Delphi 3 Technology Overview:
The Highest-Productivity, RAD Client/Server Tool for Windows
by Lance Devin, Sr. Product Manager, Delphi
Executive Summary
Application developers rely on Delphi Client/Server
Suite for high-productivity, high-performance, scalable, client/server
rapid application development tools. As corporate developers expand
their scope to include the Internet and internal corporate "Intranets,"
Delphi's technological strengths in high-performance, reusable
component technology help organizations realize a larger return
on investment with better use of information.
Today, over 600,000 copies of Delphi have been used
to produce commercial, client/server, enterprise and Internet-enabled
applications. For example:
- NASA's Atlantis and Russia's Mir Space station
used Delphi to help identify and capture photographs of the earth.
Also, NASA's "Scientific and Technical Information System",
developed with Delphi was named one of the nations top client/server
applications by InfoWorld magazine.
- American Airlines automated Flight Department
procedures to eliminate paper-based-information bottlenecks. The
flight department built a system to track air crew qualification
requirements, schedule training events, and generate comprehensive
reports. By using Delphi to develop applications that access the
SABRE system running on IBM mainframes using DB2, American Airlines'
Flight Department has been able to save the very high cost of
developing for SABRE's Transaction Processing Facility (TPF) environment.
Other companies using Delphi Client/Server Suite
to solve their business problems include: American Cyanamid, American
Stores, Arthur Anderson, AT&T, BMW, BP Shipping, Bank of America,
BBC Television, British Telecom, Compaq, DHL, EDS, Fiat, First
National Bank of Chicago, Glaxo, KPMG, Sarah Lee Knitting, Standard
& Poors, SwissBank, Union Bank, US Marine Corps, etc.
Delphi continues to set the standard for high productivity,
rapid development of high performance client, server and multi-tier
applications through the enterprise and across the Internet. Delphi
3 bridges enterprise wide client/server development and the Internet
by building upon a it's unique combination of technologies, including
rapid application development, scalable multi-tier database development,
true object-oriented reusability and high-performance native-code
compiler. Delphi 3 delivers on three key solution areas:
- Making Multi-Tier Easier for Scalability and
Reliability
- Internet Enabling your Client/Server Applications
using your existing Delphi skills
- Ease of Use and Highest Productivity for the
Business, Enterprise, and Developer
Delphi 3 helps reduces application complexity created
by the increased demands of the enterprise and the Internet. Delphi
adds significant functionality to cost-effectively make the transition
to large-scale computing. Delphi 3's new technologies, such as
Remote Data Broker, Packages, OLEnterprise, and Internet enablement
in Delphi 3 allow for thin client applications to be easily distributed,
configured, and maintained, thereby reducing costs. Built in support
for Microsoft systems technology including COM and ActiveX support,
allow for language interoperability so that you can leverage your
existing investments and extend them across the enterprise. High-speed
native SQL Links drivers and access to Entera Intelligent Middleware,
allow you to integrate legacy data with new systems in order to
leverage the company's knowledge base.
Delphi is the only scalable and open multi-tier architecture
that puts your business at the center of development.
Introduction
For many applications, particularly in the enterprise
area, a more advanced, multi-tiered architecture has additional
advantages in scalability, security and reliability. Coupled with
the ongoing growth of corporate Intranets, we saw a natural convergence
of client/server and Internet computing to deliver a mature, enterprise
architecture that provides distributed computing capabilities
without sacrificing the productivity and maturity of tools that
exist in the client/server arena.
“Delphi is a worthy investment of time
and expertise…” -- Gartner Group
Delphi, in its third release, is an established
development tool delivering depth so that you can complete the
most complex applications quickly, and breadth in order to deliver
two tier or multi-tier applications for the Internet and Enterprise.
Delphi has established itself as the standard for client/server
development with the most comprehensive and highest productivity
suite of client and server tools.
- Delphi Client/Server Suite is used to create
departmental and corporate client/server applications with native
database drivers for Oracle, Sybase, Informix, DB2, MS SQL Server
and InterBase.
- Delphi has won over 30 awards for technical innovation
based on its unique combination of the world's fastest optimizing
native code compiler, high productivity object-oriented component
architecture and scalable database technology.
- Delphi has shipped over 600,000 units worldwide
in just over 18 months ensuring widespread developer support with
over 50 third party books, 6 magazines and thousands of third
party components and tools.
- Delphi/400 Client/Server Suite, scheduled for
release in early 1997, gives midrange system developers the productivity
and performance of Delphi for extending their investment in AS400
data and applications.
- Delphi Enterprise, for high-end corporate developers,
will combine Delphi 3 with the Entera intelligent middleware from
Open Environment to deliver high-end scalability, reliability
and security for enterprise applications as well as integration
with existing enterprise applications and data on legacy systems.
Delphi 3 adds over 50 new technologies. Client Insight
technologies make Delphi 3 the highest productivity, easiest-to-use
most productive tool for Windows development.
- Business Insight turns
data into actionable information for better decision making
- Active Insight is
an enterprise component foundry for reusability
- Code Insight for ease
of use and greater productivity
Multi-Tier Broker technologies reduce configuration
and distribution costs with ultra-thin client database applications
in a business-critical environment.
- Remote Data Broker
for zero configuration multi-tier applications
- Business Broker for
failover safety in a business critical application environment
- Constraint Broker
for data integrity and reduced network traffic
Web Enabled Client/Server technologies allow you
to deliver information over the web using your existing Delphi
client/server skills.
- Web Broker and Web Deployment
for high speed dissemination of information over the Web
This paper will discuss these
technologies and how they enable a corporation to put the important
aspects of the business at the center of development. By doing
so, you can bring development projects to completion more quickly
and scale with the growing demands of the business.
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