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For me Object Pascal is the language Delphi is...

March 02 2007 7:28AM

The other day DavidI asked "What should we call the language of Delphi 2007 for Win32" and my answer is unequivocally: Object Pascal. I've worked on the Delphi team since well before Delphi 1.0 shipped and I've never considered the language to be anything but Object Pascal. Several years ago there were some shenanigans about changing the language name from Object Pascal to Delphi and I'm not really sure how that even came about but it left me scratching my head nonetheless.

Back in 1995, Borland made a video called "Speed Is" and if you have BDS 2006 it installed you'll find it in the CoolStuff demo directory under your BDS\4.0 tree. It's a mashup of quick video sequences of things that represent "speed" and while I don't necessarily think it's a great video it conveys the message that "Delphi is Speed" and perhaps more importantly it's a concept.

From Dictionary.com:

con·cept [kon-sept] –noun

1.	a general notion or idea; conception.

2.	an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.

And for me that means:

Fast code/compile/run/debug cylces
Rich framework(s)
Visual designers
Small fast executables
Blazing compile times
High productivity

To say it's "just a language" borders on insulting and I think completely misses the point.

So there you have it, my $0.02 on the subject.

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Tags: Soapbox

Permalink | Comments (11)

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Comments

3/2/2007 9:37:59 AM #

My BDS/4.0/ installations don't have a "coolstuff" directory :-(

Roddy Pratt

3/2/2007 3:36:07 PM #

Roddy,
You can grab the video from here: http://www.stevetrefethen.com/files/speedis.avi.

Steve Trefethen

3/2/2007 6:03:01 PM #

Steve -

Totally agree re: **Object Pascal**

While I can see some basis for, pre-BDS especially, the name of the language evolving to Delphi, and often find myself saying I wrote something "in Delphi," I can't any reason to add a "new" name for this long-existing language called "Object Pascal."

There, now you have four cents.

Cass

3/2/2007 6:16:34 PM #

Roddy, look in:
BDS\4.0\Demos\DelphiWin32\VCLWin32\
to find the CoolStuff folder.

DaveK

3/2/2007 6:25:51 PM #

BTW: Anyone running the project will have to remove the reference to isp3 from the uses clause as indicated here:
http://qc.borland.com/wc/qcmain.aspx?d=31186

DaveK

3/2/2007 8:27:42 PM #

<sacasm>The language of Delphi? Well that is PHP, at least until you change it again in 6 month time.</sacasm>

This Astro for PHP is a great product, but the name is wrong.

It is as if that the whole CodeGear have forgotten the misconcept of Borland to Inprise naming. How many wasted millions did that kind of mis-naming cost the company?

Do not go around renaming/diluting existing wellknown names like Delphi. Come up with something new for all these scripting languages that you plan to introduce. If you take some other classical Greek names you make an association with Delphi, yet makes it clear that it is not exactly the same.

Doei RIF

Richard Foersom

3/2/2007 9:00:18 PM #

Richard,
If the intent of Delphi for PHP is to bring to the PHP world what Delphi did for Windows programming is it wrong to call it Delphi? I personally don't think so.

Steve Trefethen

3/2/2007 9:00:23 PM #

Richard,
If the intent of Delphi for PHP is to bring to the PHP world what Delphi did for Windows programming is it wrong to call it Delphi? I personally don't think so.

Steve Trefethen

3/3/2007 5:12:54 AM #

Richard,
I don't know why you and others insist that the name "Delphi for PHP" is wrong. I have always see Delphi as an IDE used to build and compile applications using Pascal (Object Pascal) as the language. I'm afraid that you and other people has been wrong for a long time thinking that Delphi is the language. I'm agree with Steve Trefethen.

Delphi is the perfect and unique name for the new product from CodeGear to be used to develop web application using PHP as the language.

Rafael Liriano
PD: Sorry for my English

Rafael Liriano

3/7/2007 7:02:18 AM #

Guys, I think is useless now to try to make us thing that Delphi is something else, we all grow up knowing that Delphi is the Borland's implementation of Object Pascal, and that includes the VCL, the IDE, etc, etc.

And if the idea was something else, then we ALL got it wrong, just do a search in google, in yahoo, in goverment documents, in job postings EVERYWHERE, Delphi is Delphi period.

Dont try to put logic into something that is already granted by all the community, trying to change it just means trying to re-educate and make us learn Inprise all over again.

That is my dollar on the topic.

Esteban Pacheco

3/7/2007 1:53:35 PM #

Esteban,
I'm not trying to make anyone think Delphi is something else I merely explained what Delphi is to me. After all the title of this post is "For me Object Pascal is the language Delphi is...". You're certainly entitled to your own opinion.

Steve Trefethen

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