Roger Cigol

This "generalisation" of FireDAC to suit the very many supported databases is one of it's great features. It is worth using approaches that continue/extend this generalisation primarily because it allows re-use of your code in other applications (that could be using different databases). As it happens the job that led to my question is actually migrating a working-well-for-many-years system that uses MS Access to a 64 bit application using PostgreSQL. The fact that the MS Access system uses FireDAC makes this task so much more straightforward.

What you are really asking is "how to convert data in a string of a particular format" into a binary integer. But you are asking this question without giving us the actual string. So with the code where you "get the correct string" - what string do you get? maybe offer a few examples with different inputs on the ADC.

Hi @David Heffernan, My pondering continued (and continues). Can you confirm that I am correct in concluding that it is the application (ie task) responsibility to maintain the correct FPU exception settings amongst threads it uses but it is the operating system's responsibility to maintain the FPU settings when process time is switched from one task to another. If this is the case then this makes sense to me and explains why applying the fixes so well outlined in your pdf would make a lot of sense.

[pdf] That's a very interesting read, thank you I think your statement about what you do to the floating point control state is what I am trying to achieve with my use of the two SetExceptions() calls.

I am very worried by David H's posting here. But also this could explain an issue I've had on a system for a long time that calls a 3rd party dll that I suspect creates it's own threads. This seems to at random times generate unexpected windows "exception" messages. The documentation at https://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/Alexandria/en/About_Floating-Point_Arithmetic is pretty good at telling you HOW to change floating point exceptions but not at all clear at what to set them to! Do you recommend when calling external 3rd party dlls that you make a call to SetExceptions() with a value of zero, storing the result (the current settings) into some local variable) before calling the 3rd party dll and then a call to SetExceptions passing the value saved in the local value as soon as the dll completes ? You may well choose to answer as an experienced Delphi programmer - any advice for me writting in C++ (using classic,, clang32 and clang64 compilers for different apps) would be welcome too. Thinking about the mulit-threading floating point interaction, surely the only way to achieve this would be to make sure the floating point unit is correctly configured before every floating point operation - a major overhead. I am still pondering this....

For me properties are beautiful - they make clear and explicit how items of an interface can be used and, as Anders Melanders states, they hide the internals. And the way the VCL or FMX design time component system works (which relies on properties) is beautiful too.

I use datamodules alot - I remove them from the autocreate list and then manually create and delete them in code (initialising with a nullptr for the owner (I'm a C++ gent)). I find this very convenient. Using pooled connections I find this works well.

Lars, out of interest, where did you get the *.xsd schema that you posted on the RSP-36887? is it a public file or is it subject to confidentiallity and/or copyright issues ?

I can't help here. But I can offer a warning to inexperienced "week number" users (which you may NOT be, I realise) and that is to beware of the week number 53 that does occur from time to time. I spent a long time debugging someone elses code once that stored week data in an array size [52] and overflowed causing corruption when week 53 came along.

I notice a reply from David Millington on RSP-36887

I find this all reassuring - all it really means is that we are all human. Which reminds me, I need to stop and go and cook the evening meal.....

When I open any particular forum item it always opens on the first page. I guess this is a good idea if it's the first time one is reading that set of postings. But surely it is more common that you are going back to see recent additions to and ongoing discussion ( I do this regularly ). It would be much more convenient if, when opening and individual forum item, it opened on the last page (and perhaps even showing the most recent (ie the last) entry ?)....

To much to do and so little time..... Didn't spot that link - many thanks : I can see myself using this frequently (therefore saving just a little time and therefore getting just a little more done....)

Hi Lars, That's exactly what you need ! but what a circuitous route to get there. How am I supposed to know about this link (as a relatively new forum user?). Or do your regular users often go to this "unread" view and work from there?

My mistake - Word press got the better of me - try this link ! https://cigolblog.wordpress.com/?s=Updating+from+Paradox+-+Handling+field+names+containing+%23+symbol.

I had a job to move away from a BDE / Paradox system to FireDAC MS Access a while back. I ran into a problem which I solved as discussed here - might (or might not) be useful: https://wordpress.com/post/cigolblog.wordpress.com/294 (wrong link: see posting below)

Hi Tim, Just spotted you message - thanks for your interest. Definitely looking for a C++ developer....

You can still get the depricated BDE with the 11.0. "but have now trouble to get the program I make to work on windows 10." - you need to work out if your problem is related to Delphi 7 issues or to the database interface using BDE. If it is just the Delphi 7 holding you back then in theory you can solve it by using 11.0 and continue using the BDE. But you are on a road to problems. I would suggest change your interface to FireDAC and never look back ......

Following on from "unreliable login of new users" - Delphi-PRASiS seems to be becoming (at least for me) the main replacement for the sadly missed Embarcadero Forum. So it is important that new users can log in easily and it is important that spam doesn't get here. But what I really miss (or perhaps I don't know how to set up) is a view mode that lists all postings in order of chronology of latest posting - with the most recent at the top. This would be good so a quick glance would show any "new" activity and give me the feeling (illusion?) that I am keeping up to date with what is going on.

Thank you @Uwe Raabe - I hadn't seen this option. It almost works. A screen shot shows them sort of listed in a useful order. But there are four or five "pinned" entries at the top - which I don't need! I wonder how I pinned these? more importantly perhaps you can tell me how to "unpin" them. But your help is much appreciated

Warning: With RAD Studio 11 there is currently an issue with TLabelledEdit if you have the label to the left of the edit box. The positioning of the label sometimes is wrong at design time and it doesn't re position correctly if you update the label contents at run time. If you use TLabelledEdit with labels to the left of the edit box then check this out before moving projects to 11.0. Embarcadero know of this issue. It is not fixed in the "Novemeber" patch.

But if you want to make your forum really popular the "free beer" idea might be worth a try......

Any computer science / electronic engineering students out there wondering what to do after garduating next summer?

Just to agree with everyone re: floating point use I point out that "1.025 sometimes stored as 1.025000001 or 1.0249999999" is an incorrect statement. This is how the numbers are DISPLAYED when converted to decimal. They are stored in BINARY floating point, typically based on the standard IEEE 754-1985 (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_754-1985). Before everyone shouts: I know this is not the latest version of IEEE-754 - but linking to the 1985 version (which only discusses binary floating point) is easier when the discussion is limited to the Delphi (or C++) floating point types.

My tool bar customisations won't stay between different IDE restarts. eg. Add some extra buttons (using the tool bar customisation) and then close the IDE and restart and they are not there. This is very frustrating. I gather that this is a known issue but won't be fixed until 11.1. It's a major inconvenience (I am well behaved and resisting the very strong urge to shout).