Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Delphi for Linux. Revisited. Again.

I have been hoping for a long time that Embarcadero would reintroduce Linux support in Delphi, especially since they've added Mac, iOS and Android support in the mean time, hopefully working out (most of?) the kinks involved in cross platform support in the process. I may have even brought it up once or twice at live events.




Well, they finally called my bluff. If you've been following Delphi at all, then you know that the next version of Delphi, code named Godzilla, will include 64-bit Linux support. No GUI support yet, though. Someone should ask about that at live events. Baby steps...



Darn. This means I have to pull up my socks and get back up to speed on Linux. Who could have known that it's easier to heckle from the sidelines than to dig in and get my hands dirty?



Fortunately, Embarcadero published configuration instructions to get people started, and they're holding a Linux Boot Camp (tomorrow, so sign up quick!). And I guess I'll have to start reading my friend Warren's blog - Linux Code Monkey.



But why? After all this time and what with Borland failing to pursue Kylix when they had the chance. And then there's Free Pascal, which supports Linux already. Why would anyone care about Delphi supporting Linux now?

Well, lots of reasons.

Coolness factor aside, I'm doing a lot of server side work and I want to deploy lightweight, pre-configured turnkey appliances in the form of a virtual machines without having to sweat over Windows server licensing costs. I want to take advantage of all of Delphi's features and I want to use a single code base between my Windows and Linux server applications. And I expect Delphi to deliver all of this without compromises.

I'm looking forward to it.


3 comments:

HeartWare said...

Just beware that you need at least the Enterprise edition to get access to the Linux compiler. No support for Linux at the Pro level...

With the price tag of that, it'll bring it out of range for most (if not all) hobbyist programmers...

Bruce McGee said...

@HeartWare: Yes, Linux support seems to be limited to Enterprise. That doesn't affect me much because I consider this to be the minimum SKU for enterprise database and multi-tier development.

That said, I would love for Embarcadero to offer Linux support in their Professional and Starter editions with the same level of features available for Windows.

Lower the barrier to entry.

kmorwath said...

Sorry, but because the Linux compiler is ARC based, while the Windows one is not, you won't be able to share your code between Windows and Linux easily. Stupid choice...