Newly released book: Delphi Legacy Projects

[Bill Meyer 337]

There are many legacy projects which are still in active production. This volume offers approaches to refactoring and modernizing the code base without the need for complete redesign and rewrite. Evolution, not revolution. These are approaches well suited to the incremental revision of production code, as is usually the concern with a commercial product.

Motivated by my own experience with legacy apps and the need to find a manageable approach to transforming a product in current production.

On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2TY6ZZ4

[corneliusdavid 220]

Is there a PDF version available?  Or even Kindle?

[Bill Meyer 337]

24 minutes ago, corneliusdavid said:

Is there a PDF version available?  Or even Kindle?

Not at present. I anticipate offering a PDF, but the book layout is not compatible with flowed text, so no eBook will appear.

[Der schöne Günther 316]

Amazon in my country lists it as "Currently not available, unknown when it will be". 😐

 

Please consider at least some kind of PDF. Kindle, however, would be much appreciated. It's just so incredibly comfortable, and other coding books have this option as well.

[Javier Tarí 23]

23 minutes ago, Bill Meyer said:

Not at present. I anticipate offering a PDF, but the book layout is not compatible with flowed text, so no eBook will appear.

I was just looking to purchase it as ebook; I read a lot of ebooks, but can't remember when did I read the last paper book

 

Btw, in Amazon Spain the book is not listed

[Bill Meyer 337]

44 minutes ago, Der schöne Günther said:

Amazon in my country lists it as "Currently not available, unknown when it will be". 😐

 

Please consider at least some kind of PDF. Kindle, however, would be much appreciated. It's just so incredibly comfortable, and other coding books have this option as well.

I will need to see whether I have made some error which prevents it being listed for your country.

I expect to offer a PDF. Many books include only snippets of code. Some examples in my book are a good deal longer and would not do well in a flow format.

[Bill Meyer 337]

25 minutes ago, Javier Tarí said:

I was just looking to purchase it as ebook; I read a lot of ebooks, but can't remember when did I read the last paper book

 

Btw, in Amazon Spain the book is not listed

I will check the settings in Amazon. This is my first publication there, and I may well have failed to check the appropriate box(es).

[Bill Meyer 337]

Availability: Amazon informs me that it can take 3-5 days to appear in foreign markets.

[RCrandall 8]

Bought it!  This looks like something I can really use!

 

Thanks, Rob C

[Bill Meyer 337]

UPDATE: I see that my book is available now in Europe, and some sales have been logged there. So for anyone awaiting that availability. wait no more.

[Thijs van Dien 9]

Looking forward to the PDF version. :)

[Rinzwind 27]

8 hours ago, Thijs van Dien said:

Looking forward to the PDF version. 🙂

Don't release one, it will be pirated in no time. Nothing as comforting as reading from real paper in a real book 😉 

[Fr0sT.Brutal 900]

3 hours ago, Rinzwind said:

Don't release one, it will be pirated in no time. Nothing as comforting as reading from real paper in a real book 😉 

Unless delivery to your location costs twice as the book itself

[corneliusdavid 220]

12 hours ago, Rinzwind said:

Don't release one, it will be pirated in no time. Nothing as comforting as reading from real paper in a real book

I don't buy printed tech books anymore--electronic only. That way I can take my library anywhere I go--like when I go to a meeting or when I'm camping. I never know when I'll need a reference for something and I'm constantly switching projects.

And yes, I pay for every one I get.

[Der schöne Günther 316]

Same here. I can hardly see myself buying a textbook on paper ever again.

 

Also, don't forget syncing your position. I really like to read something on my computer, or Kindle, and half a day later, I can continue reading on my phone, exactly where I left off.

[RCrandall 8]

This book looks like it is going to be invaluable to me and my team.  I have a 20 year old project and nearly everything in the book applies to it.  I'm buying three more copies to give to my co-developers.

 

 

[Bill Meyer 337]

UPDATE: The book is now available in PDF at: https://wmeyer.tech/books

 

I am working on an ebook version, but the book format is not a good fit for ebook, so I am having to rework the presentation a good deal. Probably a couple of weeks till I can have it ready.

[Bill Meyer 337]

Amazon shows the book out of print. They had a corrupted PDF, and though I uploaded a replacement almost 12 hours ago, they have not moved things forward. 

 

I am not taking the book out of print. Amazon is a thing unto itself.

[hsauro 40]

How are you publishing it, kdp or something else like ingramspark or a separate publisher?

[Bill Meyer 337]

On 6/25/2022 at 12:00 PM, hsauro said:

How are you publishing it, kdp or something else like ingramspark or a separate publisher?

KDP. The challenge is that if they find any issue with a PDF after upload, the feedback is not useful. To declare "internal corruption" in a 480 page PDF which has already been verified in multiple readers is no help whatever, and leaves room only for guesswork.

As of this morning, the book is again available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Delphi-Legacy-Projects-Strategies-Survival/dp/B0B2TY6ZZ4

And the PDF through: https://wmeyer.tech

[Gary 18]

Your book couldn't have come out at a better time for me! As a hobbyist I wrote my first commercial application for a friend about 3 years ago the old RAD way. I have been adding features and fixing bugs since then. As expected, I now have a big ball of mud. I had just started refactoring when the book was published. Every Delphi book I have purchased has paid for itself with even 1 tip, this was no different. I have found many useful suggestions in particular section 13.6.6 Arrays vs Cases. I had to laugh at myself reading 2.3.1 "the developed application looks as though the developers never saw a component they didn't like." CHECK

[Bill Meyer 337]

Glad you are finding it worth your time!

[Baron Software 2]

Bill,

 

I have a Delphi 5 application that needs to be finally brought into the latest Delphi, would this book assist in refactoring that application ?

[David Schwartz 430]

On 12/23/2022 at 9:22 AM, Baron Software said:

Bill,

 

I have a Delphi 5 application that needs to be finally brought into the latest Delphi, would this book assist in refactoring that application ?

You typically don't need to refactor older apps to build them in newer versions of Delphi. But moving a D5 app into something built with D10 and beyond could be quite a challenge, mainly because so many components suffered End-of-Life after D6 or D7, and then again when D10 introduced generics. If all of the 3rd-party component libs the app uses are still available, then you're in luck. If not, you're probably stuck with D5 unless you want to do some major redevelopment -- more than refactoring.

[Gary 18]

There is an interview with the author on Embarcadero's YouTube channel you may be interested in

Upgrading and Maintaining Delphi Legacy Projects