When last we met[1], I was reminiscing about my reunion with the very first release of Delphi. I still get a thrill running "delphi.exe" and watching it just instantly appear.
Of course time marches on, and today I’m sad to report that my old pal no longer runs on my current Windows 7 x64 development platform. 
But that’s OK, because with a few registry tweaks and a couple of command line switches, I’ve now got the new Delphi 2010 popping onscreen and running those same little apps and he’s every bit as snappy as his 16 bit ancestor.
Here is a quick little video of Delphi 1 running the "Hello World" app and Delphi 2010 doing a fantastic impersonation:
Delphi 1 Demo
While writing this post, I was listening to the 10th anniversary interview with Anders Hjelsberg and Gary Whizin talking about the creation of Delphi. Great stuff, and check out the launch demos and scripts from Anders while you are at it. The DBBROWSE.DPR project still runs and works with no changes in Delphi 2010!
I definitely feel very honored to have the opportunity to work on a product with a legacy like Delphi. In an industry whose only constant seems to be rapidly changing technology, it’s a very rare privilege to get to work with a product that has enjoyed such a rich, long life. I’m especially grateful for the loyal user base who has kept us going for all these years. Delphi is a great product, but it would be nothing without the fantastic community that has sprung up around it.
The launch of Delphi 1 was a exceptionally fun, once in a lifetime, experience — I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything –but I do believe that the best is still yet to come for Delphi! Thanks everyone for being a part of it.
And for your parting gift, and reading this far down, here’s a picture of the back of the original Delphi 1 Client/Server box…
Delphi Client/Server Product Box Back
[1] Yeah, yeah, I know it’s been awhile, but really, the rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I’ve found my blogging quill in the back of the my desk drawer so I promise not wait quite so long before my next blog post.
{ 7 } Comments
Thanks buddy for this nice memoirs!
Thanks buddy for these nice memoirs! And Delphi 2 was even cooler, I remembers
Thanks buddy for these nice memoirs! And Delphi 2 was even cooler, I remember those times
Glad to hear from you
Great memories indeed !
Keep on working hard on Delphi.
We have 20 year old machines being driven by Win 3.11 - unfortunately I misplaced my D1Pro CD.
Where can one get old Dephi versions? I am even prepared to buy it again.
D1Pro?!? I meant Client/Server.
Thanx for bringing back the memories of D1. I do remember working with the 16Bit IDE back in 1996. Is there any place Embarcadero is making them available as archive download??
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