Building database applications with Windows IDE: RAD Studio (Delphi & C++ Builder) gives the best experience for developers. For instance, if you want to connect to a database, just drop a database connection component into the project and select the source of the data. Then open the LiveBindings designer and link the database fields to the UI controls and that is it!
If you want to connect to a remote database you can make use of the REST Client Library and Rad Studio’s incredibly powerful REST Debugger.
Perhaps you need to connect Azure or AWS? That is covered too – just drop the Cloud Connection Provider component. configure it securely, and everything works right away.
Table of Contents
What sort of topics are covered in this article?
We’re going to take a whistle-stop tour through some of the ways using Rad Studio Delphi and C++ builder can make life much easier for developers looking to work with database servers and data.
- What is FireDAC?
- How can I convert my programs from the Borland Database Engine BDE to FireDAC?
- How can I connect to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure with Delphi or C++ Builder?
- What is the Embarcadero REST Client Library?
- How do I bind a data source to UI controls in seconds?
What is FireDAC?
FireDAC is a multi-device data-access library that comes with RAD Studio Delphi and C++ Builder. One thing you can do with FireDAC is talk to SQL databases. You can also make use of an ODBC connection to talk to ODBC data sources.
With its powerful universal architecture, FireDAC enables native high-speed direct access from Delphi and C++Builder to InterBase, SQLite, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, DB2, SQL Anywhere, Advantage DB, Firebird, Access, Informix, DataSnap, and more, including the NoSQL Database MongoDB.
FireDAC features:
- An enterprise-grade data access engine
- A unified API
- Has high-performance Data Access
Where can I learn more about using FireDAC?
How can I convert my programs from the Borland Database Engine BDE to FireDAC?
On the FireDAC page, there is the BDE to FireDAC set of steps that will take you through taking the existing source code, your existing forms in Delphi, and running refined utility which is per-regular expression search and replaces utility. Also, there is a script for migrating BDE that will convert the forms and source code for Delphi into use FireDAC whether it is in data modules on your forms or in your source code for database connectivity.
In general, the FireDAC components have a high compatibility level with the BDE data access components. This includes the syntax and semantics of the properties and methods in the FireDAC and BDE. You can learn some other parts which are different in Migrating BDE Applications to FireDAC.
Check out this tutorial to learn more:
How can I connect to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure with Delphi or C++ Builder?
Delphi & C++ Builder come with Cloud components that allow you to easily utilize cloud services from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
As you can see, these two core components can be used to connect to AWS or Azure. There is a really helpful sample project called CloudExplorer, that familiarizes you with how to:
- Initialize Connection
- Get Selected Account
- Update Cloud File List
- Get Selected Cloud File
- Upload Selected Local File
- Download Selected Cloud File
- Update Proxy Settings
- Handle Transfer Job Update
- and many more
What is the Embarcadero REST Client Library?
The Embarcadero REST Client Library is a framework for accessing REST-based web services. The library is available for all platforms that are supported by Delphi and C++ Builder. Additionally, the framework focuses on JSON as the representation format.
Furthermore, if you utilize REST Debugger for analyzing the endpoints you can enjoy the process of building an application that uses the REST services.
For instance, with the REST Debugger, you can provide the URL and access keys or other parameters, and if the connection is successful, you can click the Copy components button, and you can drop all the REST components to your form, and you are good to go with the REST endpoint connection. You do not even write code.
I think it is better to show a real demonstration. We have dozens of different tutorials that show you how to connect to the REST services. For example, in this tutorial, you will learn how to create a Cross-Platform News application using Delphi FireMonkey and Mediastack Live News REST Service.
How do I bind a data source to UI controls in seconds?
Delphi & C++ Builder developers love the LiveBindings Designer. LiveBindings is a data-binding feature supported by both the VCL and FireMonkey frameworks in RAD Studio. It is an expression-based framework, which means it uses bindings expressions to bind an object to other objects or dataset fields.
Here are some of the workshops you can explore to get a full idea about the LiveBindings Designer.
