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Issue 50
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Pascal Newsletter #50 - 25-JULY-2004 Contents 1. A Few Words From the Editors 2. Getting a Drive's Type 3. Inno Setup Review 4. How to Run a Single Instance of an Application (Part 1) 5. Forums / Mailing Lists 6. Delphi on the Net - Components, Libraries and Utilities - Shareware / Commercial - Freeware - Borland Product Updates - Articles, Tips and Tricks - Tutorials and Training - News - Other Links ________________________________________________________________________ 1. A Few Words From the Editors It's been almost a year since the last issue of the newsletter and during that time we've both been very busy with work, family and other projects. We've spoken several times about getting it going again but never quite managed it. After some prodding and messages of support from subscribers (and some work by Dave) we're finally back. The plan is to publish an issue every two months from now on, provided we can find the contributions, prizes and time. :) As usual we'd like to thank the authors who contributed articles for this issue, Lennie De Villiers and Peter Johnson. And, we're pleased to award them the prizes for this issue: * Lennie De Villiers - 'Getting a Drive's Type' Storage Library v3.29 - by Deepsoftware.Ru ($39) Storage library - elegant way for application settings management. Supports working with ini files, registry, xml files, TStream objects. Provides encryption, unicode support, working with published properties without programming, saving form position and much more... http://www.deepsoftware.ru/rsllib/index.html * Peter Johnson - 'How to Run a Single Instance of an Application' SMExport Suite v4.50 - by Scalabium Software ($50) SMExport suite is a component set for easy data exporting into different file formats: CSV/Text, MS Excel, MS Access, MS Word, HTML, XML, SPSS, PDF, RTF, SQL etc. Available for Delphi 3-7 and BCB 3-6. http://www.scalabium.com/ (mshkolnik@scalabium.com) We hope to have two prizes for contributors to the next issue but don't know what they will be yet. So send us your articles and maybe you'll get a nice surprise. Well, this is it. We hope you enjoy this issue. Regards, Dave Murray and Ernesto De Spirito pascal-newsletter-owner@yahoogroups.com __________________ Collaborated in this issue: Lennie De Villiers, Peter Johnson ________________________________________________________________________ Help & Manual 3.50 by EC Software - Shareware ($ 299) - Help & Manual is a WYSIWYG help authoring tool that will aid you in creating standard WinHelp files (.HLP), Adobe PDF files, HTML pages and the new HTML HELP (.CHM) files introduced in Windows 98, as well as other file formats and printed documentation, everything from a single source. This is a must- have for any software developer. http://www.helpandmanual.com/hmpage.htm ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Getting a Drive's Type By Lennie De Villiers <Lennie at openmindconnections dot com> http://www.openmindconnections.com/ Sometimes you may want to determine whether a disk drive is removable, fixed, CD-ROM, RAM disk, or network drive. To accomplish this you can use the GetDriveType Windows API function. GETDRIVETYPE ============ Declaration: GetDriveType(lpRootPathName : PChar); Parameters lpRootPathName Pointer to a null-terminated string that specifies the root directory of the disk to return information about. A trailing backslash is required. If pRootPathName is NULL, the function uses the root of the current directory. Return Values The return value specifies the type of drive. It can be one of the following values: · DRIVE_REMOVABLE The disk can be removed from the drive. · DRIVE_FIXED The disk cannot be removed from the drive. · DRIVE_REMOTE The drive is a remote (network) drive. · DRIVE_CDROM The drive is a CD-ROM drive. · DRIVE_RAMDISK The drive is a RAM disk. The function will return a value of DRIVE_UNKNOWN if the disk type cannot be determined or a value of DRIVE_NO_ROOT_DIR if the root path is invalid. For Example: ------------ case GetDriveType(PChar(DriveEdit.Text + ':\')) of DRIVE_REMOVABLE: ReportLabel.Caption := 'The disk can be removed from the drive'; DRIVE_FIXED: ReportLabel.Caption := 'The disk cannot be removed from the drive'; DRIVE_REMOTE: ReportLabel.Caption := 'The drive is a remote (network) drive'; DRIVE_CDROM: ReportLabel.Caption := 'The drive is a CD-ROM drive'; DRIVE_RAMDISK: ReportLabel.Caption := 'The drive is a RAM disk'; else Messagedlg('Error: Drive type cannot be determined or root path '+ 'invalid', mterror, [mbok], 0); end; This example gets a drive-letter from an edit-box named DriveEdit and passes it to the GetDriveType-function. The code will automatically add a trailing backslash ( :\ ). The CASE statement will then report the value returned by GetDriveType-function to a label named ReportLabel. If GetDriveType doesn't return one of those values eg. it returns either the DRIVE_UNKNOWN or DRIVE_NO_ROOT_DIR, an error message will be displayed. For a more complete reference to the GetDriveType WinAPI function, goto: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/psdk/winbase/filesio_2m3p.htm ________________________________________________________________________ Delphi-PRAXiS · One of the fastest growing German Delphi-forums, with unique services like our "Delphi-PRAXiS Expert" (add-on which allows access to our libraries directly from within the IDE). Our database contains more than 50,000 articles. >>> http://www.delphipraxis.net <<< ________________________________________________________________________ 3. Inno Setup Review By Dave Murray <irongut at vodafone dot net> http://www.paranoia.clara.net/ Inno Setup by Jordan Russell is a free installer for Windows programs. First introduced in 1997, Inno Setup rivals and even surpasses many commercial installers in feature set and stability. I've been using it for a couple of years so I was keen to see what new features are in the latest version. (4.2.7 2004-06-27) Inno Setup is a script based installer for all 32-bit Windows versions. It is very flexible and customisable and produces small, single EXE installers. There are third-party extensions available and it supports Pascal scripting for further customisation. Its key features include: * Support for all 32-bit Windows versions * Single EXE installer or disk spanning * Standard wizard interface, including latest Windows 2000/XP style * Customisable setup types; e.g. Full, Minimal, Custom * Complete uninstall capabilities * Zip, bzip2 and LZMA (7-Zip) compression * Compare version info, replace in-use files & shared file counting * Register DLLs, OCXs and type libraries * Install fonts * Create shortcuts anywhere; including Desktop and Quick Start * Create registry and .INI entries * Create multi-lingual installers * Silent install and uninstall * Run other programs or Pascal scripts during install * COM Automation support * Third-party extensions * Full source code available (Delphi 2 - 5) * Free of charge, even when deploying commercial applications Working with Inno Setup ----------------------- When you run Inno Setup you get a dialog offering to create a blank script, create a new script using a wizard or open an existing script. There are several examples that help explain how to create scripts or perform certain tasks during installation. I recommend you use the wizard to setup the initial outline of your script. The wizard asks for all the usual information like application name and version, company name and website, install directory, filenames and shortcuts. It also has some more advanced options like creating an Internet shortcut to your website and showing files before and/or after installation. Inno Setup scripts look very similar to inifiles. Each section of a script controls a different aspect of the installation, for instance the [Setup] section contains global settings used by the installer and uninstaller and the [Tasks] section defines user-customisable tasks performed during installation. Items within the sections can take one or more parameters. For instance, the AppPublisherURL item in the [Setup] section takes your website address. Most items can have constants embedded in them that are translated to their literal values depending on the user's choices and system configuration; e.g. {sys} refers to the Windows System directory. There are a lot of sections and items but don't worry, the documentation is excellent. After you have finishing writing your script, the next step is to compile it into a complete, ready-to-run installer. By default, it is created in a subdirectory called Output under the directory containing the script. There is also a command line compiler that can be used as part of an automated build process. The final step is to test your installer. The installer and uninstaller programs accept optional command line parameters that can be useful to system administrators and to other programs calling them. Parameters include /SILENT, /LANG and /DIR. Both programs also return an exit code which can be used to tell if and why an install or uninstall failed. New in Version 4.0 ------------------ Version 4 added run-time scripting support to Inno Setup. The scripting engine is RemObjects Pascal Script by Carlo Kok. This modern Delphi-like scripting language allows sophisticated customisation of your installer. Possibilities include: adding custom wizard pages at run-time; removal of types, components and/or tasks under custom conditions; installation of items based on custom conditions. An integrated run-time debugger is included. Multilingual support has also been added and localised versions of all the various information files can be specified. The [Languages] section defines the languages available to the installer and a Select Language dialog can be displayed. The optional [LangOptions] section can be used to define language-specific settings such as fonts. Many other new features and improvements were added in version 4. Some of the more useful include unsafe files (DLLs), silent install / uninstall, IDE improvements and disk spanning now supports CDs and DVDs. Latest Features --------------- (v4.1.3 2004-01-28) Since I originally wrote this review several minor versions have appeared with lots of improvements. The installer has undergone a facelift with simplified wording, improved scaling of fonts and images and improved multi-monitor support. It now contains customisable version information and you can specify its icon. COM Automation support provides the ability to control other applications and call ActiveX DLLs during setup. This enables you to configure IIS or SQL Server, read and write XML, read and write Office documents and a whole lot more. (v4.1.6 2004-02-19) The guys behind Inno Setup must be working day and night because in the last few weeks they've released three updates! The most significant change is the addition of LZMA compression. LZMA is the algorithm used by Igor Pavlov's 7-Zip archiver. Typically it compresses at least 20% better than the existing bzip method. The compiler IDE has been improved with a new Run | Terminate command and a new Build | Low Priority During Compile option. The IDE also shows an animated icon and progress bar during compilation and the exit code returned after a test run. (4.2.7 2004-06-27) The four months since I last updated this article have seen a lot of improvements to Inno Setup. Multilingual support has been greatly improved. The script wizard now uses custom message constants so you don't have to translate any English phrases in generated scripts. A new [CustomMessages] section allows you to easily localise your own entry descriptions and messages. By default, languages whose code page does not match the user's system will not appear in the Select Language dialog. And, official translations have been added in Catalan, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Slovenian. Inno Setup now includes optional 128-bit ARCFOUR encryption. The decryption password can be provided on the command line for silent installs. And, individual files can have encryption turned off with the noencryption flag if necessary. Enhancements introduced to the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel applet in Windows 2000 are now supported. You can display a "Modify" button and a "Support" dialog with comments, contact info and a link to your readme file. Compression now defaults to LZMA instead of Zip and a new optimisation pass compresses executable files even further. A new /LOG command line parameter creates a log file in the user's TEMP directory detailing the installation process for debugging. The run-time scripting engine is now based on RemObjects Pascal Script SVN code revision 916. There have been a lot of other changes including improvements to the wizard pages and dialogs and bug fixes. Third-Party Extensions ---------------------- One of Inno Setup's strengths is the healthy community of third-party extensions. These include tools like iwz2iss that converts InstallShield projects into Inno Setup scripts and InnoScript that does the same for VB projects. The most useful extension is probably ISTool by Bjørnar Henden, a GUI front-end for creating and editing Inno Setup scripts. It gives easy access to all the sections of a script with custom dialogs for editing the items. These dialogs contain fields for all the possible parameters with check boxes for any possible flags. ISTool has full drag and drop support; you can drag files from Explorer and drop them on a directory in the [Files] section. It can also import VB and InstallShield projects and simplifies the process of creating localised versions. Several third-party extensions, including ISTool, have recently been repackaged as the Inno Setup QuickStart Pack. They are not official or required but make Inno Setup easier to use, especially for new users. Support ------- Support is provided primarily through newsgroups on news.jrsoftware.org. There are three newsgroups available, for general Inno Setup issues, for run-time Pascal scripts and for third-party extensions. These newsgroups are available only through their news server or web-based interface. A mailing list is also available to notify you of major new releases. Announcements of small patches are generally not sent to the mailing list but they are announced in the general newsgroup. Conclusion ---------- Inno Setup is a great tool for packaging your applications. The scripts are easy to write and the documentation is well written and exhaustive. The initial wizard is actually very helpful and I use it for all my scripts. Inno Setup is customisable and extensible and can be used as part of an automated build process. When combined with some of the third-party extensions, it is a product that's hard to beat and the price is nice too! References ---------- · Inno Setup http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php · Inno Setup Newsgroups news://news.jrsoftware.org/jrsoftware.innosetup news://news.jrsoftware.org/jrsoftware.innosetup.code news://news.jrsoftware.org/jrsoftware.innosetup.thirdparty http://news.jrsoftware.org/read/ · ISTool http://www.istool.org/ · iwz2iss http://strony.wp.pl/wp/mikequ/eng/iwz2iss.htm · InnoScript http://www.randem.com/innoscript/innoscript.htm · RemObjects Pascal Script http://www.remobjects.com/ ________________________________________________________________________ Vote for the Pascal Newsletter in The Borland Top 100! http://top100borland.com/in.php?who=20 ________________________________________________________________________ 4. How to Run a Single Instance of an Application Part 1: An Initial Approach By Peter Johnson, Copyright (c) 2003 <delphidabbler at tiscali dot co dot uk> http://www.delphidabbler.com/ Abstract -------- This article discusses how to ensure that just a single instance of an application can be run. An application does this by checking if an instance is already running and terminating if so. We also look at how a duplicate instance can pass its command line parameters to the existing instance before terminating. Overview -------- The method of preventing multiple application instances used here is based on the detection of the existence of an application with a known main window class and passing command line data using the WM_COPYDATA message (as used by my Version Information Spy program at http://www.delphidabbler.com/vis). There are other methods of achieving the same ends -- a common one being the use of Mutexes and passing data via a memory mapped file. This method is not discussed here, but there are other articles on the net that show how to do this. An outline of the methodology is: search for a top level window of the correct class if such a window exists activate the window pass any command line data to the window using WM_COPYDATA terminate this application instance else start this application as normal process the command line parameters end We will now examine the process in detail. Finding if Your Program is Running ---------------------------------- We use the FindWindow Windows API routine to search for a top level window of the required class. This routine can check for window captions, (unreliable because they can change while a program is running), the window class name (better) or both. We opt to check for the window class name regardless of the caption. There is one problem with this approach however -- in Delphi the class name of the main form is used as the window class name of the top level window by default. E.g. If a form's class is TForm1 the window class name is also TForm1. Since it's possible to have more than one Delphi application running that uses this window class name we need to give our program's main window a name that is (very) unlikely to be used by another application. We do this by overriding the main form's CreateParams method as follows: procedure TForm1.CreateParams(var Params: TCreateParams); begin inherited; StrCopy(Params.WinClassName, cWindowClassName); end; Here cWindowClassName is a const set to some suitable class name. To ensure uniqueness we could use a GUID such as D9CE4126-B845-42B2-ABAE-3678FF6EC836. However I find that a name based on company name, the name of the application and possibly the major version number is sufficiently unlikely to be used by other applications. An example would be DelphiDabbler.MyApp.2. Now that we have a suitable window class name we can find the main window handle of any already existing instance of our application using the following function: function DuplicateAppInstWdw: HWND; begin Result := FindWindow(cWindowClassName, nil); end; The function will return the handle of any top level window with the class name given by the cWindowClassName constant. It will return 0 if there is no such window. So, if the function returns 0 we have no existing instance and can run our application, but if the function returns a non zero value an existing instance is already running and we should terminate our current instance. We need to be very careful where we place this test -- if we run this check after we have created our application's main window the function will always return a window handle, and this may be the handle of our own window! Therefore it is important to run this check before the application creates its main form. We can do this by performing the check in the project (.dpr) file, before the main form is created. The project file can be modified as follows: function CanStart: Boolean; var Wdw: HWND; begin Wdw := DuplicateAppInstWdw; if Wdw = 0 then // no instance running: we can start our app Result := True else // instance running: try to pass command line to it // terminate this instance if this succeeds // (routine explained later) Result := not SwitchToPrevInst(Wdw); end; begin if CanStart then begin Application.Initialize; Application.CreateForm(TForm1, Form1); Application.Run; end; end. Note that the application is only started if the CanStart function returns true, otherwise it instantly terminates. CanStart returns true if there is no other instance of the application (i.e. no top level window has been found with the main window class name). If a previous instance has been found we attempt to switch to it using the SwitchToPrevInst function. The implementation of this function is explained later in the article. For now it suffices to know that the function activates the main window of the previous application instance and attempts to pass any command line parameters to it. The function returns true if this succeeds and false if it fails. Note that we go ahead and start this instance of the application if the attempt to pass the command line to the previous instance does not succeed. This is a fail safe way of ensuring our command line gets processed. That just about wraps up how to start a single instance of the application. Now we need to find out how to pass any command line data to the previous instance. Passing the Command Line to a Previous Instance ----------------------------------------------- When the program detects that another instance is running it must pass its command line parameters to the program already running. We do this in the SendParamsToPrevInstance routine. This routine sends the parameters to the main window of the existing application instance by using the WM_COPYDATA message. Passing Data to Another Application with WM_COPYDATA ---------------------------------------------------- This message is provided by Windows for the purpose of passing data across process boundaries -- i.e. for sending data to other applications. Because the message sends data between address spaces we have to be careful to adhere the rules governing its use. The rules are: * We can't pass pointers, only actual data * The sending application must allocate and free the memory required for the data * The receiving application must not free the data * The receiving application must copy the data to local storage if it is to be accessed after the message handler has returned * We must use SendMessage and not PostMessage to send the message The WM_COPYDATA message uses a structure of type TCopyDataStruct to store and describe the data to be sent. This structure has three fields: * dwData: DWORD -- holds a user defined 32 bit value * lpData: Pointer -- points to a user defined data block (used if more than a 32 bit value is to be sent) * cbData: DWORD -- is the size of the user defined data block SendParamsToPrevInstance Function --------------------------------- As noted above the SendParamsToPrevInstance function is used when we have to pass command line parameters to a previous application instance. The function returns true if the receiving application processes the WM_COPYDATA message properly and false if the message is not handled or the receiving application reports an error. Here is the implementation: function SendParamsToPrevInstance(WndH: HWND): Boolean; var CopyData: TCopyDataStruct; // WM_COPYDATA data structure I: Integer; // loops through parameters DataSize: Integer; // size of storage required for all parameters Data: PChar; // pointer to parameter storage PData: PChar; // pointer to next parameter in storage begin // Set up data packet to be sent to other instance // contains COPIES of parameters: can't send pointers in WM_COPYDATA // we will store each parameter string in buffer, separated by #0 and // terminated by second #0 e.g. First#0Second#0Third#0#0 // First calculate size of file names DataSize := 0; for I := 1 to ParamCount do Inc(DataSize, Length(ParamStr(I)) + 1); Inc(DataSize); // for final #0 // Now allocate data storage and copy parameters into it Data := StrAlloc(DataSize); try PData := Data; for I := 1 to ParamCount do begin // copy parameter string, zero terminated StrPCopy(PData, ParamStr(I)); Inc(PData, Length(ParamStr(I)) + 1); end; // final closing #0 PData^ := #0; // Set up copy data structure: // watermark optional: to allow simple check of validity of packet // in receiving application CopyData.lpData := Data; // data to be copied CopyData.cbData := DataSize; // size of copy data CopyData.dwData := cCopyDataWaterMark; // watermark in data field // Send copy data message // set result according to result returned from other instance Result := SendMessage(WndH, WM_COPYDATA, 0, LPARAM(@CopyData)) = 1; finally // Now free memory used for data packet StrDispose(Data); end; end; The function first bundles the command line parameters into a single data structure. This data structure is a #0 separated sequence of the program's parameter strings, terminated by a further #0 character. (This idiom is commonly used in Windows to store a list of string values.) For example the three parameters 'One', 'Two' and 'Three' would be stored as One#0Two#0Three#0#0. Having allocated the required memory and stored the data we set TCopyDataStruct.lpData to point to it and record the size of the data structure in TCopyDataStruct.cbData. We use the TCopyDataStruct.dwData field to store a 32 bit watermark value that we use to validate the WM_COPYDATA message. Use of such a watermark provides a reality check on the data and indicates to the receiving application that the message and its data have been sent from our own application. The watermark can be any 32 bit value -- we use the value stored in the cCopyDataWaterMark constant. SendMessage is now used to send the message to the existing application's main window. The address of the TCopyData structure is passed as the message's LParam. We set the function result to True if the message returns 1 and False otherwise. Finally, we free the memory used to store the command line parameters. The receiving application needs to know how to extract the data from the WM_COPYDATA message, and we discuss how to do this next. Handling WM_COPYDATA -------------------- As well as knowing how to send data to other instances of itself, our application also needs to know how to handle the WM_COPYDATA messsage to receive such data. We do this in the program's main form by writing a standard Delphi message handler, which is declared in the form's class declaration as follows: procedure WMCopyData(var Msg: TWMCopyData); message WM_COPYDATA; and here is the implementation: procedure TForm1.WMCopyData(var Msg: TWMCopyData); var PData: PChar; // walks thru data Param: string; // a parameter begin // check watermark is valid if Msg.CopyDataStruct.dwData <> cCopyDataWaterMark then raise Exception.Create('Invalid data struct passed in WM_COPYDATA'); // extract strings from data PData := Msg.CopyDataStruct.lpData; while PData^ <> #0 do begin Param := StrPas(PData); // process the parameter: // (write this method to do required processing) ProcessParam(Param); Inc(PData, Length(Param) + 1); end; // set return value to indicate we handled message Msg.Result := 1; end; This message handler processes the data referenced by the TCopyDataStruct data structure. The WM_COPYDATA message has a pointer to the record in its LParam field. Rather than accessing the LParam value directly and type casting we use the Delphi-provided TWMCopyData message to "crack" the message record -- its CopyDataStruct field provides easy access to the data structure. We first check the watermark stored in the TCopyDataStruct.dwData, raising an exception if it is not valid. Then we get a pointer the to #0 delimited list of parameters and walk the buffer, making a copy of each parameter before passing it to the ProcessParam method (a placeholder for whatever processing has to be applied to each parameter in turn). The loop stops when a terminating #0 character is found. Before returning we set the message result to 1 to indicate the message has been handled. Activating the Previous Instance -------------------------------- When a previous instance of an application is activated by a new instance its window could be displayed normally, or maximized, minimized or invisible. It may be partially or fully hidden behind other windows. If it is minimized, invisible or fully or partially hidden there will be no visual feedback to the user of the previous instance being used in place of the application they started. There are various different design decisions that could be taken to handle these situations. We will opt to ensure the window it is made prominent when it is activated. If the window is shown normally or is maximised we simply bring it to the front of the z-order. If, however, the window is minimized we restore it and if it is hidden we show it. When an application starts and finds there is a previous instance, the previous instance's main window is sent a custom message telling it to "wake up". This message is defined as const UM_ENSURERESTORED = WM_USER + 1; We send this message in the SwitchToPrevInst routine mentioned above. The routine's implementation will be shown later in the article. The receiving application must handle and act on this message. We do this in the application's main form, again using a Delphi message handler, declared in the form's class declaration as: procedure UMEnsureRestored(var Msg: TMessage);message UM_ENSURERESTORED; The message handler's implementation is: procedure TForm1.UMEnsureRestored(var Msg: TMessage); begin if IsIconic(Application.Handle) then Application.Restore; if not Visible then Visible := True; Application.BringToFront; end; In this message handler we check to see if the application is minimized (by checking the state of the special Application window) and we restore the application if so. We then show the main form if it is currently hidden. Finally we bring the main form to the front of the z-order. Finishing Touches ----------------- It only remains to finally implement the SwitchToPrevInst function we referred to earlier in the article. This function has two main purposes: 1. Ensure any command line parameters are sent to the previous instance 2. Activate the previous instance, ensuring its main window is displayed The function takes the handle of the main window of the previous application instance as a parameter (which must not be zero). Recall that we must return True if any parameters are successfully passed to the previous instance and false on error. The implementation of SwitchToPrevInst is as follows: function SwitchToPrevInst(Wnd: HWND): Boolean; begin Assert(Wnd <> 0); if ParamCount > 0 then Result := SendParamsToPrevInstance(Wnd) else Result := True; if Result then SendMessage(Wnd, UM_ENSURERESTORED, 0, 0); end; If we have command line parameters we attempt to send them to the previous instance using the SendParamsToPrevInstance routine, returning whether that succeeded or failed. If there are no parameters our function has no data to send to the previous instance and it returns True. Only if the function has succeeded do we send a UM_ENSURERESTORED message to the previous instance to cause it display its main window in the foreground. Putting It All Together ----------------------- The attached source code contains a skeleton Delphi project that draws all the code discussed in this article. The project contains three modules that can be used as a template for a real application: * A project file incorporating the required modifications to the Delphi-generated code. * A unit containing the various functions used to manage and activate the single application instance. * A skeleton form unit containing the various message handlers and other necessary form code. The form itself contains no components. A Re-Usable Solution -------------------- The above approach to the problem works and provides a template for use in any application. However the source code needs to be amended for each application. Can we find a re-usable solution -- something object oriented. Well partly! In the next issue, part two of this article will look at an object oriented solution that, while still requiring some modification of the main form and project file, does at least move most of the code to an extensible class. __________________ Peter Johnson is a hobbyist programmer living in West Wales (UK) who maintains the DelphiDabbler website (http://www.delphidabbler.com/) where his articles and freeware Delphi applications & components are published. A full version of this article is available at: http://www.delphidabbler.com/articles.php?article=13 ________________________________________________________________________ Delphi BUGS? Catch & Log every BUG showing Unit, Class, Method, Line #. Now with support for IntraWeb applications and Anti-Freeze feature. http://www.eurekalog.com/bannerclick.php?id=15 ________________________________________________________________________ 5. Forums / Mailing Lists To join any of our forums, the best way is to subscribe from the web, since that way you'll be able to access the features available at the web site (like changing your subscription options, viewing the past messages, accessing the files section, etc.). A Yahoo! ID is required for that, and you can get yours free by registering as a Yahoo! user, but if you don't want to register or if you don't have full Internet access, you can also subscribe by email (you'll only have email access). * Delphi-En: A unique forum for intermediate-level Delphi programmers. A large group with a helpful community of members. If you are a beginner please stay as a listener and learn from others' questions and answers. Home Page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/delphi-en/ Subscription: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/delphi-en/join delphi-en-subscribe@yahoogroups.com * Kylix: Kylix programming. Home Page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KylixGroup/ Subscription: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KylixGroup/join KylixGroup-subscribe@yahoogroups.com * Components: This is a forum for searching / recommending software components (VCL and CLX components, ActiveX objects, DLL libraries, .Net, etc.), as well as utilities, tutorials, information, etc. Home Page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/components/ Subscription: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/components/join components-subscribe@yahoogroups.com * Software Developers: A place for subjects related to software development and the industry. For developers to share their experiences as an academic, professional or hobbyist. It is not a programming forum, messages here are supposed to be more general or language independent. Home Page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/software-developers/ Subscription: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/software-developers/join software-developers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ________________________________________________________________________ Vote for the Pascal Newsletter in The Delphi Top 200! http://top200.jazarsoft.com/delphi/rank.php3?id=latium ________________________________________________________________________ 6. Delphi on the Net By Dave Murray <irongut at vodafone dot net> Components, Libraries and Utilities =================================== Shareware / Commercial ---------------------- * SMExport Suite v4.50 - by Scalabium Software ($50) SMExport suite is a component set for easy data exporting into different file formats: CSV/Text, MS Excel, MS Access, MS Word, HTML, XML, SPSS, PDF, RTF, SQL etc. Available for Delphi 3-7 and BCB 3-6. http://www.scalabium.com (mshkolnik@scalabium.com) * Storage Library v3.29 - by Deepsoftware.Ru ($39) Storage library - elegant way for application settings management. Supports working with ini files, registry, xml files, TStream objects. Provides encryption, unicode support, working with published properties without programming, saving form position and much more... http://www.deepsoftware.ru/rsllib/index.html * COM Genie v1.00 - by WS+V (£10) A Component Object Model navigator designed to enable you to navigate the interfaces of a COM object in a hierarchal manner. Functions that return functional interface pointers can be expanded to reveal the contents of the relevant interface, and its functional interfaces. The free demo is restricted to the first 80 interfaces. http://web.ukonline.co.uk/alison.burgess2/ Freeware -------- * Borland Research Project: BabelCode BabelCode is a C# to Delphi for .NET code conversion utility. It is implemented as a web service and an ASP.NET client. http://dotnet.borland.com/babelcode/ * CrossKylix v2.65.11 - by Simon Kissel (with source) Integrates the Kylix compiler into the Delphi IDE allowing compilation of native Linux apps. Console projects, packages and visual CLX apps are fully supported with compile warnings, hints and error messages. http://crosskylix.untergrund.net/ * Inno Setup v4.2.7 - by JR Software (with source) A free installer for Windows that rivals commercial installers in features and stability. See review in this issue for details. http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php * TurboPower XML Partner v2.60 - by TurboPower (with source) Add the power of XML to Borland Delphi, C++ Builder and Kylix projects through native, easy to use VCL and CLX components. These components simplify the process of creating, modifying, and parsing XML data. http://sourceforge.net/projects/tpxmlpartner Borland Product Updates ----------------------- * Delphi 7.1 Update Has Been Fixed And Is Live Updated to fix the persistent field issue in the original release. The latest version enforces data integrity without raising an exception. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32400,00.html * Borland Delphi 8 Janeva Integration Plugin Allows Delphi applications to communicate with J2EE based applications using Borland Janeva. CORBA integration will come in the near future. http://cc.borland.com/Item.aspx?id=21772 * Delphi 8 HelpKit Assists developers to integrate their help files with Borland's. http://cc.borland.com/codecentral/ccweb.exe/listing?id=21767 * Updated Delphi 8 License New Delphi 8 license provides additional permissions for developers of VCL for .NET components. Supercedes all previous Delphi 8 licenses. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32293,00.html * ilink32 Version 5.66 Update for C++ Customers Resolves an access violation when linking together large numbers of object files. For C++BuilderX (including Mobile) and C++Builder 6. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32448,00.html Articles, Tips and Tricks ========================= * Why You Can't Pass a List to an InterBase SQL Param - by Craig Stuntz When writing a WHERE clause in your InterBase SQL, it would sometimes be convenient to write WHERE FOO IN (:SomeParam) and pass a list of values to SomeParam. You can't do that; here's why. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32076,00.html * Agile Management June 2004: The S-Curve Explained - David J. Anderson Provides some more insight as to what causes the S-curve effect and how to minimize it by paying attention to a few areas at the beginning and end of a project. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32411,00.html * .NET tip: Getting the User's Home, Temp or My Documents Directory - by Charlie Calvert How to retrieve commonly used directories when using .NET. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32384,00.html * A Hint About .NET WinForms Controls ToolTips - by John Kaster This article explains how .NET Extender Providers can be used to include ToolTips for .NET WinForms controls. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32345,00.html * Beyond Proprietary Databases: Helen Borrie on the Future of Firebird "It's very satisfying to learn of yet another big corporation or enterprise software product that has switched to Firebird, and, as the word gets out, it happens more often." http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/34399.html * IntraWeb And ActiveForms - by Bob Swart How to use IntraWeb and ActiveForms together to create some innovative solutions for your intranet / extranet needs. http://www.thedelphimagazine.com/samples/1749/1749.htm * Manage Complexity With State Machines - by Rob Bracken Explains state machines and how to use them to model a wide range of real-world problems, making code easier to debug, maintain and modify. http://www.thedelphimagazine.com/samples/1738/1738.htm * Handling SQL Mail - by Jason Sweby Use the email facilities built into MS SQL Server to send email from your applications in response to database triggers, and more. http://www.thedelphimagazine.com/samples/1729/1729.htm * Fun With Threads - by Steven Soroka Some practical tips to make threading in your apps more efficient. http://www.thedelphimagazine.com/samples/1712/1712.htm * NTFS Compression And Sparse Files - by Marcel van Brakel Explains what the NTFS file compression and sparse files features have to offer and how to make use of them in your own software. http://www.thedelphimagazine.com/samples/1696/1696.htm * XML Topic Maps - by Craig Murphy Discusses how XML topic maps provide a mechanism to intelligently classify information, and how to implement topic maps in your apps. http://www.thedelphimagazine.com/samples/1686/1686.htm * An Introduction To Endo-Testing Using Mock Objects - by Sascha Frick Problems arise when applying unit testing and test driven development principles to complex projects. Describes how to overcome the problems with endo-testing and mock objects. http://www.thedelphimagazine.com/samples/1677/1677.htm * All About ECO - by Malcolm Groves A series of blog posts on ECO. http://blogs.borland.com/malcolmgroves/category/83.aspx Tutorials and Training ====================== * BDNtv: Introduction to Together for Visual Studio .NET v2.0 Part 1 of a 4 part tutorial, this episode gives you a quick intro to Together for Visual Studio .NET version 2.0. (Flash) http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32395,00.html * BDNtv: LiveSource with Together for Visual Studio .NET v2.0 Part 2 of a 4 part tutorial, this episode gives you an intro on using LiveSource with Together for Visual Studio .NET version 2.0. (Flash) http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32396,00.html * BDNtv: Audits with Together for Visual Studio .NET v2.0 Part 3 of a 4 part tutorial, this episode gives you a quick intro on using audits with Together for Visual Studio .NET version 2.0. (Flash) http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32397,00.html * BDNtv: Patterns with Together for Visual Studio .NET v2.0 Part 4 of a 4 part tutorial, this episode gives you an intro on using patterns with Together for Visual Studio .NET version 2.0. (Flash) http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32399,00.html * Building CORBA Applications with Delphi 8 and Janeva (1) - P. Glowacki Shows the necessary steps to build simple CORBA server and client applications with Borland Janeva 6.0 and Borland Delphi 8 for .NET. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32074,00.html * Introduction to Delphi for .NET and the New IDE - by Xavier Pacheco Provides an overview of Delphi for .NET, with a focus on how to use Delphi to develop software for business solutions. Sample chapter from the book 'Delphi for .NET Developer's Guide'. http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=174323 * Gekko Software Tutorial on building automation server objects using Delphi. Assumes a basic knowledge of Delphi and object orientation. The more experienced developer will find useful hints and background information. http://www.gekko-software.nl/Delphi/ News ==== * Borland Reports Strong Sales Despite a tough quarter in the industry, Borland was able to nail several large deals including a multimillion dollar deal with British Telecommunications that helped push Q3 revenues up to $76.5 million. www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2004/July/23/biz/stories/02biz.htm * Borland Solution Selected by BT to Transform Systems Engineering Borland's ALM solution will underpin BT's Systems Engineering Programme, which was set up to develop a single design and delivery methodology for all future IT projects across BT Group. http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Jul/1059138.htm * Boo Hoo Hoo for Victims of XP SP2 Quite a few applications will break under the new security-focused service pack. Problems in the debugger in Borland's Delphi in RC 1 were fixed quickly, although another tester reports that multiple applications under SP2 cannot access the Borland Database Engine. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1624962,00.asp * Borland Developer News - .NET Edition, July 2004 The July 2004 installment of the Borland .NET Development Newsletter. Contains information, news, and links for Delphi and C#Builder .NET. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32443,00.html * Many Ways to Skin .NET and Java Integration .NET and J2EE used to be web services islands but now vendors have begun shipping tools that bridge the two architectures. Borland's Janeva has a twist on the translation theme. http://sdtimes.com/news/106/story7.htm * Message from Business Objects: Potential Security Vulnerability Notice of a security vulnerability in Crystal Reports web API. Effects Crystal Reports for both C#Builder and JBuilder and requires a patch. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32402,00.html * Interbase / Firebird Database Name Buffer Overflow Vulnerability A vulnerability in Firebird and Interbase can be exploited to cause a DoS and potentially compromise a system due to a boundary error in the handling of database names that can cause a buffer overflow by passing a long database name when connecting. http://secunia.com/advisories/11756/ * Borland Developer News - .NET Edition, June 2004 The June 2004 installment of the Borland .NET Development Newsletter. Contains information, news, and links for Delphi and C#Builder .NET. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32390,00.html * Borland Teams Up With eBay and PayPal eBay and Borland have announced a new relationship that will provide Borland developers with access to tools and resources for creating web services applications for the eBay and PayPal platforms. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,32373,00.html * Borland and Microsoft Arm Systems Integrators with Application Development and Deployment Best Practices Borland presented alongside Microsoft and leading systems integrators a road map for delivering the Visual Studio 2005 Team System. This will provide a set of best practices, architecture guidance and integrated tools designed to enable IT organizations to successfully build and deploy custom solutions for the Windows Server System. http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp? ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040524005402&newsLang=en * Borland Brings RM to the Masses Requirements Management is a key discipline underlying software quality and success but business requirements are too often lost in translation before they ever become software capabilities. The best RM solutions address both human and technology adoption barriers. http://www.adtmag.com/article.asp?id=9223 * eWeek Application & Web Services Development Award WINNER: Microsoft Visual Studio .Net 2003. RUNNER-UP: Borland Enterprise Studio For Java 7. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1560688,00.asp Other Links =========== * Borland Blog Central Blogs by Borland staff. http://blogs.borland.com/ * Delphi 8 Documentation Available as PDF Registered users of Delphi 8 can now download this PDF that provides conceptual, procedural, and Language Guide topics. English-only. http://www.borland.com/products/downloads/download_delphi_net.html * IDC Recommends Borland Janeva for Interoperability Developers who want to use a mixture of .NET, J2EE and CORBA should consider using Borland Janeva. Find out why in this PDF from IDC. http://www.borland.com/features/pdf/idc_interopToday_may04.pdf * D7 Ent/D8 Arch Component Migration List Are you planning to move from Delphi 7 to Delphi 8? Check this chart to see how easy it will be for you. http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,31984,00.html * Mozilla-Delphi Project The Mozilla-Delphi project provides resources for working with Mozilla technologies in the Borland Delphi and Kylix programming environments. http://delphi.mozdev.org/ * Delphi Dabbler Delphi Pascal source code library, components, programming articles, tutorials and free programs. http://www.delphidabbler.com/ * Borland Delphi 8 (review) Good compatibility makes this impressive package ideal for Delphi users moving to .Net. http://www.vnunet.com/Products/Software/1154731 ________________________________________________________________________ Irongut's Delphi Pages Dedicated to programming with Borland Delphi and Kylix. We have articles on programming, Borland and Delphi news, source code and components to use in your applications and more. >> http://www.paranoia.clara.net/ << ________________________________________________________________________ YOU CAN HELP US We need your help to keep this newsletter going and growing. You can help by referring the newsletter to your colleagues: http://www.latiumsoftware.com/en/pascal/delphi-newsletter.php Or you can help by voting for us in some or all of these rankings to give more visibility to our web site and thus increase the number of subscriptions to this newsletter: http://news.optimax.com/delphi/links/links.exe/click?id=70C517ECAE6E http://www.programmingpages.com/?r=latiumsoftwarecomenpascal http://top100borland.com/in.php?who=20 http://top200.jazarsoft.com/delphi/rank.php3?id=latium It's just a few seconds for you that REALLY mean a lot to us. 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