From Delphi to .Net

By Alun Williams

Posted on 7 Aug 2002 at 16:29

Borland plots a route to .Net Web Services development using its new Delphi 7 Studio development environment.

Borland boasts that is the first to deliver an independent - ie non-Microsoft - path to .Net with Delphi 7 Studio. The system enables programmers to code applications against Microsoft's framework for delivering Web services.

As well as a new UML (unified modelling language) designer, Delphi 7 Studio supports Model Driven Architecture (MDA) technology. These are features to let developers construct applications with the aid of diagrams.

Delphi is termed a rapid application development (RAD) environment because it lets programmers visually drag and drop elements to manipulate code.

Borland is keen to emphasise the strength of existing Delphi expertise - the company estimates there are one million Delphi developers worldwide - and the familiar route this offers for developers. 'Delphi 7 Studio allows enterprises to begin a smooth transition to .NET on their own schedule, using the skills and resources with which developers are already familiar,' said Simon Thornhill, VP and general manager at Borland. 'The addition of high-quality application lifecycle development solutions such as modelling, MDA, reporting, and cross-platform deployment to Delphi 7 Studio creates new and exciting application development opportunities for Delphi.'

In terms of availability and pricing, Borland Delphi 7 Studio will be available from 20 August, in four editions: Architect, Enterprise, Professional and Personal. UK pricing is as follows: Delphi 7 Studio Architect is priced at $2,399, Enterprise at £1,999, Professional at £699 and Personal at £79.

A 30-day trial version (of the Architect edition) will be available as a download from www.borland.com/downloads/.