Beginner - How is Delphi for mobile development?

[panosdk 3]

Hi to all. I am trying to decide which tool to pick to make mobile apps. I have a vb.net background but I am a hobbyist and not a professional programmer. My end goal is to make a small business by making apps or do freelancing as a side job. Just an extra income with the goal to have fun with programming.  My job doesn't allow me to fully commit to learn a language like java for example. I believe that delphi is much more approachable and easier to learn. Also seems similar to what I was used to. But I don't have a clue if its good for mobile programming. I only know that its really good for windows. I am between Delphi and Livecode, but I hate livecodes programming language.

 

Also everyone is telling me that I will waste my time with Delphi cause there are no jobs and I will end up learning a dead language etc. So this really stops me cause I don't know what is the situation with Delphi right now. 

 

Would like to know your opinion or any advice that you may have as experienced programmers. Thanks in advance.

[John Kouraklis 93]

I never felt comfortable with the C-family languages (curly brackets, declaration of type before the var name, etc.). I find Delphi very natural when it comes to coding. To me, the flow of the language makes sense. But this is personal view.

 

I personally write code in FireMonkey (FMX) only; the cross-platform framework in Delphi and I have abandoned VCL (the Win-only framework) long time ago. It is not as mature and stable as VCL but my opinion is that it does the job. There is a wide range of FMX components available. Of course, there are glitches, flaws and bugs but this is the case in every library out there. You will find lots of controversy in discussions about the maturity of FMX. I would suggect you go through them and make your own decisions. 

 

In terms of jobs, Delphi is not a mainstream language. Depending on where you live you may really find no jobs available. But you say that you are hobbyist so perhaps it makes more sense to learn something that pleases you rather than pays the rent; but, this is your decision to make.

 

In general, go through some discussions on this web site; you will find many knowledgeable and experienced people who share their views on the status and future of the language. This will allow you to draw your own conclusions.

 

You can, also, download Delphi Community Edition which is free and try it out to see how it works for you.

 

And if you decide to give Delphi a try, we all will welcome you to the community

 

[David Heffernan 2290]

Delphi is no easier than Java to learn.

 

Delphi on mobile hasn't had the greatest track record. For instance at the moment there is no 64 bit Android compiler, thus locking delphi out of the app store. Yes there are temporary workarounds but it is not a great situation. 

 

Embarcadero are struggling to keep pace with developments on the platforms that they attempt to support. 

 

Quality has historically been a huge problem for Delphi. Both in their various compilers and related tooling, and their library code. They have a track record of releasing products and libraries that are full of bugs, and then spending many releases trying to fix them.

 

The VCL remains a brilliant piece of work and for native Windows UI development it still excels.

 

If I were you I'd widen the search. You say that you don't have time to learn a more difficult language. And that you want to start a business on the side. To be honest, those two statements don't sound very compatible. Making a business work takes a huge investment of time. Being a successful programmer demands mastery of tools and language. And that takes time. There are no shortcuts. 

Edited September 7, 2019 by David Heffernan

[panosdk 3]

Well business may seem like a serious word. I am a composer and I want to make some training apps about music,mixing etc. These apps wont have anything special other than being an easy reference guide on the phone or pc. I am kind of used to draw my app and then write the code. I am not sure how other languages do guis. I am looking for the easiest way to compile simple applications to all major platforms, thats why I am here. Delphi is more fair at this point with the 5k limit per year for the community edition. 

[David Schwartz 413]

Check out bubble.io and similar platforms. They may be better suited to your needs.

Edited September 8, 2019 by David Schwartz

[Guest]

On 9/7/2019 at 5:17 AM, John Kouraklis said:

But you say that you are hobbyist so perhaps it makes more sense to learn something that pleases you rather than pays the rent; but, this is your decision to make.

IMHO, entering in a "coveted" tool-chain-world will give employment opportunities, sure. BUT what do you want to become? Just read a political article by a professor in physics that warn about another creeping break-down of our times. The fact that less and less people want to actually learn the tech underneath. There are 1000's of sf-books and movies depicting the future where some still use tech but have no idea about it's workings. It even happens in Marlvels Thor-movies.

On 9/7/2019 at 6:34 AM, David Heffernan said:

Delphi is no easier than Java to learn.

Exactly! But IMHO, the "Delphi world" will enable you to get down to the metal. Race conditions, what APIs are the libraries actually calling and why. Change the whole memory-model of an application. Powerful but very dangerous. So... you want to "get to market"? Forget Delphi. You want to aquire knowledge about "it all" from assembler and up. The "D" world (including stuff like FPC, RemObjects, DWScript and all. You will be a unique kind of guy in 20 years hence.

On 9/7/2019 at 6:34 AM, David Heffernan said:

The VCL remains a brilliant piece of work and for native Windows UI development it still excels.

Oh, yes!

[panosdk 3]

Thank you all for your answers. I decided to stick with delphi. I cant just force myself to learn something I dont like. I think delphi will be more fun than anything else. So until there is a very good reason to learn something else I will use delphi.