I attended the Delphi XE5 Launch event in Toronto yesterday. The big news as everybody knows already is that the cross-platform framework Firemonkey (which is going to be marketed as FM now, it seems) has now got support for the Android NDK (native). That means true native ARM binaries on all 20,000 unique hardware devices so far released for Android, that run one of the three recent and popular versions of Android that this particular NDK tool set can target. That includes the latest "Jelly-Bean" android, and two popular prior versions, enough I think, to cover most people's needs.
I have not yet used the XE5 product, but as my employer is on SA, I am going to grab it as soon as it's released and will be posting my attempts to build a single source iOS and Android app of some sort.
Exciting times.
Yesterday's launch event had the largest turnout for a Delphi launch that i have yet seen. I wonder if part of it was the wonderful choice of launch location (Ruth's Chris Steak House), and the innovative lunch-and-learn concept. Probably there were some people who would have been able to make an evening launch that could not take time off in mid work-day, but that didn't seem to hurt turnout, which was 5x to 10x more people than were at the XE4 launch. The XE4 launch apparently, did not have proper publicity and emails, and it was good to see that the XE5 launch in Toronto was handled much better.
The presentation focused on the new mobile features, which is to be expected, since they're pretty cool. I'm sure that some of the Delphi faithful in Toronto also want Embarcadero to spend time polishing the core Windows and VCL areas of the system, but I don't think any long-term Delphi fans (myself included) are sad to see Delphi acquire new cross-platform capabilities that are, I believe, beyond anything anybody else anywhere has right now. Delphi is out front. Good news for Embarcadero and good news for all of us Delphi users. Our secret weapon now has a new set of cool features. Embarcadero is also committed, it would seem, to sharing with the world, via well-done marketing, that Delphi XE5 has a few new tricks up its sleeves in the productivity Force Multiplier territory that really has been Delphi's key strength even in its single-platform Windows-only days.
I have not yet used the XE5 product, but as my employer is on SA, I am going to grab it as soon as it's released and will be posting my attempts to build a single source iOS and Android app of some sort.
Exciting times.
Yesterday's launch event had the largest turnout for a Delphi launch that i have yet seen. I wonder if part of it was the wonderful choice of launch location (Ruth's Chris Steak House), and the innovative lunch-and-learn concept. Probably there were some people who would have been able to make an evening launch that could not take time off in mid work-day, but that didn't seem to hurt turnout, which was 5x to 10x more people than were at the XE4 launch. The XE4 launch apparently, did not have proper publicity and emails, and it was good to see that the XE5 launch in Toronto was handled much better.
The presentation focused on the new mobile features, which is to be expected, since they're pretty cool. I'm sure that some of the Delphi faithful in Toronto also want Embarcadero to spend time polishing the core Windows and VCL areas of the system, but I don't think any long-term Delphi fans (myself included) are sad to see Delphi acquire new cross-platform capabilities that are, I believe, beyond anything anybody else anywhere has right now. Delphi is out front. Good news for Embarcadero and good news for all of us Delphi users. Our secret weapon now has a new set of cool features. Embarcadero is also committed, it would seem, to sharing with the world, via well-done marketing, that Delphi XE5 has a few new tricks up its sleeves in the productivity Force Multiplier territory that really has been Delphi's key strength even in its single-platform Windows-only days.