So it has been a while since I last updated on my progress with the migration from Delphi 6 to Delphi 2009. There's a reason. I'm still on Delphi 6 and I've got nowhere fast with ODBCExpress!
To be fair to its developer, Pieter Myburgh, it isn't his project anymore and he has been very good in keeping in touch with me and letting me know how the open source status is coming along. Very slowly, it would seem. He created a project on SourceForge and that is the only activity there has been. I think legal red tape is giving him a bit of a headache.
I know I'm not the only one really hoping we can get ODBCExpress moved up to Unicode-enabled Delphi 2009. But I'm starting to come under a bit of pressure now to look at alternatives. It is understandable - we paid a lot of money of the new version (as it was then) of Delphi, under my recommendation, only to find we can't use it.
I've looked at changing to dbGo (ADO) or dbExpress, and have participated in some interesting discussions on Stack Overflow about the merits of both. But ultimately, the thought of having to change to the core database connectivity components of 10 years worth of software (including nearly 50 plug-ins) makes me shudder. Not least because we use a great deal of the intricate little details of ODBC and ODBCExpress, which we'd have to find alternatives for - if, indeed, an alternative is available.
On the upside, we would have had to buy Delphi 2009 or 2010 this year anyway, because of Embarcadero's decision to only allow upgrade prices for users of Delphi 2006 and later from 2010.
And also I have got all the other component sets that we use installed in Delphi 2009, and the main application compiles. So small steps are being made.
10 comments:
You might want to have a look at the Zeos components. I am using them to work with Firebird and I am pretty happy with them.
Portal
zeos.firmos.at/portal.php
Sourceforge.Net site
sourceforge.net/projects/zeoslib/
Best regards
Just recieved an e-mail from ODBC Sales - see below. Not sure how this helps the 2009+ situation. Like you I have at least 10 years of code using ODBCExpress.
Mark
"have just received notification from the management regarding the future of ODBCExpress. Changes in Delphi 2009 of the char & string types to Unicode have made ODBCExpress unusable in its current form in this version of Delphi. For this and other reasons Korbitec have decided to stop maintenance and further development of ODBCExpress.
As a result we have made the source code available for download by all of the existing registered users of ODBCExpress.
See the web site http://www.odbcexpress.com for more details.
Thank you for your loyalty over the years "
InFurniture, thank you, I received the same email from ODBCExpress. Glad I made the decision last week to move away from it.
Jason
What have gone for ? We currently use Sybase SQLA.
I think it might me a case of running D2006 and 2010 side by side converting over as and when.
Mark
We've gone for the dbGo ADO components, as I described here. One less component set to worry about, as it ships with Delphi.
Jason
Did you look at AnyDAC ?
Mark
Hi Mark
No, as I say in the article on ADO, we have been bitten too many times by third-party component vendors disappearing, and we like to keep as much "standard" Delphi useage as possible.
If they made the effort to move dbGo up to Unicode D2009, plus the fact it has been in every version of Delphi since Delphi 5 or 6, then I'm confident it has a future going forward.
Hi,
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading.
Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
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Delphi Consulting Services
Just came across this blog. I notice that posting stopped in 2010. Are you still using Delphi?
Hi Tom
Yes I am very much using Delphi, although disappointingly still stuck on Delphi 6 due to the database components.
Having said that, the discussion about moving our software forward to Delphi 2009 and then onwards to XE2 came up again recently. If I get anywhere then I can start blogging again.
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