Manuel Lopez has working with Delphi since 1995. His software (Fotomorsaicos) was one of the showcase entries for the Delphi 26th Showcase Challenge and we had a conversation with him about his experience with Delphi through the years. Download the software through the FotoMorsaicos sourceforge page.
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When did you start using RAD Studio/Delphi and have long have you been using it?
I started using Delphi from version 1, which came out in 1995 and was announced at the Borland Conference that year. From there I used versions 1, 23, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, the latter being the most stable and the best. Later new versions came out but I no longer worked with them. However, for an academic project, I acquired the Delphi RAD Seattle academic license a couple of years ago.
What was it like building software before you had RAD Studio/Delphi?
Before you had to do a lot of work manually. The idea of components (visual and non-visual), was undoubtedly an advance in the way of programming. I think the programming paradigm changed with the arrival of Delphi, making Windows applications really easy to create. Turbo Pascal already had some possibilities thanks to the enormous amount of source code available (even from Borland), but the idea of components simplified many of the previous difficulties in programming.
How did RAD Studio/Delphi help you create your showcase application?
The manipulation of graphics, images and the methods of the corresponding components made writing a program like the photomosaics really much easier. In fact, the idea of the “canvas”, with its corresponding methods, makes the problems to solve much easier. I think that a photomosaic system without the help of these components would be much more difficult to program.
What made RAD Studio/Delphi stand out from other options?
I never really thought of another option, as I had previously used Turbo Pascal and Delphi is finally Pascal on Windows. Also, the speed of the compiler is unmatched comparing with other development tools.
What made you happiest about working with RAD Studio/Delphi?
Easy to program, great debugger, stable code, powerful language and rich in expressiveness. All of this shows up clearly in the Delphi compilers over time. It seems to me that programming with all these facilities is of great help.
What have you been able to achieve through using RAD Studio/Delphi to create your showcase application?
The creation of the photomosaic program had some results that made me happy. For example, the fact that creating a photomosaic could be done in a couple of minutes. Considering the amount of calculations that must be done (about 500 thousand square roots), the speed of the code is very, very acceptable.
What are some future plans for your showcase application?
Some ideas for the photomosaic app is to create images with photographs that are not necessarily rectangular. Also improve the possibility of avoiding repetitions and combining different image libraries to have more attractive mosaics.
Showcase
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