Delphi: Upgrade 2009 to XE?

Question

Should I upgrade from Delphi 2009 to delphi XE?

As I don't use all the technologies, such as mobile, cloud computing, profiling, 64 bit, new database drivers, I don't need to change to the new XE?

What would change my mind?

Does the new Delphi IDE help me to write less code? Is the package management better?

Do you feel that the IDE gives more automation? And is it worth the upgrade?

Answer 1

I use Delphi XE all day every day, and I wouldn't use anything else.

It is the most stable version of the IDE that I have ever used. The compiler has had a huge amount of attention paid to it, and it works, and doesn't have the many internal failures, internal access violations, or other ways that compilers fall down, that every Delphi release since Delphi 2005 has. So the main feature that makes Delphi XE the best version ever is stability. It is even more stable than my old standby - Delphi 7. And delphi 7 is pretty stable, but working all day in Delphi 7, I did experience regular crashes, something that is finally a thing of the past, with Delphi XE. Okay, I've crashed XE's IDE a couple times, but it's rare.

The second reason is that it comes with great tools; A version of final builder, a version of CodeSite, and a version of AQTime are included. CodeSite was new to me with XE, but I love it, and now that I have used it I couldn't live without it. AQTime is an old friend of mine, and the version included with XE does most of the things that the full standalone AQTime will do, that I need it to do. The final builder version included, is also a huge time saver, especially if you have complex builds to do, including several Delphi application compiles, and an installer script to run, and perhaps other steps.

I like the code-formatter. I am not a big fan of Generics, but you can use them now, and they don't kill the compiler. I still prefer simple readable code, to a morass of generics, and I don't like the way that you do constraints with generics using IUnknown-style reference counted interfaces. Not nice, and not fun.

I don't use much of the database, cloud, or multi-tier application development features. I can't report on that aspect, but I do know that there's a lot more in the RAD XE product than any single developer, however intrepid, can probably even discover.

(Ethical Disclosure Footnote; I work for embarcadero. But even if I didn't, I'd still say everything above. Perhaps, I'd state it even more strongly.)

Answer 2

Does the new Delphi IDE help me to write less code? Is the package management better? Do you feel that the IDE gives more automation?

No real changes there I think.

The area with possibly the most noticeable differences is generics. If you use generics at all then you should upgrade. The versions that followed 2009 have far fewer bugs and wrinkles in the implementation of generics.