August PLUG topic: Kylix

[David P. Schwartz]

Kurt Granroth wrote:

> On Wednesday 25 July 2001 11:23 pm, David P. Schwartz wrote:
> > To port Delphi to the Linux platform, I believe that Borland licensed a Qt
> > implementation from some outfit then retrofitted their underpinnings to
> > talk to that rather than Windows.  The new library is called CLX, and it's
> > a very close parallel to the VCL supported in Windows.
>
> Slight clarification: they didn't license "a Qt implementation from some
> outfit".. they licensed Qt (there is only one) from Trolltech, the company
> that created it and sells it.  Trolltech also provided support and code to
> Borland during the process since this was obviously a big deal to them.

Thanks for the clarification

> > The most impressive thing about Kylix is how unimpressively similar it is
> > to Delphi 5.  As long as you don't use any Windows-specific stuff, most
> > components and projects will port right over, needing only a recompile.
> >
> > If you target the CLX library in Delphi 6 (rather than the VCL), you get
> > complete source-level portability between Windows and Linux environments.
>
> Yes.  From what I've heard, it's actually pretty hard to stick at the CLX
> level all the time, though.  Borland gets around this a little by allowing
> you to directly access the Qt layer underneath.  Since Qt is fully
> cross-platform, this isn't a problem when doing xplatform apps.

It reminds me a bit of Delphi 1.  Borland has always provided the means to access the Windows API in Delphi, and people swore you
couldn't live without it in D1.  Well, maybe, but since D2 went 32-bit and added a bunch of other stuff, the entire design has evolved
to the point where it really isn't necessary for most typical needs to ever step outside the VCL.  But, if you do, it's a very _short_
step. <g>  The advantage today is that the CLX architecture is based on a fifth-generation VCL model -- IOW, it's had time to mature
nicely.  Whereas D1 was really raw and the only thing you had to compare it with was VB/DOS, D5/D6/Kylix compare very well against any
other similar tool around.

Once I grokked object-oriented programming and C++, I could never go back to plain c programming.  If you haven't gone through that
transition, you really can't relate.  As a result, I find the non-OO nature of VB as cumbersome as in c.  Delphi's model is pure OO,
PLUS the way it integrates things into the IDE makes it highly productive.

Something was posted yesterday that indicates Borland might be working on something that, for lack of a better name, might be called
"D-flat" (Db ?)  that will support both .Net's C# as well as Delphi/Kylix environments.  Borland is really pushing hard at neutralizing
the bias MS is generating around their .Net initiatives.

-David