
• Faster and more GPU utilization
• Native Bitmap pixel formats (raw data can still be accessed)
• Platform, Device and Sensor Services - and you can create your own custom services
• Device/Sensor components - Location, Motion, Orientation, Camera (front, back, flash), Web Browser
• Native and Custom Styling
• KeyboardType property
• Native Controls - message alerts, custom pickers, date picker, cut/copy/paste
• Notifications
• ListBox and ListView
• and more

Do we cross compile to Objective-C and compile for iOS?  No, we have native code optimizing Delphi compilers for Win32, Win64, OSX, iOS_Intel_Simulator and iOS_ARM_Device (5 compilers integrated into the IDE and also available as command line compilers).  Take a look at the following two bitmaps taken from a debug session in the XE4 IDE.  You will see the a simple iOS app with a button and onClick event handler.  The app is stopped at a breakpoint.  The two CPU Viewers show Intel machine code (iOS Simulator target) and ARM machine code (iOS Device target) compiled by the Delphi compilers. (Note: click on each image to see a larger version of each bitmap)

Why do you need a Mac and Xcode to be able to build iOS Device applications?  To build OSX and iOS apps we need to leverage the Apple header files, libraries and debugging information available only on a Mac.  We also need to use a couple of the Apple command line tools that are part of Xcode to SandBox and CodeSign your application for deployment from our Windows IDE to your iOS device and to the Apple iOS app store. One XE4 IDE, one workflow, one designer is all you need (you don’t have to worry about multiple IDEs, project conversions, etc).  Install the Platform Assistant (PAServer) on your Mac, connect your iOS device to the Mac and let the Delphi IDE do the magic.  If you don’t have a Mac, you can always "rent" one in the cloud at, for example, MacInCloud (http://www.macincloud.com/) or buddy up with friend or neighbor that has a Mac.  You can also pick up a used iMac or MacMini for under $300 (just make sure they are capable of running OSX Lion or Mountain Lion releases).

There’s lots more happening inside Embarcadero for future releases of FireMonkey and also to support Android and other devices.  Have you ever built a location sensor based Browser app for an iOS device?  Watch the very short video at http://www.youtube.com/embed/NOYhf1h83Zs.  You can build this app using Delphi XE4 and FireMonkey 3 using three components (TSwitch, TLocationSensor and TWebBrowser) and two lines of code:

procedure TLocationForm.LocationSensor1LocationChanged(
  Sender: TObject;
  const OldLocation, NewLocation: TLocationCoord2D);
begin
  { Pass the Latitude and Longitude to Google Maps }
  WebBrowser1.Navigate(
    Format('https://maps.google.com/maps?q=%s,%s&output=embed',
      [NewLocation.Latitude.ToString, NewLocation.Longitude.ToString]
    )
  );
end;
procedure TLocationForm.swLocationSensorActiveSwitch(Sender: TObject);
begin
  { activate or deactivate the location sensor }
  LocationSensor1.Active := swLocationSensorActive.IsChecked;
end;

You can get started today with XE4 and FireMonkey 3!  The free trial download is available at http://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi/downloads

Share This | Email this page to a friend

Here are the steps and information that will show you how to build a multi-device, multi-tier, master detail C++ database application. This brief exercise will show you how to get started creating your customer and orders C++ application that will run on Windows and Mac.

1. Building your first C++Builder Multi-Device Application starts with creating a FireMonkey desktop project for Windows 32. From there you can add Windows 64 and Mac OSX additional platform targets.

Watch the video, “Your first C++ App for Win32, Win64 and OSX”, where you will learn how to create a simple FireMonkey application and compile and run it on Windows and Macintosh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVkv8ROW2xk

2. C++Builder XE4 includes support for building 64-bit Windows applications. The 64-bit compiler also supports the new ISO C++11 language standard, standard libraries and latest Boost libraries.

Watch the C++Builder video, “C++11 applications using the C++Builder 64-bit compiler” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1syKYgDIN9E

3. To learn how to create and work with C++Builder’s SQL and database access components in a Master-Detail relationships, read the Embarcadero DocWiki articles at

• http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/Creating_Master-Detail_Relationships
• http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/Establishing_Master-detail_Relationships_Using_Parameters

4. Building your first Master Detail C++ database application – watch the short video that shows you how to build a C++ master details database application that uses InterBase ToGo Edition (InterBase SQL server in a DLL/Dylib) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOJXDnNFl-A

5. To understand how to build C++ multi-tier applications read the DataSnap overview articles on the Embarcadero DocWiki at

• http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/DataSnap_Overview_and_Architecture
• http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/Developing_DataSnap_Applications

6. Building your first C++ multi-tier application – watch the short video that shows you how to build your first C++ DataSnap based multi-tier application at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8j39gGxGwc

7. Watch how easy it is to build a C++ multi-tier, multi-device master/detail customer and orders database application – you will find the short video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3J_XMT2wzU

8. After watching the videos, download the free C++Builder XE4 trial, install and set up your C++ multi-device development environment. Setting up the C++Builder to support multi-device application development involves setting up the IDE on Windows and installing the Platform Assistant Server on a Mac OSX target computer.

Read the Embarcadero DocWiki “FireMonkey Quick Start Guide - Set Up Your Development Environment” section at http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/FireMonkey_Quick_Start_Guide_-_Set_Up_Your_Development_Environment

Then go back to the C++ multi-tier, multi-device video in Step 7 and follow the steps in the IDE to create your own master/detail customer and orders database.

9. There are several ways to create mobile client applications that talk to your database and business logic tiers:

• Delphi XE4 iOS application development with DataSnap: read the Embarcadero DocWiki article, "Connecting to an Enterprise Database from an iOS Client Application" at http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE4/en/IOS_Tutorial:_Connecting_to_an_Enterprise_Database_from_an_iOS_Client_Application
• DataSnap Mobile Connectors: Read the Embarcadero DocWiki article, “Getting Started with DataSnap Mobile Connectors” at http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE4/en/Getting_Started_with_DataSnap_Mobile_Connectors for a quick overview.
• Explore using HTML5 Builder to build mobile client applications using HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript that work with your C++ middle tier business logic by watching the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRsQQou_U9w

Your Next Step?

BUY NOW ONLINE - https://store.embarcadero.com/542/purl-cbanner

BUY FROM A PARTNER - http://www.embarcadero.com/business-partner-directory

CONTACT EMBARCADERO WORLDWIDE – http://www.embarcadero.com/company/contact-us

Share This | Email this page to a friend

We are totally committed to continued mobile support for iOS and Android in our Delphi, C++Builder, HTML5 Builder, InterBase and RAD Studio products.  We’ve started with the release of Delphi for iOS last month.  You can start your multi-device journey today and keep on truckin’ with us for the months and years to ahead.

You can find the online version of the newspaper article at http://theraconteur.co.uk/going-mobile-is-the-way-ahead/.

The infographic results are included in the bitmap below.  You can clock on the image to see a larger version.

Come join the fun!

Share This | Email this page to a friend

1. Building your first C++Builder Multi-Device Application starts with creating a FireMonkey desktop project for Windows 32. From there you can add Windows 64 and Mac OSX additional platform targets.

Watch the video, “Your first C++ App for Win32, Win64 and OSX”, where you will learn how to create a simple FireMonkey application and compile and run it on Windows and Macintosh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVkv8ROW2xk

2. C++Builder includes support for building 64-bit Windows applications. The 64-bit compiler also supports the new ISO C++11 language standard, standard libraries and latest Boost libraries.

Watch the C++Builder video, “C++11 applications using the C++Builder 64-bit compiler” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1syKYgDIN9E

3. After watching the videos , download the C++Builder free trial, install and set up your C++ multi-device development environment. Setting up the C++Builder to support multi-device application development involves setting up the IDE on Windows and installing the Platform Assistant Server on a Mac OSX target computer.

Read the Embarcadero DocWiki “FireMonkey Quick Start Guide - Set Up Your Development Environment” section at http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE4/en/FireMonkey_Quick_Start_Guide_-_Set_Up_Your_Development_Environment

4. After you have set up your development environment, you can use the IDE to create you first C++ Multi-Device Windows and Mac application by using the File | New | FireMonkey Desktop Application – C++Builder project wizard. You will choose the “HD FireMonkey Application” option in the wizard. This will create the starting source files, project file and allow you to create your first application.

Follow the Tutorial steps on the Embarcadero Docwiki to “Creating Your First FireMonkey Application for Desktop Platforms (C++)” at http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE4/en/Creating_Your_First_FireMonkey_Application_for_Desktop_Platforms_(C%2B%2B)

5. To learn more about C++Builder and get answers to common technical questions, check out answers to C++Builder Frequently Asked Questions “technical questions” section at
http://www.embarcadero.com/products/cbuilder/faq

6. If you want to watch additional short C++ application development videos, you will find 31 videos at http://www.embarcadero.com/products/cbuilder/how-to-create-software-applications.

Your Next Step?

BUY NOW ONLINE - https://store.embarcadero.com/542/purl-cbanner

BUY FROM A PARTNER - http://www.embarcadero.com/business-partner-directory

CONTACT EMBARCADERO WORLDWIDE – http://www.embarcadero.com/company/contact-us

Share This | Email this page to a friend

Some of the topics that the developers learned included:

• Starting with pre-built project templates for common iOS apps
• Using Layouts, Anchors and Alignment to ensure that your apps look great on iPhone (3GS and later), iPad (all iPads and iPad Mini) and iPod Touch (Fourth Generation and later) devices.
• Creating Form Families - Loads the correct form depending on the target device when developing different forms for iPhone vs iPad/Landscape vs Portrait
• Seeing how FireMonkey for iOS uses native iOS controls and APIs for message alerts, custom pickers (ComboBox), date picker (TCalendarEdit), virtual keyboards (default, alphabet, email address, name phone pad, number pad, numbers and punctuation, phone pad, and URL).
• Achieve warp speed app development using gestures, extended actions and components (TCameraComponent, TLocationSensor, TMotionSensor, TOrientationSensor, TWebBrowser, TeeChart and Indy components) and platform services.
• Connect to local and remote databases, datasets, data sources, XML and DataSnap servers.
• And much, much more

Share This | Email this page to a friend

Multi-Device, True Native C++ Apps

C++ developers are under pressure to deliver apps to their users and customers can use on multiple platforms, but coding and managing these different versions can be costly and time-consuming.  Multi-device app development allows you to use one development project, one tool chain, and one codebase to deliver your app natively on multiple platforms (Windows and Mac).

C++ language extensions support on-device rapid prototyping

As I detailed in my December 2012 "Migrating C++Builder Code to 64-bits" blog post, we have used C++’s standard extension syntax to support multi-device, true native C++ and on-device rapid prototyping.  You can find the list of extensions in my blog at http://blogs.embarcadero.com/davidi/2012/12/14/42144.

On-device rapid prototyping is facilitated in the FireMonkey business application platform, the IDE’s visual designer and the component architecture.  Three langauge extensions support the component model and RTL:

• __property - The __property keyword was added to support the VCL and FireMonkey (FMX) class properties. The __property keyword declares an attribute of a class. Properties appear to the programmer just like any other attribute (field) of a class. However, like its Object Pascal counterpart, C++ Builder’s __property keyword adds significantly more functionality beyond just examining and changing the value of the attribute. Since property attributes completely control access to the property, there are no restrictions on how you implement the property within the class itself. http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/Property and http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/C%2B%2B_Keyword_Extensions#_property
• __published – The __published keyword was added to support the VCL and FireMonkey (FMX) frameworks. This public member access specifier is similar to the public specifier, but __published has compiler-generated RTTI (run-time type identification) attached. This means the __published properties appear in the IDE’s Object Inspector View at design time. The __published keyword specifies that properties in that section are displayed in the Object Inspector, if the class is on the Component palette. Only classes derived from TObject can have __published sections.  The visibility rules for published members are identical to those of public members. The only difference between published and public members is that Object Pascal-style run-time type information (RTTI) is generated for data members and properties declared in a __published section. RTTI enables an application to dynamically query the data members, member functions, and properties of an otherwise unknown class type. http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/Published.
• __closure - There are two kinds of function pointers that can be used in C++. The first is a simple pointer to a global function (not a member of a class). When dealing with class member functions, a simple pointer to a method is not sufficient to make a call. Instead, two pointers are required: one for the originating object and the second for the method address.  All VCL and FireMonkey (FMX) component events are declared as closures, in order to allow methods of a class to be called when the event is fired. The following code is an excerpt from the Classes.hpp header, showing the declaration of the TNotifyEvent, used in many events in VCL and FMX (e.g. OnClick).  http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/Closure and http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/XE3/en/C%2B%2B_Keyword_Extensions#_closure

Why is C++Builder the best approach for multi-device development?

Most C++ development solutions do not support the creation of apps for Mac, Windows and Windows tablets all from a single codebase. As a result, development teams not using C++Builder often have to support multiple development projects using different tools, programming languages, codebases, and sometimes different teams to deliver their app on multiple devices.

What are “true native” apps, and why should you care?

True native app development lets you deliver script-free, device-native apps that expose the full range of capabilities and performance in the underlying devices – for faster, richer apps that end users love.  Many tool vendors are using the term “native” app development to describe web technologies and scripts wrapped into an app package to deliver an app-like user experience. This approach can impose limits on app performance and capabilities.

True native apps in C++Builder are script-free and run directly on hardware CPU and GPU delivering the following advantages:

• Fast – Uncompromised native device performance with full native API and CPU control when you need it, and not limited by or slowed by script interpreters and virtual machines.
• Predictable – Apps run directly on the device CPU, as intended by the device vendors, and are not slowed by additional software layers and processes, such as random garbage collection.
• Better User Experience (UX) – Apps take full advantage of device capabilities and performance.

C++ multi-device, true native and on-device rapid prototyping in action

There are several ways to see the power and productivity of multi-device, true native and on-device rapid prototyping in action.

• Watch my 31 C++ videos at http://www.embarcadero.com/products/cbuilder/how-to-create-software-applications
• Watch the CodeRage 7 C++ virtual conference session replays at http://www.embarcadero.com/coderage/coderage-7-c-sessions
• Watch my on-demand "C++ in the Multi-Device Enterprise" webinar replay at http://forms.embarcadero.com/forms/AMUSCA1303CMulti-deviceWebinar3-26
• Download the C++Builder XE4 free trial at http://www.embarcadero.com/products/cbuilder/downloads

You are engineering the apps of the future enterprise.  C++Builder is the starship that gives you all she’s got!

Share This | Email this page to a friend

You can download the free trials of our latest developer tools at:

• http://www.embarcadero.com/products/rad-studio/downloads
• http://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi/downloads
• http://www.embarcadero.com/products/cbuilder/downloads
• http://www.embarcadero.com/products/firemonkey/downloads
• https://downloads.embarcadero.com/free/html5builder
• http://www.embarcadero.com/products/interbase/downloads

Instant Trial Beta Information and FAQ

We’re offering a new trial option for Delphi XE4, C++Builder XE4 and RAD Studio XE4 called the Instant Trial. You use the new Instant Trial by going to the RAD Studio XE4 Downloads Delphi XE4 Downloads, C++Builder XE4 Downloads pages and clicking the Instant Trial button.

Read more about the Instant Trial beta at http://edn.embarcadero.com/article/43067

RAD Studio XE4 Press Release

Read the press release from this morning’s product releases at http://edn.embarcadero.com/article/43058

RAD Studio XE4 Software License and Support Terms (EULA)

As we have done in the past, we have posted the RAD Studio XE at http://edn.embarcadero.com/article/43066

RAD Studio, Delphi and C++Builder XE4 customer reported issues fix list

The list of customer reported issues that are fixed in RAD Studio XE4 (Delphi XE4 and C++Builder XE4) has been posted to EDN. The release also includes fixes to issues identified by the product QA team that aren’t listed here. You can look up additional details on some of the fixes by going to Quality Central, typing the report number into the search field in the right column, and clicking the Go to Report button. Some items that were reported during the beta test period are only accessible to beta testers. The list is published on EDN at http://edn.embarcadero.com/article/43068

Delphi Language for Mobile Development by Marco Cantu

This document is an introduction to changes in the “Mobile” version of Delphi and the new Delphi ARM compiler. The focus of this document is to highlight the language changes and techniques that can be used to port existing code and to maintain backwards compatibility,  Download the PDF file at http://www.embarcadero.com/resources/white-papers?download=102

IBLite - embeddable SQL database for iOS

IBLite is a freely deployable, embeddable database for iOS that runs in a stand-alone environment and enables deployment of apps which directly utilize the InterBase engine. IBLite is available exclusively with RAD Studio XE4 (all editions) and Delphi XE4 (Professional with Mobile and above).

Start Building Now!

Take the next step in the evolution of multi-device, true native code, on-device prototyping app development with RAD Studio XE4. Start building now.

Learn all about XE4 at the RAD Studio XE4 Launch Webinar - Wednesday, April 24

• 6:00AM PDT / 9:00AM EDT / 13:00 UTC
• 11:00AM PDT / 2:00PM EDT / 18:00 UTC
• 5:00PM PDT / 8:00PM EDT / 11:00AM 25-Apr Australia EDT

During the webinar you will learn:

• How multi-device app development with RAD Studio can expand the capabilities and efficiency of your development team
• How to use RAD Studio XE4 to create true native Delphi applications for iOS devices
• Accessing and integrating iOS sensors and services
• Working with local databases and enterprise data
• Pricing and availability of RAD Studio XE4

Register for the webinar at:

http://forms.embarcadero.com/forms/AMUSCA1304RADStudioLaunchWeb4-24

Share This | Email this page to a friend

Our work continues to focus on the developer.  As we have done for years, we continue to add capabilities to our releases to help developers quickly create working on-device rapid prototypes with live and simulated data that can be deployed to the actual target devices.  I remember one of the first Delphi ads we ran years ago that is still true today.  The ad told developers that Delphi was the fastest way from inspiration to application and the quickest way to move from prototype to production:

App Store Downloads and Developer Revenues

Canalys reported (on April 8, 2013) that in Q1 2013, as compared to Q4 2012, there was an "11% quarterly growth in downloads for leading app stores" and also said "Together, the four leading stores hit 13.4 billion downloads, with revenue of $2.2 billion".

A CNN/Money article (on April 8, 2013) talking about the Canalys report, has the headline "Google captured 51% of app downloads in Q1. Apple took 74% of the revenue."

This continuing revenue share for mobile app development is a big reason why a great majority of developers build their apps for iOS first.

Join us for the RAD Studio XE4 Product Announcement Webinar

Companies are under pressure to deliver apps that their customers can use in the office and on the road, but coding and managing these different versions can be costly and time-consuming.  RAD Studio XE4 is the app development suite for companies who need to create true native apps for PCs, tablets, and smartphones and get them to market fast.  With RAD Studio, you manage one codebase, one team, and one schedule, but support multiple platforms without sacrificing performance.  True native apps run directly on the device with full access to all underlying capabilities, tighter security, and a better user experience.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

6:00AM PDT / 9:00AM EDT / 13:00 UTC
11:00AM PDT / 2:00PM EDT / 18:00 UTC
5:00PM PDT / 8:00PM EDT / 11:00AM 25-Apr Australia EDT

Register now at http://forms.embarcadero.com/forms/AMUSCA1304RADStudioLaunchWeb4-24

Share This | Email this page to a friend