Delphi 12.0 Athens - Platform status

[Rollo62 536]

Hi there,

 

I'm a little unsure about the PlatformStatus, cite note what this line really means:

 

Quote

Note: (1) Unless specified, both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows platforms are supported. As of RAD Studio 10.4 Sydney only macOS and Linux 64-bit platforms are supported.

Windows Server 2022, Ubuntu 22, Android 13, iOS 16, and macOS Ventura support require RAD Studio 11.3.

Does that mean, that the new Delphi 12.0 Athens officially is NOT able to fully support Android 13 and iOS 16 ( 32 and 64 Bit ) ?
But neither is RadStudio 11.3.

I cannot believe this, since we are waiting urgently to receive version 12.0 to exactly support the newest Android, iOS and Macos versions, of course in a backwards compatible manner.

How would I have to support 32-Bit, older platforms then?
New versions of the IDE will force me to have newer code, and it will break into two branches of source codes then.

How to handle that in practice?

 

Perhaps, I just misread the intention of this line somehow.

Please clarify, if anybody has deeper insights.

 

Edit:

Maybe a note from ChatGPT can help to clarify here.
It has the opinion that "requires RAD Studio 11.3 or later" is missing, same as I do:

Quote

Ideally, documentation should explicitly state which versions of software are required to use certain features to avoid any ambiguity.

In the context of software versioning, it's not uncommon for a phrase like "requires RAD Studio 11.3" to imply that this is the minimum version required and that subsequent versions will also support the feature unless explicitly stated otherwise.
However, for clarity and to eliminate any potential confusion, it would be better for the documentation to explicitly state that "RAD Studio 11.3 or later" is required if that is indeed the case.

Without this explicit statement, there is an assumption made, but it's not definitive.
The use of "RAD Studio 11.3" without further qualification can lead to the interpretation that only this specific version is supported, although that may not be the intent.

 

Finally, these requirements can clarify this question too.
https://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/Athens/e/index.php/Installation_Notes#Requirements_for_Supported_Target_Platforms

Edited November 7, 2023 by Rollo62

[Brandon Staggs 278]

1 hour ago, Rollo62 said:

Maybe a note from ChatGPT can help to clarify here.

ROTFL

[Remy Lebeau 1398]

1 hour ago, Rollo62 said:

Does that mean, that the new Delphi 12.0 Athens officially is NOT able to fully support Android 13 and iOS 16 ( 32 and 64 Bit ) ?

Not sure about Delphi, but the "What's New" page in the DocWiki says the following about C++, though:

Quote

Removed iOS and Android

RAD Studio Athens removed the iOS 64-bit and Android 32-bit platforms because it cannot support the platforms if it does not support the deployment of apps to their Stores. Please use 11.3 to build for iOS or Android with C++.

 

[Dalija Prasnikar 1396]

2 hours ago, Rollo62 said:

Does that mean, that the new Delphi 12.0 Athens officially is NOT able to fully support Android 13 and iOS 16 ( 32 and 64 Bit ) ?

Delphi 12 supports those platforms. It is probably left over text from version 11, where You needed at least 11.3 to run applications on Android 13.

 

I haven't tested it on iOS, but Delphi 12 definitely supports Android 13, including uploading on Google Play.

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by Dalija Prasnikar

[Rollo62 536]

12 hours ago, Remy Lebeau said:

because it cannot support the platforms if it does not support the deployment of apps to their Stores. Please use 11.3 to build for iOS or Android with C++. 

Yes, you're right. This statement is a little more clear, but still missing the clear explanation of what implications to expect for Delphi.

Maybe there is another DocWiki-Page, showing this, I still haven't found it yet.

Is this a C++ only issue and no changes on the Delphi side?

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by Rollo62

[Lars Fosdal 1792]

AFAIK, it is a C++ only issue.

[Dalija Prasnikar 1396]

4 hours ago, Rollo62 said:

Yes, you're right. This statement is a little more clear, but still missing the clear explanation of what implications to expect for Delphi.

There are no implications for Delphi. this is solely C++ Builder issue.

 

AFAIK, C++ Builder side is going through a major upgrade https://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/Athens/e/index.php/BCC64X and this work had a priority over supporting iOS and Android (which never had 64-bit compiler required for distribution through Google Play Store)

[Roger Cigol 103]

..... and I am still hoping that with the new C++ approach that will eventually come there will after that eventually be Android 64 bit C++ support.   

[Dalija Prasnikar 1396]

1 hour ago, Roger Cigol said:

..... and I am still hoping that with the new C++ approach that will eventually come there will after that eventually be Android 64 bit C++ support.   

This work on modernization is the foundation as potential future support for Android and iOS requires more modern toolchain.