Before I can install XE6 I have to uninstall some older versions of RAD Studio because I will run out of disk space on my SSD when I install XE6. The newer the Delphi version is the more disk space it takes, mainly due to the variety of supported platforms (Win32 debug/Win32 release/Win64 debug/…) After installing XE5 I was left with 12 GB free disk space (all the installation image in ProgramData are moved to my HDD) and half a year later I’m down to 6 GB.
I won’t be able to support my IDE plugins for some older RAD Studio versions the moment I uninstall them.
Why not move the older IDEs to another disk and hard link them?
I use the disk space issue as a way out of supporting all those versions with all their compilers dcc32.dll, dcc32.exe, dcc64.dll, dcc64.exe, dccaarm.exe. Do the math. I have to spend too much time doing the research for ever compiler. I have the feeling that the C/C++ compiler that is used to compile the Delphi compilers changes the CPU register allocation with every version, what breaks my “byte sequences” that are used to find the hook addresses. Furthermore I have to test every patch with every version and all compilers before I can release it.
- Supported: RAD Studio 2009 (I use it at work)
- Unsupported: RAD Studio 2010 (extra research costs)
- Supported: RAD Studio XE (I use it for all my personal projects)
- Unsupported: RAD Studio XE2 (only used it for IDEFixPack and DDevEx, obsolete with XE3)
- Unsupported: RAD Studio XE3 (only used it for IDEFixPack and DDevEx, obsolete with XE4)
- Unsupported: RAD Studio XE4 (only used it for IDEFixPack and DDevEx, obsolete with XE5)
- Supported: RAD Studio XE5 (supported until XE7 comes out)
- Supported: RAD Studio XE6 (not yet)