1 comments about The Revolutionary Guide to Delphi 2.

1. Often confusing, and leaving important details for later, this book got confusing enough that I had to eventually put it down. It does assume that you do have some programming experience in another language and thusly does not go into the basic programming theories which programmers already know.

5 comments about Database Developer's Guide With Delphi 2 (Sams Developer's Guide).

1. I've been buying computer books for the better part of 25 years. Around 1990 things went down hill in a big way. I don't know how or why, but somewhere around my first Unleashed or Teach Yourself book I began to smell a rat. Technical publishing had become big business and the quality of the books had declined markedly. My response to this was to be much more careful about what I bought. There was a time when you could count on publishers to weed out crumy books, but those days are long gone. I suspsect there's a bad book published just about every day nowadays, and you have to be careful lest you end up wasting your money on one of them.

   What does all that have to do with this book? Very simple: this book is the antithesis of all that's wrong with the computer publishing industry. It's a masterpiece in the spirit of the old classics. It *feels* like it was written before the industry was ruined by unscrupulous publishers and authors. It takes me back, but takes me way forward at the same time.

   This guy can write, and thankfully for us all, he took the time to do so and put down on paper one of the best computing how-to books ever written. The explanations are clear, concise, and thought-provoking. The practices recommended are logical and innovative. The prose is first-rate and stands on its own independent of the technical info.

   I recently bought another of this fellow's books -- The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL -- even though I don't work with Microsoft SQL Server just because I like to read what he writes. I'll probably continue to do so just because his expressions never fail to give me a warm smile here or there. He loves what he does and it shines through in his work.

   The book is a classic and belongs on the shelf of any Delphi developer who wants to really master the tool. If you're wanting to learn Delphi at the feet of a guru, you've come to the right place.




2. I do not like writing negative book reviews (see other books I have reviewed) but I feel I have to in this case.

   I bought this book because a major portion of the book (Chapters 8 to 14) goes through a tutorial of developing a database application using Delphi. I quickly ran into problems.
   1. In many cases, what the book says and the illustrations do not match. This can be very confusing. In most cases, follow what the book says (exception: Chapter 9 - the editform where the illustration is correct; I believe a paragraph has been deleted here.)
   2. The author's style of writing is verbose. It would be much easier if steps were written in a 1-2-3 manner so that it is easy to follow rather than putting everything into essay form. If you were spending a half hour a day or so working through the book, it can be very difficult to pick up where you left off. Also in the future if you want to refer to something, it is very difficult to look it up.
   3. (personal opinion) I happen to disagree both with the author's user interface and with his method of data modeling.
   4. There is a CD with the book which supposedly has all the source code from the book. This would be a good place to check the typographical errors and to see a complete finished product with all the code. Unfortunately the finished product does not work, the code in the CD has no resemblance whatsoever to what was in the tutorial.

   On the bright side, I like his naming conventions for objects (Chapter 4). Also one of the few books I have come across that goes through report writing in some detail (Chapter 12) and the Control Grid component (user beware: the control grid component comes with the developer's edition of Delphi, not the desktop edition).

   If you are really interested in database programming with Delphi, and are willing to take the time and spend the effort to do it right, I would recommend that you get:
   1. A good book on database design (eg. "An introduction to database systems" by Date, "Data Analysis for Data Base Design" by Howe)
   2. A good book on user interface design
   3. A good book on Delphi techniques (eg. "Mastering Delphi" by Cantu)




3. I don't write many good technical book reviews. Most books just don't deserve it. This one, however, is an exception.

   I bought this book because a good portion of it is dedicated to a tutorial that shows how to develop a complete database application using Delphi. I have never seen such a detailed, complete tutorial in a technical book. It spans some seven chapters and takes you from literally nothing but a concept of what the application might to do a polished product. I've never seen anything like it in a book before.

   Some highlights:

   1. The interleaving of the figures and commentary is excellent. It feels like you've got the instructor right there in the room with you. You get the sense that the author has built an application or two.

   2. The prose is friendly, yet nitpickingly technical and complete. Useful tips abound. Usually, you don't get both technical excellence and good writing in the same computer book. Not true with this one. This is some of the best technical writing I've ever read.

   3. The approach taken to show user-interface design is right on the money. It's better than many books dedicated to the subject. Henderson apparently comes from the same school of thought as Microsoft. His recommendations follow those of the book "The Windows User Interface Guidelines for Software Design" (from Microsoft Press), though his book predates this book.

   I also really love his approach to database design and data modeling. It is a nice cross between the approach C.J. Date's books take (e.g., Foundation for Future Database Systems - Addison-Wesley) and those of Joe Celko (e.g., Data and Databases - Morgan-Kaufmann). His approach is practical, yet grounded in solid theory. Here is a database wiz who knows both sides of the business -- the high-brow theory and the stuff that pays the bills.

   4. The CD is a great value in and of itself. In addition to providing the full source code for the book (there must be thousands of lines of it), it also contains a number of extra utilities and components that have value a part from the book. I would have paid what I did for the book just to get the CD.

   The book is simply a masterpiece that has stood the test of time. The naming conventions chapter, the report writing chapter, the chapter on the BDE, the one on creating your own data-aware components, etc., make for some of the best technical writing out there on Delphi or any other language tool.

   If you are really interested in database programming with Delphi, this is the one book to have. It tells you everything you need to know to build robust, scalable, polished Delphi applications for the complex world of Windows.

   I liked this one so much that I recently paid big $$ to get the sequel to this book (Client/Server Developer's Guide with Delphi) from a collector. I'll post a review of it as soon as I finish going through it. Already I'm learning tons.

   One last comment: I loved the Epilogue. No one has ever said it better!




4. I have all the Delphi books out there - Cantu, Calvert, etc. - and none of them compare to this one. It's written better than 99% of the technical books you will find. It is also jam-packed with useful technical info. No other Delphi book compares.

   The best things about this one are:

   * Detailed instructions on connecting to and working with the leading DBMSs. Just the other day this saved my behind with an Oracle problem I was having.

   * The components chapter. I couldn't believe how easy it was to make data bound components.

   * The tutorial. I worked through this and learned oodles of things that I didn't know about Delphi (I've been using Delphi since version 2).

   It's just a great book that belongs in your library if you're serious about Delphi.




5. This is the Michael Jordan of Delphi books. It is the best there ever was, the best there will ever be. Every page in this book holds knowledge that Delphi programmers should know. If you're a new Delphi developer, you need this book to learn how the masters do things. If you're an intermediate developer, you need this book to take you to the next step in your development as a programmer. And if you're an expert, you need this book to learn some tricks from an old master and to see how the wizards do things. From the expert commentary, to the excellent writing, to the treasure trove of technical advice, this is, page-for-page, the best Delphi book ever written.

5 comments about Delphi 2 Developer's Guide (Sams Developer's Guide).

1. Xavier and Steve do an excellent job of delving into the more advanced aspects of Delphi 2 and Win32 development, without wasting a lot of time on the 'newbie' stuff. Highly recommended!



2. When many computer books today are just a rehash of the documentation, this book stands out as a real problem solver.
   Although this book is not geared towards the beginner, if you are serious about developing applications in Delphi, this book should be on your shelf. In depth explainations and real world examples make this book well worth the price. Specifically helpful chapters include explainations of Windows Messaging, the Win32 API, multi-threaded applications, OLE, and more. There are also some very good chapters on porting your applications to Delphi 2 (32-bit) and differences between 16-bit and 32-bit applications.
   As a Delphi developer, I keep this book handy at all times, and I am looking forward to the Delphi 3 version



3. The Delphi 2 Developers Guide is the authoritative source I consult for advanced programming topics in Delphi. This book is aptly marketed as an expert level book. It goes well beyond the scope of the "This is Delphi" books typically found on store shelves. An underrated feature of this book is its comprehensive appendices of error codes. I highly recommend this book to anyone serious about Delphi programming



4. THIS BOOK is art of perfection. No more to say. THANKS to the authors



5. If you want to do some serious work with Delphi, this book is for you. I covers virtually everything you must know about Delphi. Thanks to the authors.

No comments about The Tomes of Delphi: Developer's Guide to Troubleshooting (Wordware Delphi Developer's Library).

No comments about Mastering Delphi Programming (Palgrave Master).

5 comments about Building Delphi 6 Applications.

1. The title off this book must be Delphi for Dummies, or beginners, there are not delphi 6 information like CLX full explanation, webSnap, DataSnap, XML components, and others new features.



2. First the bad news. like they said: this book does not have much on the new features specific to Delphi 6. When it comes to the point, it doesn't have much on Delphi 5 features either: it has nothing on the ADO data connections in Delphi 5 and 6, and only a short (but to someone new to it concise and useful) introduction to the Microsoft office automation features. If you want a comprehensive overview of the new features and how to use them, go to Mastering Delphi 6 or the Delphi 6 Developers Guide.

   Having said that, don't discount this book. It has a respectable and solid niche. For someone new to Delphi, or a programmer from another language who wants an orientation to Delphi, this book has achieved what no other Delphi book has to date. It provides a succinct, friendly introduction to Delphi and object pascal, and gets you up to date with features such as working with databases and the web to about the level of Delphi 4 functionality. He provides a lot of the material and background that books such as Mastering Delphi and the Delphi Developers guide tend to skip over to fit other stuff in. He doesn't really stop to teach you Pascal itself though (he pretty much assumes you know looping and conditional statements and that sort of stuff, which is often a fair assumption), so if you are really a beginning beginner you might want to find a tutorial on the web or an introduction to Pascal book.

   If you are a beginner to RAD or object oriented programming and want to pick up the power of Delphi, this book and then afterwards the Delphi Developers guide is an excellent choice. If you are in this situation and want to buy just one Delphi book however, I'd suggest Mastering Delphi 6.

   If you are using Delphi 5 or 6, this book will not cover all its features. Don't expect it to. But if you want to get the basics of object oriented programming in Delphi and a good grounding in its basics, this is a great place to start.

   Difficulty ratings:

   Building Delphi 6 applications: Beginner - Intermediate
   Mastering Delphi 6: Intelligent/Experienced beginner - advanced
   Delphi Developers Guide 6: Intermediate -advanced

   Pricing . . . this book is probably priced a bit high for what it is. It is competing by title, price and marketing with 1500 page tomes that cover everything. The publisher would be better of rebranding it into a new niche of making Delphi easy to learn, at which I think this book excels.

   Potential . . . this book has a lot of potential to position itself as a great learning object pascal and Delphi book. I think it would gain greatly from adding more of the absolute basics like learning plain Pascal so it could be a one-stop learn from scratch resource, and it obviously needs to get up to date with Delphi 5 and 6, particularly with regard to databases (ADO/dbGo, dbExpress, Interbase express) but also CLX, datasnap, XML, and so on. I think if the next edition builds on the basics but adds a concise section on up to date and new features, and changes or reflects its title more, it can be a winner.

   A note to Paul Kimmel (the author): you sure hit a lot of flack with the title! I can see where you're coming from - if you call it Building Delphi 5 applications and release it after Delphi 6 is released, you're not going to be on the best-seller list. I suggest renaming it "object-oriented RAD application development with Delphi versions 2-6". It gets the gist across of what the book is about.




3. ...at least [I] did not pay full price for this book. The problem with this book is that it doesn't seem to have a target audience. It's not a beginner's book (I am a beginner at Dephi for the record), and it also does not have the level of detail for the experienced Delphi programmer that the other books I have seen in bookstore address. Do youself a favor and skip this one. Mastering Delphi 6 is a good one from what I was able to skip at the bookstore, and I have yet to find an updated beginner's book for Delphi 6.



4. Should be called Delphi 4 for dummies.
   Does not even have ADO , which came out in Delphi 5.

   And he dares to call it a book about Delphi 6 !

   I returned my copy and used the refund to get Mastering Delphi 6.




5. Learning delphi is not very easy. If you are a beginner, buy this book along with "Programming & problem solving with delphi" and "Delphi in a nutshell" (a MUST language reference). Later you should buy "Mastering delphi X" and "Delphi X developers guide" (where X is the latest delphi version number).

5 comments about Learn Object Pascal With Delphi.

1. I consider that this is one of the best introductory books on computer programming I have read and I have read a lot of books on computer programming. It not only teaches the reader how to code in Pascal, but also how to program. The techniques which the author elaborates are applicable to other computer languages such as C++ and Java. Typically, the authors of books on computing, propose a problem and then give the solution as a listing without giving any indication of how they arrived at the solution. This author breaks the problem down into its component parts and proceeds to code and discuss each part and then combines the parts into a program or in Chapter 8 and succeding chapters into one or more units. The author also explains the advantages of modularizing a program using procedures, functions and units as an aid to information hidding and security. Readers who are new to programming should note how the author prefaces each of his procedures and functions with a panel giving a brief description of the purpose, input parameters and output values.

   The author makes it very easy for the uninitiated to do the example programs by creating a template project which is used throughout the book.

   The semantics of Pascal are well covered in the first seven chapters.

   In Chapter 8 the concept of units is introduced. My first attempt at the Currency Conver program with two units would not compile, so I tried the program from the CD-ROM, and although it compiled correctly, I got a run time error. I typed in the complete program again and this time it worked perfectly.

   In Chapter 9 on arrays, the author gives an interesting example of how a non-numerical ordinal type (char) can be used as the control variable in a FOR loop in the airplane seat reservation program.

   Chapter 10 on records gives a good example using student details of how all the procedures and functions can be contained in a unit, with only a simple menu, using the case construct as the main program. Also in this chapter is an introduction to stack and queue structures.

   Chapter 11 gives an introduction to object orientated programming using the queue structure from the previous chapter. While this chapter discusses the aspects of OOP, it is only an introduction to the subject of object orientated programming and a more advanced book would be required for a more in depth study of the subject, but what is given is adequate for an introduction.

   The twelth and final chapter discusses file IO and pointers. The file IO componet covers various ways files can be handled and is quite adequate. The section on pointers is probably too brief to be of much use, but the linked list is an interesting example of how pointers can be used.

   It is not the author's intention to delve into the graphical apects of Delphi, so there are not any examples of it in this book, but if any readers want to see Pascal in the Delphi environment, then they can see Marco Cantu's online book: Essential Pascal .... Marco Cantu is the author of the series of books Delhi Unleashed.

   I would have given this book a four star rating, but in Chapter 7 and some other chapters, nearly all the inequalities are missing from the statements. This is gross carelessness on the part of the author and the proof readers. I suggest readers down load the programs from the CD-Rom to see what the inequalities should be and pencil them in.




2. I can't understand the negative reviews for this book. I'm with the first reviewer, Larrywp from Carson City, NV -- this is a great introductory book to programming for the non-programmer. All of the essentials behind programming in any language are here(declaring and initializing variables, working with strings and arrays, pointers, file-handling, looping, etc.), and the book also includes a minor intro to object-oriented programming. While I would have appreciated going a little further into OOP and at least cursory info about how the Delphi IDE fits in, the book makes clear from the start that it won't be going there. Rather, this book's aim is to provide novices with the foundation they need to understand what's going on in code behind the IDE, and at that, it succeeds quite well.

   There were a few typos/formatting glitches that a tighter tech or page-proof edit would have caught, but the content of this book is nonetheless clear. If you happen to agree with the author's view that the place to start is with fundamental coding skills (that means practicing and learning with console (DOS) applications, not GUI apps), then this book really is an excellent place to start.

   As for choosing Delphi Pascal as a learning language, I've looked at many languages and read several books to try to grasp the fundamentals. I have no prorgramming or computer science experience, which made my search for the right language and tutorial all the more difficult. Believe me, I've looked at just about everything: VB, C++, C#, Java, RealBASIC, Perl, Python, Objective C, Rebol, and Ruby, to name most of them. After much study, I believe that Pascal, with its focus on highly structured and well throught out "unit" modules, really makes the most sense for a beginner (RealBASIC comes close, but good reference material is still a bit scarce). The language just makes sense to me, and coupled with Borland's Delphi IDE, programming is just easier and more fun to learn.

   If you're just getting started on your adventures in programming, this book can't be beat. It even includes Delphi 5 standard to practice with, which is a ... value on its own. Although Delphi 6 is already out, use this book and v.5 to explore the language (which hasn't changed at all, as far as I can tell) and the environment as a means of deciding whether Delphi is for you. If so, you'll want to move on to additional references, like Marco Cantu's Mastering Delphi books.

   One more note -- just because this book is for absolute novices, that doesn't mean it's a no-brainer. The pace is relatively swift, and I had to re-read some sections several times to catch on. The code samples build on prior lessons, too, and I found myself going back to previous material to refresh my recollection. This, however, helped rather than hindered my learning, as I was forced to re-study recently learned concepts I would have otherwise forgotten.

   In all, this book is a great value and an excellent read. It's finally got me going as a fledgling programmer, and for that, the author and publisher (as well as Borland) deserve great thanks!




3. This is a great introductory book to programming for the non-programmer. The books starts at the very basic level and takes you through conventional programming (not to much of oop). In the last chapters of the book the examples are not presented clearly enough and somtimes it is hard to follow the authors line of thought . In conclusion -a good book to start off with !!



4. To anyone who bought this book. Does Delphi 5 Standard that comes with the book include a commercial distribution license, meaning you can sell any apps you right with it, or is it strictly a learning edition? Thanks.



5. Good introduction to Pascal. Easy to read. Code from page 285 (chapter 11) did not compile in Delphi 7 Pro.

4 comments about Delphi Programming Problem Solver.

1. Not for the beginner, this book really delivers on the promise of its title. An hour after opening it, I was doing things I'd wanted to do for a long time.Rubenking starts by showing you how to take control of a form's basic appearance -- yes, you can remove the caption and keep the border! He goes onto help you make Delphi's various components behave the way you'd like, and includes information on accessing helpful Windows API functions. Some ofthe other topics are date math, DLLs, the application object, data-aware controls -- and lots more. Sophisticated topics are explained in comprehensiblelanguage. Both the 16- and 32-bit versions are covered. This book can help you reach the next level of Delphi programming in a short time



2. It lack of the real world database application. The most cases I encounter is to manipulate the datas that a company makes.I need to analysis it for the manager to view. Maybe you can add it to the book in your next edition. best regards Alfred Yang from Taiwan



3. A full range of techniques and tricks about Delphi and Windows integration. Each technique is presented using a very well focused program, i.e. the minimal piece of clean and elegant Delphi code demonstrating the solution. Even better, the problems and solutions (about 200 of them) presented in this book are really useful! On the first day we got the book, we found ready made solutions to problems we had discovered but hadn't solved before (or hadn't found time to investigate before). This is one of the rare books we don't share: each Delphi programmer here now has his own copy.



4. Neil Rubenking's (the author of the immensely popular Delphi Programming For Dummies) book is a treasure trove of helpful techniques that will benefit every Delphi programmer. For example, he has the best "force a single instance of a running program" code example I've seen. The only complaint I have is that the index isn't as good as it could be. Not for beginning Delphi programmers, but even those with moderate Delphi experience will benefit from the eclectic mix of topics covered in this book.

5 comments about Tomes of Delphi: Win32 Core API Windows 2000.

1. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your money on this thing like I did. It's not worth reading. The coverage of the API is incomplete, to put it nicely, and the explanations are convoluted and confusing. Not worth the money at all.



2. When one reads the worthless pros expressed in Mr. Ayres latest manuscript, it causes one to contemplate how this dolt continues to be a published author. It is clear that based on his use of the English language that he is devoid of anything more than a High School diploma. It is sad to say that his command of Delphi appears to be equally as poor as his writing skills. The examples and sample code are so simplistic that they are literally worthless, and hardly expand on any topic in detail. I honestly think that the original "Delphi for Dummies" was a more informative and better-written book

   It is clear that this latest book is yet another ego stroking manuscript of recycled work from his original books. Many of the API calls have not been updated and many of the samples are riddled with errors and are not syntactically correct for Windows 2000/XP.

   It simply staggers my imagination why Wordware continues to use Mr. Ayres as an author. When reviewing all of the Tomes books, it is clear that when Mr. Ayres split company with his co-authors the quality of the book went down considerably. Perhaps Wordward should get them to re-write this book and see which one sells better.

   Until then, go get Charles Petzolds API book. If you don't know C++ try DevGuru to get some help. They will gladly help translate the C++ calls to Delphi Syntax.




3. A must have for all Delphi Programmers



4. You'd think the qualifications for writing a Delphi book would be 1) you must be a Delphi expert 2) you must write well. Well, I can tell you for sure that this guy doesn't meet either qualification. This is, without question, the worst programming book I have ever had the misfortune to buy. Ayres writes like a third grader. And the code is even worse. A person who'd never seen Delphi before could write this code. It is mostly warmed over MSDN example code converted to Pascal. Frankly, I'd be embarrassed to publish something like this. It's that bad.



5. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK ON THE SUBJECT AND IS RARE TO FIND BECAUSE IT IS OUT OF PRINT.

5 comments about Delphi Developer's Handbook.

1. Certainly not for the entry level but probably the most insightful Delphi book I have purchased. Advanced everything! The first 4 chapters are the best. Class references, casting, "Fake" casting. Excellent reference for the RTTI (an ablsolute neccessity for Components and Com). Excellent reference for messages and how Dephi handles them, and how you can handle them. Excellent reference on OOP implemented in Delphi (finding classes, components; Owning, parenting; Creating, Destroying). Many explanations on the techniques used throughout the Dephi source code. If you really want to learn Delphi inside-out, I HIGHLY recommend this book. To Marco Cantu, Thank you. I have purchased quite a few books on Delphi that wound up right in the trash can.



2. John Lam is like aspirin for all of my COM headaches - well done!



3. If you are a serious Delphi developer who wants to work smarter instead of harder this book is essential reading. It shows you loads of really neat tricks and ideas which are not available in any other books on the markert. Some of the examples are a bit raw, but the underlying concepts can be converted into successful commercial products.



4. After browsing through countless books that introduce me to Delphi basics, it is refreshing to find a book that dives right into some real hard-core programming. This book is not for beginners, but is indispensible for experienced Delphi programmers who are looking to improve their skills. This is, without a doubt, the best and most useful Delphi book I have ever read.



5. This book is certainly not for beginners. But if you can read and understand this book, you can become one of the elite Windows programmers.

   The material starts out with the assumption that you understand Delphi, Pascal, and object oriented programming. Each chapter grows progressively more complex, and explains the inner workings of the Delphi IDE itself, as written in Delphi.

   This is THE book to own for any serious Delphi developer.