Monday, August 28, 2006 I remember when I first started working with C#. A friend at Microsoft showed it to me at PDC in 2000. He just happened to be the same guy who introduced me to Delphi a few years earlier, and I remember him saying "You're going to love this." And I did. C# made programming fun again for me after being stuck in the VB world for a couple of years. That fun feeling I had with C# was similar to the fun feeling I had when I was programming with Delphi during the mid-90s.
I enjoyed C# for the years that followed. Of course all the work was web-based. After starting White Peak Software a customer asked me to develop a prototype version of a desktop application. The customer also asked that I use VB.NET, so I gave VB.NET a try. However I stepped away from the project after completing the prototype. Working in VB.NET was an awful experience for me and I now refuse to write any programs using VB.NET.
What was equally as awful was writing a desktop application in .NET (and I have written my fair share of them as well). Sure, it can be done but not with the speed and easy found with Delphi and the VCL. I bought and used Delphi 2005 for the next desktop application I wrote and I haven't looked back. Delphi is back as my language of choice, and the Borland Developer Studio is my IDE of choice for both Delphi and C# development.
The VCL is the magical piece that makes writing Windows desktop application so easy. Sure I love Delphi as a language. Pascal has always been my favorite. I cut my programming teeth on Pascal back in the early 80's. C# is a nice language too especially if you prefer C-style languages, and it's my second programming language of choice. But VCL features such as TFrame and TAction make writing a Windows desktop application make easier compared to .NET.
Today I do more Delphi programming than C# and I couldn't be happier. My customers are happier too. posted by Kirby | August 28 08:22 AM | comments (2)
Sunday, August 27, 2006
I'm not a healthy eat by any means, unless you consider eating large portions of fried chicken and pizza "healthy". But I do like good food and that's what this new book promises. It's a book devoted to delicious gluten-free gourmet dessert recipes.
A Family Affair
My friend Mike, a Cleveland base database developer, and his wife wrote the book that is being sent to the printing facility within the next two week. And I heard their daughter was also involved in making this book happen, a real family affair.
How Do the Desserts Taste
I can't say yet since I haven't tried cooking any of the recipes yet. But I know their recipes have won awards throughout the Cleveland area, and the way Mike has described the dessert to me make them sound mummy.
Gluten-free or not, I'm looking forward to the book and trying some of these delicious desserts. posted by Kirby | August 27 08:46 AM | comments (3)
Friday, August 25, 2006 Here's a nice camera phone picture of Melanie in Rome taking earlier this week. Wish I could have gone with her.
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Kirby
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August 25 12:14 PM
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Thursday, August 24, 2006 Microsoft recently announced .NET 3.0 which is basically the .NET 2.0 Framework with the WinFX library. This has caused a lot of confusion in the software developer community and is in my opinion a stupid move by Microsoft. Turns out I'm not alone in thinking this was a bad move. A petition has been started to reverse the WinFX .NET naming. posted by Kirby | August 24 08:14 AM | comments (2)
Wednesday, August 23, 2006 The Delphi Oktoberfest video is a funny video from the 1995 Borland Developer Conference. The message still applies today. posted by Kirby | August 23 11:31 AM | comments (0)
Friday, August 18, 2006 This goes out to those of you [Brenna] who have mentioned [Brenna] I have not posted any new pictures in over 8 months [Brenna]. The gallery now has 552 [Brenna] new pictures for your [Brenna] viewing pleasure. Enjoy [Brenna]. posted by Kirby | August 18 12:14 PM | comments (2)
- Ever have one of those days where you can't seem to get into your work even though you are under enormous pressure to certain tight deadlines? I'm having one of those days today, which means my brain is trying to tell me to take a break.
- SQLite is an awesome DBMS for single user, desktop applications. I had the opportunity to use SQLite, well, a Delphi favor called DISQLite3 in a project a few weeks ago. The program I wrote called for reading data from multiple CSV files and sending data back out to two more CSV files. The problem I was having was managing data relationships in memory. SQLite and DISQLite3 to the rescue! I imported the CSV data into the SQLite relational database then exported data using SQL queries. I'm now looking for more reasons to use DISQLite3.
- I downloaded and installed the Google AdWords Editor. This neat desktop application makes it easier to manage your AdWord campaigns without having to go through the Web interface. I recommend this program to anyone who needs to make frequent changes to AdWords campaigns.
- Only 17 days remain before the release of Turbo Delphi. I wonder if the new DevCo investor will be announced that same day.
- I'm working on a new web site for a beer drinking game Josh, Brooke, and I invited last year. The site still needs lots of work especially on the copy, but it's a start.
Saturday, August 12, 2006 Earlier this year I ranted about Borland not offering a free personal edition of Borland Developer Studio, and more specifically Delphi. A few months later a trial version was made available for download. But the new DevCo is going one step further with the upcoming release of the Turbo editions of Delphi, Delphi.NET, C++, and C#.
The single language Turbo editions come in two flavors, Explorer and Professional. Explorer is FREE while Professional will be less than $500 (and less then $100 for students). The only restriction in the Explorer addition is the fixed component palette. In other words, the Explorer edition, which comes with hundreds of pre-built components will not allow you use to 3rd party components. But that's okay because it is FREE.
The return of single language Turbo editions is exciting news. Now all those others developers who hear me preach about the wonders of Delphi will have a chance to give Turbo Delphi a spin at no cost. And once they discover the power they will be able to buy the professional edition at a reasonable price.
For me, I plan to stick with Borland Developer Studio because I need to multi-language support. But I'm still excited about the new opportunities the Turbo editions will create.
Go DevCo! posted by Kirby | August 12 05:11 PM | comments (1)
I've been away for the last two weeks, which means I have a back log of emails waiting for responses. Since it will be a few days before I can answer all of the emails I thought I sled light on what has happened over the last two weeks and the events that caused me to go dark.
Rip VanWinkle
First, my cousin Michael, aka Rip, aka Mike, died unexpectedly on Sunday, June 30. Michael and I grew up together and he was like a brother to me. I haven't seen Michael as much as I would have liked over the last few years because I live in the Northeast and he was in Jackson, Tennessee. I only saw him, and his awesome wife and daughters once or twice a year. But I still think of him often and exchange the occasional email, phone call and text messages from time to time throughout the year.
It's been almost two weeks since I got the phone call about Michael and there is still a part of me that is in disbelief. I believe this is due in part to the fact that we only saw each other a couple of times a year. But I know it is going to hit me, as it already had a few times, when I don't receive any more picture emails Rip's cute daughters, or I don't hear his laugh at the next Redneck Shindig.
I love you and miss you. Farwell buddy.
Time Away
After receiving the news about Michael, my wife Melanie and I headed down to Memphis to be with the family. It was a very emotional week, which left Melanie and me both thinking a lot about death. We had a vacation planned for the week of the unfortunate event so we postponed it by one week. This gave Melanie and me time to talk to each other about Michael, death, funerals, family, and so on. But we also enjoyed some time being disconnected from the world.
We went to Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island in Maine. We stayed at the Bass Harbor campgrounds, which is a great place to stay by the way. We rode bikes through the carriage roads of Acadia, drove up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain, dipped our toes in the frigid ocean waters, took a swim in Echo Lake, ate lobster, and saw amazing sceneries. It was the perfect getaway.
On the drive back home from Acadia we decided to surprise the Davis clan by making a quick visit to Killington, Vermont. Melanie's whole family was there. Seeing them was a great way to end the events of the last two weeks.
We're back in Salem now, which means a return to reality of emails, work travel and more new security changes at airport ports. May be it's time for the whole world to take a vacation, disconnect, and get a fresh to outlook on things. posted by Kirby | August 12 10:30 AM | comments (1)
