Note to self: TStream.Read in the Delphi RTL returns the number of bytes read. It does not check whether the intended number of bytes could actually be read. So if you do not check it yourself, call TStream.ReadBuffer instead. So, it's either: [delphi] var st: TFileStream; Buffer: array[0..7] of Byte; BytesRead: Integer; begin st := … Continue reading Delphi’s TStream.Read returns the number of bytes read
dzBdsLauncher 1.0.3 released
The latest version of dzBdsLauncher can now also handle some .dproj files with invalid ProjectVersion entries (e.g. those generated by project JEDI which apparently uses ProjectVersion 17.3 for all Delphi versions >XE8). It does this by evaluating the DllSuffix entry, if one exists. This can also help solving conflicts if the ProjectVersion is not unique. … Continue reading dzBdsLauncher 1.0.3 released
dzPackageInst 1.0.3 for Delphi released
The new version now has colored output thanks to the late Rudy Velthuis' excellent console units. Thanks again Rudy may you rest in peace. Download is available from the project page on SourceForge.
dzPackageInst 1.0.2 for Delphi 6 to 10.3 released
Today I released version 1.0.2 of dzPackageInst. Its a command line tool that allows installing and uninstalling design time packages into the Delphi 6 to 1.3 IDEs. Source code and download are available from the project page on SourceForge. It's also part of my buildtools which I use for nearly all my projects.
If the hosts file on Windows XP does not work
I just had one of these dreaded occurrences where the hosts file did not work on a Windows XP installation. (Yes, you read that correctly: "Windows XP". I still have got a few installations of that to maintain.) I could not figure out what the problem was, so I turned to Google which found "hosts … Continue reading If the hosts file on Windows XP does not work
TStringList vs. THashedStringList vs. TDictionary
Prompted by the topic Dictionaries, Hashing and Performance in the international Delphi Praxis forum I did some timing to compare the performance of data structures in the Delphi runtime library that can be used to store data indexed by strings: a sorted, case sensitive TStringList (available since Delphi 6) a sorted, case sensitive THashedStringList (available … Continue reading TStringList vs. THashedStringList vs. TDictionary
Delphi is 25 years old
Everybody seems to be blogging about Delphi having been around for 25 years, so I won't stay back and tell some of my story. When I finished university and started a job, Delphi was just about being "born" and I was working with Turbo Pascal and later Visual Basic. VB was great in some aspects … Continue reading Delphi is 25 years old
How the handle declarations changed in Delphi
Delphi has had a THandle type for a long time (at least since Delphi 6) but didn't use it consistently. I just had to check those declarations for various Delphi versions in order to get rid of compile errors or warnings in GExperts. Here is what I found: THandle is a type declared in the … Continue reading How the handle declarations changed in Delphi
Building a project in Delphi 10.3 fails if the build script output contains “error:”
I just had a nasty surprise with Delphi 10.3 when trying to build a project that worked fine with previous Delphi versions. The problem turned out the text one of my pre build events wrote to the output. It contained the string "error :". Apparently Delphi 10.3 parses the output of the build events and … Continue reading Building a project in Delphi 10.3 fails if the build script output contains “error:”
DUnit Folder Iterator Extension
In 2012 Uwe Raabe blogged about an extension to the DUnit framework he had written. He mentioned it today in the German Delphi Praxis forum. Guess what? It's brilliant. It does exactly what I always wanted to write (and never came around doing) for the Unit Tests of the GExperts Code Formatter. Those tests basically … Continue reading DUnit Folder Iterator Extension