Software development is an exciting journey. Choosing the best development tools can considerably save us from many troubles down the road. Although every developer has some considerations regarding native windows development, there might be some exciting points you may not have known. So let us explore them together.

1. Are all native development tools equal?

Not all native development tools are equal. On one end of the spectrum, there are time-tested native windows development solutions. On the other end, there are recently born scripted tools without any proven success history. Designing the right development tool can take decades of hard work and passion. Longevity – the ability for a product to last over an extended period of time – is often a true indicator of the quality and fitness of the development solution. People ‘vote with their feet’ . A poor but well-marketed product can often make a noisy and exciting splash when it hits the headlines but over time you find that the new Best Thing Ever, when the initial honeymoon period is over, quickly submerges under the seas of reality versus sales hype until it suffocates and eventually dies. Picking the quieter, long-lived solutions turns out to be the smart choice. The stability of the solution comes from a development tool having gone through the battle-hardening of many coders hammering it late into the night, fighting the demons of software development for real.

2. What is the “Hello World” program size?

Comprehensively comparing native windows development tools can be difficult, but we can do a simple litmus test. Just find out the minimum size of the “Hello World” program that you can ship to your client. If its exe size is enormous and needs many accompanying files to run, it is a warning sign of possible problems. Every byte counts and every additional file we have to distribute with our software will require support, maintenance, and updates. Make sure to take into account the size of any supporting downloads required to make an app work on the target machine. A tiny executable package which required nearly a gigabyte of additional runtimes is a beast in disguise.

3. Does Productivity Matter?

In any software project, Developers’ productivity matters. RAD studio is an acronym for Rapid Application Development. It has proved its ease of use and the productivity increase it imbues in developers who use it since Windows 3.1 – that’s 25+ years of service! No native Windows development tool can come close to Delphi RAD studio productivity. In addition, it has excellent time-saving features like an elegant IDE, Refactoring, Code Insight, VCL, Rest Debugger, LiveBindings Designer, compilation speed, backward compatibility, DB Connectivity, to name a few.

4. Is it essential to protect the source code?

Source code might contain business secrets, so we should protect it. There are tools available to decompile JavaScript-based and .Net software easily and quickly. The developer can obfuscate it, but it is not foolproof and, it might also slow down execution. This leakage is a problem even if we do not care about our intellectual rights. Our client’s data and business secrets are at risk, which might lead to dire consequences. Compare this to Delphi and C++ Builder which both generate processor-native machine code, striping metadata, making decompiling almost useless and extremely difficult to even attempt.

5. Is it crucial to support many database systems?

Today, supporting a variety of database systems is crucial for project success. Sometimes, we can select our preferred database, but we have to handle the already chosen database systems in many cases. Luckily, with the support of all 20+ significant databases, RAD studio is an ideal choice for native windows development. In addition, its regular updates ensure that we will continue to have support for current and emerging database systems.

6. Can code reuse be the key to native windows development success?

Easy reuse of quality code is the key to success. Sharing files among projects is normal, but Delphi’s unique strength is a vast array of VCL & FMX components. Moreover, there are many 3rd party component packs available, mostly free and open source. As a bonus, you can quickly turn your solutions into components for selling or donating to the community. Thus components make your life easier and protect your code investment over time. To take things one step further, Delphi’s IDE itself is expansible. You can add new features from available plugins or write your own for in-house or market usage.

7. Will you need to support other platforms?

If the software is successful, the business might port it to other systems, especially mobile ones. A clever choice of native windows development tool can put you ahead of the competition. With the FireMonkey platform, your software will have the best performance on windows, and it will be ready to support all other platforms with minimum effort. Thus, this choice will save time and resources for you and your client.

8. Is a better user experience still the key to an app’s success?

Users of any system will like its look and feel in your application, or it will be a misfit. Naturally enough, Delphi’s development is native, more responsive, and super-fast. The application can update its High DPI & 4K+ UI at native speed because there is no intermediary or conversion delay. FireMonkey’s GPU rendered animations and effects are superb on all native platforms.

9. Should we choose the right multi-device development paradigm?

“Write once, run everywhere” could have been the silver bullet for our industry, but it never materialized in the promised way. Today, where systems and processor architecture are becoming increasingly diverse, perhaps more than ever before; it is even more challenging to achieve. At best, the least common denominator of features is possible. However, “Write once, compile everywhere” has always performed well. Through native compilation, we can extract the last ounce of performance from the system.

10. How close to the metal can you go?

Native windows development should have complete control over the system because it is close to the metal approach. For example, in Delphi, you can use Windows API with the same ease and style you write the software. In most cases, you do not need to call the windows APIs. This freedom of choice makes Delphi an ideal candidate for all development, from business tools to system services.

11. Are RAM and CPU Cycles still very sacred resources?

Always strive to develop faster and leaner software. The lighter your program, the more usable it will be for end-users. Using the right tools like Delphi results in compact and slim software. In addition, you do not have to supply any supporting code or JavaScript libraries overhead with your application.

12. Can having the best IDE be a wise investment?

There is a proverb which says: “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” – this can mean you are as good a developer as the effectiveness of the development tools you have at your disposal. Having the best IDE will benefit you in the long term. With Delphi, there is only one easy language and framework to learn. With one skill set, fewer people can achieve more even faster. Write once and deploy native applications to multiple platforms reduces person-hours spent on testing, debugging, and fixing. Applications built with Delphi are not only easier to keep up to date but are also excellent in performance, usability, security, and usability. These features drastically reduce your TCO (total cost of ownership).

13. Can native windows development be fun?

The best development tool can free your mind, allowing you to focus more on the business side. Native windows development with Delphi can be fun, and you can be up and running in no time. In addition, Delphi RAD Studio is easier to read and faster to write. Finally, Delphi’s production-ready Rapid Prototyping reduces the risk to the organization. These features make Delphi’s development 5x faster than other languages. That is why people love to build in Delphi.

This list is only a glimpse of Delphi’s capabilities. You can kick start your journey to productivity by downloading a Delphi trial and getting started with windows development today.