Patrick PREMARTIN

You can also read the "Delphi Language Guide" from https://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/en/Delphi_Language_Guide_Index

Just a question to @PhilBoy : you say Object Pascal, but do you know if it is in Delphi, Lazarus or an other environment ? Let's suppose it's Delphi, do you know what was the development version ? The language don't differ a lot between releases, but used libraries does.

It can also be a solution for taking better care of yourself during the working day, like 30 years ago on a good 386 PC.

Hi A big change today : Parallels has a preview version to use an Intel VM on Apple Silicon processors ! https://kb.parallels.com/130217?clientId=1124674873.1667385428&sessionId=1734971168&alid=540884306.1736874968 (I have no x86 / X86_64 Parallels VM to test so I can't say if it's working or not in practice)

Good to read. You just have to add macOS and (?) iOS SDK to RAD Studio and you're ready to "play" with Apple next nightmare: the certificates and provisioning profiles. (but for Mac you need the SDK and it's enough to develop)

Don't forget you can submit issues to the quality portal from the docwiki footer link. Use it if you find errors, outdated pages or need more info. The installer is supposed to work. Sometimes there are problems on some computers, the doc can't manage all cases. Embarcadero support team can be contacted for installation problems (depending n your license status).

Hi @robfr If the Mac mini and the PC are on the same network you should have no problem between PAServer on the Mac and RAD Server on the PC except if a firewall block the communication. I wrote a post about that a few years ago at https://developpeur-pascal.fr/se-preparer-a-developper-pour-mac-os-x-depuis-windows-avec-delphi--rad-studio.html On the PC : - copy PAServer.pkg from the RAD Studio installation folder and install it on your Mac On the Mac : - you need Xcode - you need PAServer - start PAServer, don't put a password when it ask for one and use "i" to show current IP address and "v" to show the log On the PC : - start RAD Studio - go to Tools / Options / Depoyment / Platform profiles (or something like that, I don't remember the English text) - add a new profile and give it the IP address shown by PAServer - test the connection It should not be more complex than that. A "ping" from the Mac to the PC IP and from the PC IP to the Mac are supposed to work. If PAServer can't show an IP, the problem is somewhere on the Mac and it's network connectivity. If RAD Studio can't connect to PAServer, it can be blocked by a firewall on Windows (or sometimes an antivirus like McAfee).

Hi Gabriel : In your blog post you give wrong prices for the certificates. Some provider don't multiply the price by the number of years...

Thank you for these clarifications. Seen from this angle, the choice was a logical one. 🙂

The answer should be there : https://docwiki.embarcadero.com/PlatformStatus/en/Main_Page

For the graphics you also have https://www.tmssoftware.com/site/diagram.asp or can be inspired by https://github.com/tothpaul/DelphiTips.LinkEditor from @Paul TOTH

- What to use for generating and managing license keys? Many solutions are available from open source (check OnGuard) or expensive tiers dependent. I've developed my own, which is currently being deployed on all my software, with an online backoffice and a Delphi client unit. A simple use of keys to activate or not the software by code according to its state of activation. (I'm distributing it on a monthly or yearly hosting basis, and will soon be offering it for sale). - What to use for online sales? It depends on your target : public, companies or a short list of potential clients. Using the Mac App Store and Microsoft Store with their APIs to check if the program has been bought or using inApp purchase to activate the license could be a solution. If you distribute yourself choose a merchant of records (to avoid getting lost in paperwork and bookkeeping) like Gumroad, LemonSqueezy, Paddle, GoCardless, 2checkout and so many others. If you want to sell yourself the best solution is Stripe (or Paypal with the risk they cancel the account or some orders when they want). If you have only one software to sell use a simple website and add "buy" buttons connected to the resellers or payement sites. If you have more than one site you can open an online store with LiteCart (light, easy and simple to use) or more complex solution not adapted to softwares selling like Prestashop or WooCommerce. - What to use for producing PDF content? It depends on what you need on the PDF. TMS Software has a library for that and you can also try "FPDF-Pascal" open source project or reporting systems like Fast Reports. - What to use for internal product database? (leaning to either SQLite, Firebird, or IBLite) It depends on what you will store in it. If you use the latest SQLite driver and release you can't encrypt the database except by buying the encryption module from SQLite.org IBLite is limited is database sizes and encryption. (Embarcadero has offers for IBToGo for software publishers) Firebird is a good choice, but you'll have to maintain the DLL and update it if security issues are detected. - What to use to product help files (all embedded within executable, some in exe/some on website, all on website)? I use Help'n Doc. A good product simple to use, stable, with many possibilities and export formats. - Font oddities with VCL TCanvas If you have weird things, open issues on the quality portal. - Thinking about when/if to consider adding Skia and where to start with it Using Skia is simple : you only have to activate it on your project. It doesn't change our code to draw on TCanvas. Just try it. (it could change the behavior you have with fonts)

Hi. In your project, do you think an other language could have been better or Delphi was a good choice ? What's missing from the docs or the web in general that could have helped us go faster or more efficiently?

nice ad for an affiliate website promoting "partners" programs

I'm on a Parallels VM of Windows ARM since the release of the ARM version of Parallels. All is working fine (except the debugger some times). My Mac mini M1 has 8Gb RAM and 256Gb SSD. It's enough to work but 16Gb RAM is better to open more than 1 VM and 1To of SSD is better to not have external SSD on each USB port... 😉 You can leave your Intel Mac or use it to test your x32/x64 programs compiled for macOS or Windows with Delphi.

the virtualisation software don't convert x64 to ARM code on a Mx Mac you need to use Windows ARM you can't move an x64 VM to an ARM computer, neither on PC nor Mac on the other hand, everything can be installed without any problem, as long as there's no need for a specific driver that hasn't been ported to ARM.

I don't know for the SIM itself, but the software need one and ask for it before doing anything with a certificate

Strange, the SIM I received didn't have a PIN, I had to set one with their software.

All will be done online with a little program to download (they provide all links and docs during the process). You should receive the box soon. When received, if Certum hasn't responded after 2 days, don't hesitate to tell support so that they can start the control procedure. When I renewed late this year, everything was done in less than 5 working days (I reused the token I received the year before).

The CSC are available only on physical token or by a cloud hosting solution like Amazon HSM (https://aws.amazon.com/fr/cloudhsm/). If a provider tells you an other thing, it talks about an SSL certificate or it's not a real CSC provider. The less expensive I've found is Certum. I use them since two years. If you choose the token they send a USB SIM card reader (not compatible with Windows ARM) and a SIM for the storage. After that the certificate is delivered directly to the token by a Java app. The PIN code is needed for each signature. If you choose the cloud CSC you will have to use a Java app each time you sign to allow access to the certificate. Other provider has physical keys which need or don't need the PIN for each signature. Check before ordering. If you try Certum, order here : https://certum.store/data-safety/code-signing-certificates.html Choose the "Standard code signing" in the cloud or set (the box with SIM+card reader) depending on what you need.

"I" is a variable. Its value is known during and after the loop. It's not a good way to write code but it's not wrong. The "for" loop can be seen as a "while I<=LastValue" with a "inc". It's a reason why so many developers wanted the "for var" syntax.

if it's an old project you perhaps saved its desktop for other projects it's simple : a checkbox at the bottom of the welcome page

Thanks 🙂 I was a SEO guy in an other life. Putting links and hashtags everywhere has become a reflex, I can be quite insistent on that, please excuse me. As long as we're spreading our codes, we might as well do our utmost to make sure they have a chance of being seen one day. To infinity and beyond, Delphi defeats the TIOBE index! Maybe I'm overdoing it?

please, please, please, don't forget to add some topics to your repositories to increase cross visibility like I have on https://github.com/DeveloppeurPascal/My-Advent-Of-Code-Delphi-Projects plllleeeeeaaaasssseeeee

I'll try to start this week-end on Twitch, but will probably prefer coding some things on my games or tools. I'm not really focused on this challenge this year, which is weird. 😉