Borland Kylix 3

Kylix is Delphi for Linux - a visual programming tool that lets you build applications with Visual Basic-style drag-and-drop. There are a couple of reasons for its appeal. One is that with the new class library, CLX (Component Library for Cross-Platform), it's possible to build applications that compile both for Windows and Linux. The other factor is that Kylix is easier to use and more productive than typical Linux programming tools, which have tended to be text based.

Despite these advantages, Kylix has been a slow starter for Borland. The company hasn't released figures, but a glance at the Kylix newsgroups shows far less activity than that for its Java or Windows products. This might be because Linux on the Desktop is a minority taste, or because cross-platform developers prefer Java, or because Linux developers prefer free tools. There is an Open Edition of Kylix, but quite a bit is missing, including all the database components. However, Kylix 3 will be the most successful version so far, not only because Linux is growing, but also because it supports the Linux community's favourite language, C++.

Borland's marketing on this subject is confusing. The language behind Delphi is Object Pascal - Borland's heavily modified version of Pascal. The company has now renamed this the Delphi language. However, on Windows, the C++ Builder product makes it possible to use the Delphi IDE and component library while coding in C++. Kylix now offers this option as well, but bundled into one product. The thing to remember is that Kylix is the product, with Delphi and C++ the languages. You can choose to launch either the C++ or the Delphi IDE. Despite the confusion, it's a sensible decision and unlikely to lose Borland sales, since few developers would purchase both the Pascal and C++ versions.

The Kylix product consists of compilers, an IDE, and a rich set of components and frameworks. Both C++ and Delphi share the same excellent back-end compiler, the speed of which enables the RAD model to work effectively. The component library divides into various parts. There are the usual GUI widgets, including both standard and data-aware versions of controls like textboxes and grids, plus visual form inheritance is also supported. Kylix uses Trolltech's Qt library and doesn't depend on a particular Desktop. It runs fine in both Gnome and KDE. The database aspect is covered by DataCLX, which is a set of database-independent components for data binding and cacheing in partnership with dbExpress, which handles connectivity to SQL databases including Oracle 9i, IBM DB2, Informix, InterBase, PostgresSQL and MySQL. MyBase, described as a 'personal XML database engine', is a client-side database library useful for cacheing or as a local embedded database.

BizSnap, fully supported only in the Enterprise edition, is an XML Web Service library supporting SOAP, XSL transformations and the XML DOM (Document Object Model). WebSnap and NetCLX handle Internet apps, building Apache CGIs or DSOs (Dynamic Shared Objects). Unfortunately, Apache 2 isn't supported, but Borland promises an update for this. Unlike Delphi 7 (reviewed p210), there's no bundled version of AToZed's IntraWeb, which is a shame, as this would be a good fit with Linux.

DataSnap is the middleware library, supporting distributed data with transaction processing, server object pooling and other enterprise features by linking to providers in an application server, such as Borland's own. Kylix Enterprise includes a developer version of VisiBroker 4.5 for the Delphi language.