Delphi is one of the programming world’s legendary languages, a cornerstone of the history of software development. New languages have come to the fore as new platforms and frameworks have emerged, but Delphi has stood its ground as development trends came and went because of its reliability and efficacy as a development path.
What’s more, over time Delphi has not only not faded into the annals of history, it has evolved and expanded its capabilities, features and libraries on pace with the growing sophistication and needs of contemporary software solutions. Delphi has remained highly relevant throughout the 26 years since its inception, and today offers a unique and highly attractive proposition that combines multi-platform native capability, low-code high-productivity development, and integration with other languages (with C++ through C++Builder, with Python through Python4Delphi).
And with Microsoft’s return to native as the preferred option for Windows app development, there are many reasons why it’s great to be a Delphi developer in 2021-2022. Here are the five most important reasons:
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1. Delphi is The Best Available Framework for Native Windows Development
As Embarcadero Product Manager Marco Cantu points out in his recent blog post, native Windows development is poised to return to the forefront after Microsoft’s decision to move away from UWP.
Microsoft’s recent official deprecation of UWP, which originally replaced .NET alongside the release of Windows 8, indicates that native is once again the focus for application development.
And it just so happens that Delphi and RAD Studio are positioned as the best available frameworks for native Windows development.
For more information read Marco Cantu’s detailed blog post on this important decision from Microsoft.
2. Delphi Has a Big Community of Fans and Highly Loyal Following
Millions of developers around the world were introduced to programming through Delphi and Object Pascal, and many remain deeply loyal to it. There are also large local and international online communities for Delphi developers and fans.
Every year Delphi developers get together for the annual online conference DelphiCon, to discuss the latest in, on and around Delphi.
DelphiCon 2021 is scheduled to take place November 16th to 18th. Themes include blockchain, artificial intelligence, tools and APIs, low-code, VCL, components, libraries, and developer productivity.
DelphiCon 2021 is open and registration is free. Sign up here: DelphiCon2021
3. Delphi is Super-Easy to Learn And Use
Delphi is known as a very easy language to learn and use. Developers new to Delphi also have access to extensive free learning resources, including free courses and content on LearnDelphi.org, and on the Embarcadero Channel on YouTube.
LearnDelphi.org
Embarcadero YouTube Channel
4. The Full-Featured Delphi Community Edition is Available For Free
Not only is Delphi super-easy to learn, developers new to Delphi can download the full-featured Community Edition to work with Delphi completely free forever. They can move to a paid version only after crossing a set revenue threshold.
Delphi Community Edition is a full-featured IDE for building iOS, Android, Windows and macOS apps from a single Delphi codebase.
Delphi Community Edition includes a code editor, powerful debugging tools, built-in access to popular local databases with live data at design time, Bluetooth capabilities, and a visual UI designer with support for pixel perfect, platform-specific styling.
Delphi Community Edition is ideal for learners, independent developers and small teams looking to get started with development, and for startups looking to bootstrap.
Get the Delphi Community Edition here:
5. Developers Can Try Delphi 11 Free For 30 Days
The Professional, Enterprise or Architect editions of Delphi are available to professional developers for a 30-day free trial.
And with the recent release of Delphi 11, Embarcadero has set a new benchmark for Rapid App Development, with support for High-DPI and 4k+ screens, and provisioning for Windows 11, Android 30 API and the macOS 64-bit ARM M1 processor.
Learn more about Delphi 11 here:
Download your free trial of Delphi 11 here:
