At the same time, I'm pleasantly surprised to see people asking how to get started with Delphi or where to find entry level information. I thought it might be worth collecting some of this information in one place instead of re-posting individual links over and over again.
First Steps
Getting Started - Unsurprisingly, there is a Getting Started page for Delphi and RAD Studio. In fact, there are two. They include an introduction to the product, a tour of the IDE and an overview of everything from the basics to the latest features.Documentation - RAD Studio's help is available online in Embarcadero's DocWiki, which is constantly being updated. All pages are indexed, so including the term "docwiki" your browser's search is a handy shortcut to find documentation with fewer clicks.
Migration - If you are moving older code to a newer version of Delphi or want to ensure that your code is compatible with newer platforms (Unicode, BDE to FireDAC, etc), the Migration and Upgrade Center has strategies and white papers that could save time and effort.
Code Samples - RAD Studio includes a few hundred sample applications that demonstrate how to use different features. These are also available online with branches for each version going back as far as XE.
Reporting bugs - Create and improve bug reports and feature requests in Quality Portal (QP). If you find a problem in the product, the best way by far to get it resolved is to create a clear, detailed and reproducible bug report. Voting for issues helps determine their priority, and Embarcadero pays attention to our feedback. The user guide is pretty thorough and explains how to use QP effectively.
Support - As Craig Chapman points out in the comments, Delphi and RAD Studio now include maintenance, and maintenance comes with a certain number of support incidents, which are useful for serious or blocking issues. If necessary, free support is also available for installation and registration issues.
Free Software and Training
The Delphi Community edition is identical in features to the Professional edition, including mobile support. The Community edition is available for free, but with some usage restrictions. This replaces Delphi Starter, which was also free, but had fewer features.
The Delphi CE Boot Camp is a free eight part lecture series that introduces Delphi and demonstrates its potential. Replays, source code, additional material and the Q&A are all available online.
C++ Builder Community edition and the stand alone BCC32C C++ compiler are also available for free and there is a C++ Boot Camp available. If you're in to that kind of thing.
Cross Platform
To see what I mean by "graphically rich", take a look at the Quark Cube YouTube channel. They have some impressive demos and tutorials.
This is a very broad topic. Probably too broad to cover thoroughly in any one place, but between the Quick Start Guide, Getting Started page and FireMonkey eXplore, that's a pretty solid starting point.
Update: Embarcadero published a three day Mobile Boot Camp that covers the features and techniques for developing single source projects for multiple devices.
Linux
However, there is a third party solution for using FireMonkey on Linux.
Marco Cantu detailed key traits of the Linux compiler and Embarcadero published configuration instructions, a short teaser video and a Delphi Linux Boot Camp to get people up and running with Delphi and Linux.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Delphi has always made networking and inter-connectivity easy, so it makes sense that Embarcadero held an IoT Boot Camp. What makes this one stand out is that Mitov Software helped spec out a companion Arduino Starter Kit from Makerfabs that you can purchase to use in the boot camp. Don't forget to go through the checklist.
Now that's pretty cool.
Other Resources
Books
- Patrick Prémartin maintains Delphi-Books.com, a curated list of Delphi books.
Videos
- CodeRage XI replays (2016)
- CodeRage XII replays (2017)
- CodeRage XIII replays (2018)
- Developer Skill Sprints
- Embarcadero's entire video library
- Quark Cube - FireMonkey demos and tuorials (mentioned earlier)
- Alister Christie's LearnDelphi.tv
- Shaun Roselt's Delphi Programming VCL - For Absolute Beginners
Blogs
Communities
- Embarcadero Community
- Stack Overflow
- Google+
- LinkedIn Delphi Professionals and Delphi/Pascal Developers
Updates:
- Added links for support
- Added Mobile Boot Camp
- Updated Starter references to point to the more up to date Community Edition
- Replaced individual book references with link to Delphi-Books.com.
2 comments:
Good list of resources!
One resource you should not forget is that anyone that has purchased after 10.1 has a support contract (previously optional). Quality Portal is the right place to raise bugs and feature requests, however, for serious blocking issues, use your support contract by raising a ticket. http://support.embarcadero.com
@Craig: Good point. I added links for support. Thanks
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