Hi Milan:


Thanks so much for your comments and your work on FlameRobin.

> So, what's wrong with Delphi?

Nothing, I suppose. I never really got "into the groove" with
ObjectPAL which I understand is a close relative to Dellphi's Pascal
variant. Also, I'm not sure I want to tie to Borland technologies.
They seem to be getting squeezed progressively harder between
Microsoft's offerings and those in the open source world. Moreover,
I'm still disappointed with how they handled the open-sourcing of
InterBase and the subsequent fallout. Borland probably won't be
getting any of my money for a while longer.

> > My target platform is Win32 (i.e. 2000/XP/ and maybe 98). Multi-
> > platform capability would be a STRONG plus, however. [Does this
> > automatically mean Java? or .NET+Mono?]
>
> No it doesn't mean anything automatically. You have many, many
> alternatives (C++, Python, PHP...)

As I understand it, PHP is reserved for browser-basd apps. I'm
looking to code native Win32 apps.

If I were to code in C++ (notwithstanding the steep learning curve)
I'd be forced to (AT LEAST!) write a different front-end for each
platform. That would be a pain.

It seems (for possible cross platform development) this leaves
interpreted languages like Java, .NET/Mono or Python (as you
suggest) -- and maybe Perl, TCL, etc. That, or an environment that
can compile to diferent OSes (like Revolution, which I have discussed
elsewhere in this thread).

I'd actually prefer my resulting program(s) to be a compiled binary
for another reason -- namely no further interpreters would need to be
installed. [Although I suppose it is possible to bundle the
installation of Python (or similar) with my app.]

> Sure. Well, I believe Delphi proffesional + IBObjects licence withs
> in.

Jason seems to have done amazing work with IBOjects. However, I am
trying to avoid "proprietary" means of connecting to the backend.
I'd also like to avoid whatever royalties those connectivities might
entail.

> I suggest you to also try:
> IBForms (from IBExpert) freeware, but no free support, integrated
> IBO and FastReports. This is probably the easiest to learn
> solution, since for simple projects you don't need to program at
> all (something like M$ Access).

I'm downloading this as I write. Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately,
there doesn't seem to have been an update since September 2002.

It will be intersting to see what this can do . . .

> wxWidgets with wxODBC driver and some good tool to develop gui like
> wxDesigner, and some good ODBC driver for Firebird (there are free
> ones and commercial ones, so price may vary).
> The same, but with native IBPP access library.
> wxPython with kinderbasdb (I hope I got that name right), which is
> completely free. There are many RAD IDEs for wxPython. I haven't
> tried any (since I don't program in Python), so you'll have to try
> which suits you best.

Good tip! These options might be good royalty-free alternatives to
Rekall.

> As for Kylix, in this case I suggest you forget about it.

Thanks. That's what I've heard before. This, however, makes Delphi
even less interesting. Long term I'd like an environment that
acknowledges the world's attempt to break free from MS and move to
open platforms like Linux. :-)


Felix