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A Unicorn InterGlobal White Paper
Greg McCreath
Printed March 2000
Any Linux people out there who've ever wondered what Linux needs to really kick it off? Sure, most of the world's web sites are hosted on Linux Machines. Sure, it's stable and fast and has plenty of market support from the big players like IBM and Oracle and also Data Access Worldwide. However, what it doesn't have is a windowed development platform that is focused on the mass market. It has flavours of C and some Java, but what is there for the rest of us ?
Enter Kylix, the code name for the new Linux version of Delphi. In a recent on-line survey, over 10,000 developers asked for a Linux version of Delphi. So, to get things started, Borland released a Linux version of their optimising C++ compiler. It runs more than twice as fast as the public compiler. I've seen it. These fellows know their stuff. In fact, the new Delphi for Linux will feature a combined high-speed native C/C++/Delphi compiler. Something developers have been requesting for some time.
So lets get techy. The code compatibility between the Linux and Windows versions of Delphi will be at the VCL level, not at the API level. Instead of trying to use one of the Windows API mapping layers being implemented for Linux, Borland is trying to build a Linux version of the VCL that will be partially compatible with the Windows VCL.
Although the architecture of Kylix has not yet been finalized, there will certainly be components available for Windows only, Linux only, and both versions, according to members of the Kylix research and development team. The Linux VCL will be a subset of the Windows VCL, which will enable a programmer to target this smaller VCL to obtain good compatibility between the two platforms. The result will be a lightweight VCL that a Windows programmer might opt to use to produce simple utilities with smaller executable files. Chuck Jazdzewski, Delphi's Chief Scientist, said, "We do consider it a high priority goal to allow the porting of VCL components with a minimum of changes. Obviously, avoiding making direct Win32 calls will make porting much easier."
Delphi's database architecture is certainly not limited to the BDE.You can use Delphi 5's ADO and InterBase direct support, as well as many third-party custom dataset components. R&D team members have mentioned support of InterBase -- already available on the Linux platform -- and MySQL. However, as no generic database engine is available on Linux, Borland is apparently also going to write a new small database engine (described both as "a new data-access layer, independent from the BDE" and "a complete BDE replacement"). Again, the result of these efforts might become available on the Windows platform as well.
Borland have just announced they are being merged with Corel, a large player in the Linux market, in a deal worth 2.5 billion. They are moving aggressively into the Linux market.
You can be sure that Unicorn will be involved with the Linux/Delphi product at a very early stage. Stay tuned ….
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