Product Description
Provides a complete & user-friendly introduction to programming with this accessible, prize-winning language.Harnesses the unique nature of Delphi to enable the reader to acquire fundamental programming skills while learning to design & produce attractive Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs).Paper.DLC: Delphi (Computer file). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Oldie but goodie
There is not a huge number of Delphi books out there on the market and even fewer for newbies to Delphi. This book is not aimed at advanced programmers or those who need to learn the latest and greatest arcane features of Delphi. Ideally you should have had some exposure to visual programming and the event driven model of some kind such as Delphi or Visual Basic.

What I like most about this book is that it helps you hit the Delphi ground running with small but very functional projects that go way beyond the typical "Hello World" found in most programming books that then force you to read through 1,000 pages before you can move on to the next level. The skill set you learn from this book along with another reference book will get you much closer and faster to building your own projects. Worth every penny.

At last an introductory DELPHI BOOK for absolute beginners!
DISCOVER DELPHI by S.Williams and S.Walmsley is REALLY the book that allows to an absolute beginner without any programming training, to carry out a first program, simple, but very interesting, without more than to read their first 10 pages. And you understand all that has been making! First practice and after theory, is not a bad system. I recommend all person that wants to begin in Delphi in a self taught way, their reading and to work the exposed programs. This will provide him a solid formation to enter later in more advanced books.

Why so pricey
This book is for version 3. Borland has released version 8. Why isnt this book cheaper?
A book on AutoCAD 12 would sell for $3.00.

good examples but slow and missing important info
it may be good for the novice, but as i already know 3 other languages i found it slow and missing alot of important information. It goes straight in with programing examples and doesnt provide a good foundation for understanding how delphi programs are structured. The tiny chapter on objects was very poor. Also they never explained how find the info on the components. I think the fact that delhpi is so easy to use may make this book seem better than it is. It is a bit like giving people instructions without ever helping them to undestand what they are doing. I expect beginers will like it because it avoids the in depth explanations and is more about trying out examples.

If you are already a proficient programer then you will find this book far to long. It could be easily sumarised it into 50 pages and still contain all the info. If you want to learn about Object Orientated programing forget this book. The thing that most anoyed me was the fact that they had code snippets that were numbered as if from line 1 when the code was not from the start of the program. To the novice programer this could be very confusing. And they had snippets with no line numbering. Are they purposly trying to confuse people.

Excellent For Beginner
If you have never programmed in Turbo Pascal, than you should almost certainly get a copy of this book. It does indeed teach Delphi from grounds up and you will learn a great deal.

If you are fully conversant with Pascal Syntax and structure, you might gain something reading through this book, but I do believe that you will gain more by reading through Tom Swan's book Delphi Bible followed by Charles Calvert Delphi Unleashed ... Read more

Product Description
Inexpensive, general reference guide for any level of programmer who requires a jump start into Delphi 6 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent
If you're just starting in Delphi and want something to supplement your classes, or you're a seasoned professional who doesn't know how to do some things in Delphi (I found the section on programming DLLs very useful as I hadn't tried programming them in the past) this book will be an excellent choice.

Very bad book - don't buy
If I purchased this book in 1995 when Delphi came up I would be really satisfied. But when you have around "Developers guide" and "Mastering" books along with the list of other usefull ones, I consider that buying this book is just waste of your money. ... Read more

Product Description
Alex Fedorov and Natalia Elmanova focus on practical aspects of usingADO in Delphi database applications, while providing referencematerials and additional information that will help readers to betterunderstand the topics covered in the book. Among these topics are theADOExpress components, the ADO extension libraries—ADOX, ADO MD,and JRO—distributed computing, and building OLAP and multi-tierapplications with ADO.

Covers:
Borland ADOExpress
ADO 2.5
ADOX/JRO
OLAP and ADO MD
Windows DNA
MTS, MIDAS, and RDS
... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

GREAT BOOK ON THE SUBJECT.
iF YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ADO THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. Advanced Delphi Developer's Guide to ADO WELL WRITTEN GUIDE ON THE ADVANCED FEATURES OF ADO. YOU WON'T FIND THIS INFORMATION ANY WHERE ELSE.

disappointing
I found this book disappointing; it lacks essential ADO error handling details. Never having used ADO before, I had to deliver an ADO delphi application in a thight schedule and unfortenately this book didn't help me much.

Not only about ADO
Based on the title of this Delphi and ADO book: Advanced Delphi Developer's Guide to ADO, I expected "only" coverage of ADOExpress in Delphi. However, that's only a part of this book. The book consists of 23 chapters, starting with the Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), OLE DB Providers, ADO and its role in the Delphi Database Architecture. ADOExpress components like TADOCOnnection, TADOCommand, TADODataSet etc. are covered in a lot of detail - as expected. However, apart from these "basics", the book also contains chapters that explain how to actually build ADO Applications, and how to do Business Graphics and Reporting with ADO. Even after those chapter, we're only still halfway the book.
Further topics include OLAP and ADO, ADOX in Delphi, JRO Objects, and a very helpful chapter on deploying ADO applications. Chapter 19 and later introduce Distributed Computing; Windows DNA (Distributed interNet Applications), including RDS and MTS with ADO. There's even a chapter on MIDAS ADO Applications.
There are also a number of appendices; and the most interesting one covers BDE to ADO migration issues!

Ignore the bad reviews, this book is worth buying
Well, to begin with I'm don't understand why the book got so many bad reviews.While it may not an advanced text, it does cover the Delphi side of ADO very well.I have an almost complete Delphi reference library (haven't added the D6 stuff yet).I can absolutely say that this book covers more ADO than the other books I've bought (D6 Developer's Guide devotes 6 pages to the topic, D4 Unleashed devotes NO pages, and Mastering D5 devotes less than 10 pages).

I don't think the bad reviewers did read the book at all. This book covers Delphi ADO use and not ADO technology basics.If you are looking for an "Inside ADO Nuts-And-Bolts" type of book, buy another book, like the Microsoft Press series since ADO is a Microsoft technology.But if you want to learn how to use the ADO Express component suite for Delphi, then this is the book for you.I've been doing Delphi for 6 years now and I am no novice, and I certainly found the book helpful.

On a side note, I would add that while the grammar in the book may not be perfect (it definitely needed better proofing before press time), the Authors unquestionably know the material.It's worth an A+ in my opinion, and I am thankful to have gotten ahold of solid material for a change.I do find that using Newgroups isn't helpful since the people tend to rant and rave about things completed unrelated to the posted topics.This book delivers focused material, and it has practical examples that you can apply and test right away. A companion CD is included, which I find to be a nice touch.

Great book, great topic, and useful information.The bottom line is try it for yourself.I did.

Use it as a door stop
Absolutely dreadful!!This is probably the worst computer book I've ever bought.The authors must have been "on" something when they wrote it, and I can confidently say it'll be getting pulped by the publishers soon.

Gives nothing the regular Borland documentation doesn't already cover.The code examples do not fill me with confidence that the authors actually understand Delphi programming basics either.

You are better buying Understanding ADO from Microsoft press - I had to after reading this drivel. ... Read more

Product Description
Intended to capitalize on the trends towards GUI-based application development using visual programming tools, object-oriention and the need for information technology to solve business problems, this book is not for the novice. Rather, it is for experienced users of Delphi or Pascal and those individuals seeking an industrial strength tool.Amazon.com Review
A solutions-oriented approach to application development thatuses the visual programming tools in Delphi for implementation. You'lllearn how to effectively use OCX controls with Delphi, write Delphicustom components, share information with the clipboard and DDE, andbuild your own applications -- from concept to final product. Bothauthors have worked with Borland in the development of Delphi, andtogether know exactly what Delphi developers need -- in fact, it wasthe winner of the Delphi Informant Reader's Choice Award for 1996. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

simply the best
If you want to do some serious work with Delphi, this book is for you. Icovers virtually everything you must know about Delphi. Thanks to theauthors.

THIS BOOK is art of perfection.
THIS BOOK is art of perfection. No more to say. THANKS to the authors

A complete reference that is always at my side
The Delphi 2 Developers Guide is the authoritative source I consult for advanced programming topics in Delphi.This book is aptly marketed as an expert level book.It goes well beyond the scope of the "This is Delphi" books typically found on store shelves.An underrated feature of this book is its comprehensive appendices of error codes.I highly recommend this book to anyone serious about Delphi programming

One of the BEST Delphi 2 book out there
When many computer books today are just a rehash of the documentation, this book stands out as a real problem solver.
Although this book is not geared towards the beginner, if you are serious about developing applications in Delphi, this book should be on your shelf.In depth explainations and real world examples make this book well worth the price.Specifically helpful chapters include explainations of Windows Messaging, the Win32 API,multi-threaded applications, OLE, and more.There are also some very good chapters on porting your applications to Delphi 2 (32-bit) and differences between 16-bit and 32-bit applications.
As a Delphi developer, I keep this book handy at all times, and I am looking forward to the Delphi 3 version

Outstanding!Great reference for more advanced readers!
Xavier and Steve do an excellent job of delving into the more advanced aspects of Delphi 2 and Win32 development, without wasting a lot of time on the 'newbie' stuff. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Product Description
Delphi 2 SuperBible is an organized exposition of all the important features of Delphi 2.0. Subjects are arranged by the class scheme used for all Delphi 2.0 components. Introductory chapters cover the Delphi Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and debugger. CD contains all the source code, extended examples, formatted reference files on the VCL, demo version of third-party Delphi 2.0 components, and tools. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

One of the worst Delphi books I have read
Basically this is a printed version of Delphi on-line help system. You already have exactly this information (but more complete) if you have Delphi, and it is in more convenient format for reading and navigatingthere. Save your money and time.

One of the best books in Delphi!
This is one of the best reference I've got for Delphi It is still very relevant even we are using Delphi 5 in the office..

If you have Delphi help files, you don't need this book.
This book is just a poor replica of Delphi documentation. It just talks empty air. It leaves you where you are, without solving the problem or giving you a hint on how to solve it. Now it's a huge book with a greattitle, but that's just it. The only thing it has that might like you aretiny programs or fraction of code on how to use the components, but you canget better if you surf the internet or look into Delphi's examples in thehelp files. My suggestion is save your money, or invest it in a betterbook. I just wasted my money.

Great Reference
Probably the best Delphi reference I've seen, including Borland's material. It contains a great coverage of the VCL heirarchy for Delphi 3, but has not yet been updated to Delphi 4 or 5. It does lack some coverage(eg TTable is not covered!) but I'd say it's the best place to start if youwant to understand the VCL (ie, become a serious Delphi programmer).

Ishould mention also that it is a VCL reference: it does not cover topicslike the IDE or BDE in any great depth, and I guess assumes you get thatinformation from other sources.

I would have given it 5 stars if it hadbeen updated for Delphi 4 and if its component coverage had been morecomplete. Pressure the publisher!!

Still a great resource though.

Does not cover the most common components.
This book has good examples of code and ideas on how to implement the code in your project.That being said, this book does not cover many of the more common components that are availabel in D3.With a title like SUPERIBLE, I was expecting a COMPLETE reference but, more often than not, I am left holding the book in one hand and my problem in the other with absolutly no help coming from the book.As a developer I cannot recommend this book due to the incomplete component reference and the merely cursory look at many of the new components in D3 such as web based components. ... Read more

Product Description
Presents a unique "first practice, then theory" structure for the tutorial. Is the best presentation you'll find on the process of programming in Delphi-not just language syntax and screen shots. Features a unique explanation of object-oriented programming from Jeff Duntemann, who wrote Borland's first OOP manual in 1989. Includes lively, fast-paced writing (with a generous twist of humor) from three long-time experts in the field. Gives you step-by-step instructions for creating commercial-quality database applications without writing thousands of lines of code. Includes a CD-ROM with all the Delphi projects from the book, including all code, graphics, and database files used in the projects. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This book is poorly organized and not very useful
Delphi Programming Explorer is one of the few books on Delphi that I found almost useless. It is poorly organized, and does not show the simplicity and ease of use of Delphi.It is not a book for the beginner or expert programmer.

Light reading, Great Tutorial.
This book is floating all over the developer's offices at The Money Store where I first saw it. It is a great way to get started and my favorite book on Delphi..It's not a complete reference, but Ace Breakpoint's Database Adventure is the funniest tutorial I have ever seen. ... Read more

Product Description
Delphi is a sophisticated Windows programming environment, suitable for beginners and professional programmers alike. The application lets you create self-contained, user friendly Windows applications in a very short time. Your program's windows are 'drawn' on the screen, so that you can always see exactly what the eventual application will look like. This design work is done without writing any code, bypassing the more traditional, trial-and-error approach of pre-Windows programming languages. When the user interface is complete, there is still a great deal of work to be done, of course. However, the Delphi programming language is both powerful and easy to master, so even complex tasks can be finished surprisingly quickly. This "Made Simple" book is aimed at those who are new to programming, or new to Delphi. No previous programming experience is necessary, though familiarity with the use of Windows is assumed. Delphi is a comprehensive programming environment and a book of this size can only give a brief introduction to the subject.However, the information in this book should be enough to give you a flavour of Delphi and show you its potential for developing professional Windows applications. easy to follow visual practical ... Read more

Product Description
Offers the simplest explanation ever of how to create your own Delphi customVCL components. Provides an early look at the ground-breaking new Delphi 32 product for Windows 95 and Windows NT. Reveals the secrets of making Windows API calls from Delphi. Gives detailed instructions for using SQL for powerful access to databases, either locally or on a remote server. Covers new information on text and graphics printing. Features two brand new Ace Breakpoint mini-adventures from Don Taylor, presenting Windows messaging and exception handling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Quick Note on an Old Favorite
This book covers introductory Delphi 2 and is therefore dated (hence only 3 stars).Nevertheless, I found it to be an excellent primer on Delphi.The chapters all well written, and the examples are well fleshed out.Thesource code from the CD runs perfectly.The case study at the end of thebook is worth reading for the humor alone. ... Read more

Product Description
This work provides an introduction to programming with Pascal and extends this to show how Borland Delphi is used to develop Microsoft Windows programs. It provides real life applications and splits into three main sections: Pascal programming, Pascal applications, and Delphi programming. Practical applications include: software interrupts, hardware interrupts, graphics, date and time, system commands, RS 232 and parallel ports. This work is intended for GNVQ, A Level, further and adult education, first year undergraduate students, and for professionals and computing enthusiasts. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides an introduction to the use of Delphi Version 3/4 in developing programs, full of real-life applications including serial communications, internet programming and system interfacing. The book also contains tutorial questions, many with template answers. ... Read more

Product Description
You've learned to program with Delphi 3, and now you're ready to move to another level. If you want to get serious about Delphi programming, this book was written just for you. Open it up and shift into second gear, where you'll explore input/output filtering, fractals, way-out-there database technology, and Windows arcana. Then pop it into high gear and slam the pedal to the metal, as you speed through Internet development secrets, dynamic user interface design, process monitoring, embedded components, and more. Powerful stuff, written by experts for those who wish to become experts - and all written with a light heart and more than a touch of wit (you'll even be learning techniques through the programming adventures of Ace Breakpoint, Non-Traditional Programmer).Amazon.com Review
Ready to make the most out of Delphi 3, the latest version of Borland'srapid application development tool? High Performance Delphi 3Programming has the information you need: it's packed with detailedinstructions on how to push Delphi to the limit. The book shows how tobuild DLLs (dynamic-link libraries), implement drag and drop, work with theDelphi Winsock component, and much more. What's particularly impressive isthat Don Taylor and his coauthors don't just offer a rapid-fire listing oftechniques and leave you to worry about the details. Instead, they delveinto the reasons you'd want to do this stuff, the pitfalls you'd likelyencounter, and offer slick workarounds. The authors take a lightheartedtone that occasionally gets long-winded--they sometimes require you to readthrough dialogs between imaginary characters rather than simply jump to thetopic of interest--but they offer enough good information to more than makeup for that shortcoming. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The book has a very nice cover.
You're not going to learn Delphi by reading this book so I wouldn'trecommend it for novice programmers. Half the book is spent on internetrelated code like WinSock, FTP, and OLE. If you're not interested in thesetopics then you're left with very little else. It covers databases in only24 pages which is incredibly scant. There is a great deal of filler in thisbook about Ace Breakpoint who runs a detective agency. It sounds like theauthor wishes he were writing about something else. Overall the book is fartoo narrative and reads like a cheap novel. The reader will probably find afew sections of interest and if you find the book at a book sale for around$10, then you might want to give it a try.

Not recommended
If you're looking for an advanced book on Delphi look elsewhere. The book is long on words and short on value. You have to trawl for information - the last third of the book is almost entirely taken up with the story of"Ace Breakpoint" detective, which I didn't even find entertaininglet alone enlightening. A large amount of the book's text is printed sourcecode (unnecessary when you have it on CD; it just serves as filler). Andwhile every chapter is on a different topic, many are, while Windowsrelated, hardly Delphi specific ("3D Fractal Landscapes","Drag and Drop the Windows Way" (ie. not the Delphi way) etc.).All this would have been forgiven if the titbits in this book wereworthwhile Delphi tips. But although various developers have looked at it,nobody in our office has yet obtained anything useful out of this book. Itjust sits on a bookshelf now, gathering dust.

good for experienced delphi programmers
I like this book, after feeling i was mastering delphi 3, i bought this book, and now im really understandindig somethings, i newer understod before: FTP, TCP/IP this is a book, mostly targeting at the Delphi 3advanced users, no beginner book!recommended.

This is little more than "Kick Ass Delphi" in a new cover.
I was VERY disappointed to find that "High Performance Delphi 3 Programming" is nothing more than "Kick Ass Delphi" with a new cover and title. A quick scan of the contents pages of both books showed only a couple of minor changes.Jeff Duntemann's Introduction is -Word for Word- the same with the exception of the date. I just paid for a book I already own! I actually researched this purchase to the extent I was able before buying it.NOWHERE does the Corolis Website ad/info about the book mention "Kick Ass Delphi".Had I been able to look at the book before purchase I would have immediately known it was the same book. With the realitively limited number of books on the topic of ADVANCED Delphi programming available it should be made very clear that this is nothing more than a retitled book. The worst thing about this is that "Kick Ass Delphi" wasn't even very good! I will be very hesitant to buy anything from Coriolis in the future. ... Read more

Product Description
Derek Benner's text details the formats of 11 of the most popular graphics file types and presents ObjectPascal source code to implement read/write modules for each format, as well as sample viewer application to serve as a framework. The accompanying CD contains all source code, sample images in each of the file types, and several shareware/freeware image manipulation applications. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

This book is antiquated
This book uses incredibly outdated and antiquated technology.He still uses far pointers, an artifact of 16-bit Windows 3.1 that disappeared 12 years ago with Windows 95, which itself is antiquated!Nobody programs like this anymore in 2008 (or even in 1998!).

I find the chapter "What's not in this book", where he rants about redundant discussions that typify other programming books, to be mildly amusing and I read it from time to time just to get a laugh.Other than that the book is a shelf decoration.

Shouldn't books like this recognize the crime of wasting perfectly good trees?
0 Stars. I contacted the publisher who suggested I work with them to fix the code. Apparently others had already complained. As noted in other reviews, neither the code in the book or the code on the CD work. In fact, the code is so terribly incomplete I am surprised any other users actually found bugs. It's hard to have a bug when the code to read or write a particular format is nothing more than a skeleton of the required code. I contacted the author, back when the book was published, and he insisted he'd update the code to work. Subsequently, he seems to have gone into hiding. I don't blame him.

Perfect Candidate for the Nazi Book Burning Fires
This is BY FAR the worst computer related book I have ever touched. I seriously doubt that the Author even knew what he was doing when he decided to write this book. I purchased this book a while ago, and after trying to create working examples from his bug ridden code I became so distraught that I used this utterly worthless book for firewood. I have never seen anything like this before. Even books written by college professors for use with only thier classes have less errors and those books often have several pages missing and thousands of typos. So, if you are even considering buying this book, then do everyone a favor and DO NOT buy this failer of a book. Hopefully the author will lose money by writting books and as a result be forced to give up writing, which will be beneficial for everyone.

Absolutely terrible book
I bought this book only because I need to try to support the Kodak FlashPix format, and this book happened to have some code related to that format.Unfortunately for me, the code doesn't work.It constantlyreturns errors and cannot even open the FlashPix pictures that came withthe book on the CD.This is the second (and last) worthless computer bookI've bought from Wordware.I contacted then to see if maybe there had beenan update to fix the bad code on the CD, and they told me they don'tsupport the code contained in their books and that I would have to contactthe author.

One star is the lowest rating Amazon has, so that's what Ientered... but it deserves no stars and a whole mess of lemons becausethat's what this book is.

Save your hard ( or easy) earned money
I picked up this book in the Bargain book bin for $4.99 and paid five times its value. The book is poorly written, filled with errors and the CD ROM would make a good coaster. I gave this book 1 star but a 1/2 star ismore appropriate. ... Read more

Product Description
This book helps every programmer get the most from the latest version of Borland Pascal. Programmer's codes will become more effective and streamlined as advanced techniques from an experienced Borland Pascal programmer are learned. Includes professional tips and many useful code examples. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Book to Really Learn Delphi!
It's a very good book to read and go through the various examples, covering since the simplest of a Delphi Project to the most interesting and powerful about Creating Components. It's a Must Have Book! Congratulations Charles

The easy way to master Delphi.

How many times did you read a book, follow the examples and run it in the computer, and at end of it you can't write a program by yourself?
Delphi Unleashed is different! Just in the initial chapters you'll be learning the best way: experimenting.

While some books are introductory, others are for the experts, to be used as reference material. There are books that try conciliate both things, but few succeed. This one does it.

Charles Calvert, with your soft writing style and some sense of humour, leads you to explore the language from the beginnings to the most advanced topics, in a soft and pleasant way. He emphasises the most important points, even repeating some fundamental concepts, and pointing the trickiest subjects. Everything is minutely explained. It is impossible to not understand.

The examples are well formulated and are all reproduced on the accompanying CD, which carries too a bunch oftools and libraries.

The coverage of the book is fantastic. From the structure of a Delphi program, to variables and looping. From the use of functions, to strings and pointers. The object programming and client server techniques are explored in depth, as well as OLE, SQL and multimedia subjects.

The didactic is impeccable. An excellent book !

The easy way to master Delphi.

How many times did you read a book, follow the examples and run it in the computer, and at end of it you can't write a program by yourself?
Delphi Unleashed is different! Just in the initial chapters you'll be learning the best way: experimenting.

While some books are introductory, others are for the experts, to be used as reference material. There are books that try conciliate both things, but few succeed. This one does it.

Charles Calvert, with your soft writing style and some sense of humour, leads you to explore the language from the beginnings to the most advanced topics, in a soft and pleasant way. He emphasises the most important points, even repeating some fundamental concepts, and pointing the trickiest subjects. Everything is minutely explained. It is impossible to not understand.

The examples are well formulated and are all reproduced on the accompanying CD, which carries too a bunch oftools and libraries.

The coverage of the book is fantastic. From the structure of a Delphi program, to variables and looping. From the use of functions, to strings and pointers. The object programming and client server techniques are explored in depth, as well as OLE, SQL and multimedia subjects.

The didactic is impeccable. An excellent book !

The easy way to master Delphi.

How many times did you read a book, follow the examples and run it in the computer, and at end of it you can't write a program by yourself?
Delphi Unleashed is different! Just in the initial chapters you'll be learning the best way: experimenting.

While some books are introductory, others are for the experts, to be used as reference material. There are books that try conciliate both things, but few succeed. This one does it.

Charles Calvert, with your soft writing style and some sense of humour, leads you to explore the language from the beginnings to the most advanced topics, in a soft and pleasant way. He emphasises the most important points, even repeating some fundamental concepts, and pointing the trickiest subjects. Everything is minutely explained. It is impossible to not understand.

The examples are well formulated and are all reproduced on the accompanying CD, which carries too a bunch oftools and libraries.

The coverage of the book is fantastic. From the structure of a Delphi program, to variables and looping. From the use of functions, to strings and pointers. The object programming and client server techniques are explored in depth, as well as OLE, SQL and multimedia subjects.

The didactic is impeccable. An excellent book !

... Read more

Product Description
To get the most out of Delphi, a programmer needs to understand and exploit the fundamental principles of object-oriented problem solving. Written by top experts in the field of Delphi programming, this book is aimed at programmers and software developers who are involved with every aspect of the development cycle. Through case studies and numerous examples, the authors present an application-oriented guide to getting the most out of Delphi. The book includes a free CD-ROM containing source code for its many examples, as well as compiled versions of these examples. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of My Favorite Authors
I tried to buy this book a while ago. It went out of print or I couldn't get it. It has been a while since I've seen a Delphi Book by Mr. Weiner. I'm shocked that it's here. Mr. Weiner is a excellent writer of computerbooks. He always covers a computer language in great detail. I was impresswith seeing his coverage of Delphi before the book went out of print. ThenI bought his Eiffel Book and was blown away. So I know this book is goingto leave a mark. Warning!This book may be a hazard to your social life.I want it! ... Read more

Product Description
@CATEGORY = Programming Languages (CC00)@TITLE = Programming and Problem Solving with Delphi@AUTHOR = Mitchell C. Kerman Programming and Problem Solving with Delphi teaches beginners how to program using Delphi, and assumes no prior programming experience. Throughout, it emphasizes sound problem solving and programming skills, and is designed with numerous screen shots to demonstrate this visual language. The book includes a CD-ROM of Delphi 5 so readers have access to the latest features of the language. Delphi is an object Pascal-based language that is widely used in the corporate sector. As a point of comparison, Delphi is a similar language to Visual Basic yet is more robust. This book covers Windows-based programming concepts such as OLE, DDE and ActiveX components. It provides a full chapter on debugging, and includes numerous appendices on the user interface, debugging, Delphi error codes, and more, also making this an excellent language reference. This is the first book designed to teach Delphi programming to those without any programming experience.@ISBN = 0-201-70844-2@MAINCAT = Programming Languages@DATALINE1 = 2002, 560 pages, 8 3/8 x 10 7/8@DATALINE2 = Paper, $45.75k ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

More Than Just Delphi
This is a fantastic book for newcomers to Delphi, but with a shortcoming for some potential readers:

1.Kerman teaches not only Object Pascal/Delphi in a clear, concise progression, but also the basics in efficient design while solving real world implementation problems.

2.Object Oriented Programming is integrated by the very nature of using Delphi objects, and later in the book, Kerman introduces additional Object Oriented Programming (OOP) fundamentals.

3.Unlike nearly every other Delphi text I've read aimed at Delphi newcomers, this book ensures the reader learns, understands, and integrates efficient problem solving along the way.

4.Finally, Kerman includes excellent exercises and quizzes to verify and challenge your learning in each chapter.

5.My only negative critique (and the reason I only give the book four stars) is that the book does not include solutions to the end-of-chapter exercises and quizzes.(The solutions are located online for instructors only, which makes it difficult if you are teaching yourself).You also will not have access to the book's errata unless you complete online student registration with Addison/Wesley/Pearson Tech/(etc.).The reason this book is so expensive is because it's been adopted as a teaching text, and all textbooks are expensive because they can be.Sad but true.

Having said that, I do not believe you'll find a better introduction to Delphi/Object Pascal anywhere.

Excellent book
Very well laid out and explained.The high price is probably because delphi 5 is included.
Would recommend to everyone.

East US
I agree with the previous reviewers.The book is helpful with developing a basic understanding of Delphi, but it is overpriced compared to other Delphi books on the market.

Great Book
This book [was expensive to me] because it is a textbook, and as we all know, there's no getting around the price of a textbook.I'm not currently attending class, but purchased this book anyway.I found it extremely well laid out, very descriptive, and informative.I went from knowing very little about Delphi, to knowing quite a bit.This book has all the little bits of information the less formal books leave out.A great book!If I had one complaint, it was of the lack of attention to some of the higher programming skills, chapters like DDE were very short indeed, but gave you enough to know what they did.This is a beginners book, make no mistake.If you're just learning Delphi, it's great.I believe this was made with Delphi 5, but there are so few differences, you'll never notice.

Very Good for the novice, but [pricey]
Programming and Problem Solving with Delphi is clearly laid out and provides good information for people new to Delphi. As a self-trained programmer migrating from Visual Basic to Delphi I found it quite useful, but I question its value to experienced Delphi campaigners. I also cannot work out why it's so [pricey]. ... Read more

Product Description
You can get pretty far knowing just the basics of Delphi 2.0, Borland's feature-rich, visual programming development system. But to create software that's powerful and truly efficient, you need to know a few secrets. In Delphi 32-Bit Programming SECRETS, authors Tom Swan and Jeff Cogswell reveal techniques and features you may not even know exist. You'll find out about Delphi's new optimized code compiler and object-oriented capabilities. Here you'll get answers to your questions on everything from Object Pascal and 32-bit resource management to database engines and multithreading. And to put some real power in your hands, the authors have included a disk containing 32-bit component and unit libraries; components for print preview, zoom control, and control-panel applet construction; units for memory management, property information, and printing; and complete source code for the book's projects and the new components. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Well Worth Having
I had bypassed this book a couple of times while browsing but eventually had a good look at it. Result, I bought it. The tone is light and readable while remaining focussed on some pretty advanced topics. in places I can see hints of a "Son of Lischner" approach but there is not 100% duplication of material making this an honourable second to "Secrets of Delphi 2" Well worth having if you alrady have Lischner's masterpiece. ... Read more

Product Description
If you're looking to capitalize on the powerful capabilities of Delphi 2005, this is your essential resource. Named "Best Book" by Delphi Informant magazine, its practical, tutorial-based coverage helps you develop key skills, solve tough problems, and build functionality in your applications. Special insights from Delphi expert Marco Cantù give you an extra advantage. This edition contains enhanced coverage of sophisticated new features of the IDE and the Delphi programming language, covers Internet programming in Win32 and ASP.NET, the updated Win32 VCL and its .NET counterpart, the .NET FCL, and .NET/Win32 interoperability. Whether you’re a beginner wanting to learn the essentials, an upgrader wanting to grasp the newest features, or an intermediate programmer seeking to optimize your applications, this book has all the answers you'll need. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

More of the same
For subscribers of the previous mastering Delphi series this book is not going to add much to your knowledge of Delphi.
I have the Mastering Delphi 4-2005 and I haven't really opened this one as it offers nothing new.
For the beginner in Delphi this would prove as useful as Mastering Delphi 4 was for me; invaluable.

Excelent Book for beginners and a classic for the Masters
The book covers the fundaments of the Delphi 2005 programming, in an inteligent and clear way. Doing more emphasis in win32 development but not leaving alone to .NET interested.
This book mantain the expected quality for an author like Marco Cantu. An recommended choice for all Delphi developers.

Great Resource
Marco Cantu presents another fine in-depth Delphi book. I treat this as more of a reference rather than something you read start-finish. Its over 900 pages long and I recommend having tried Delphi for a while before picking this book up. The downloadable demos are especially helpful. Highly Recommend it.

The Best In Mark Cantu's Delphi Series
This latest in Marco's Delphi series is a must-have for anyone who is serious about rapid Microsoft Windows systems development. In contrast to most, perhaps all, of the technical books dealing with creative development, this one is very readable, and more to the point immediately useful.

The rich code samples are immediately applicable to today's right-now applications, with background material that is succinct and helpful.

It's still applicable today for one simple reason: Delphi is still the fastest and most reliable way to build robust Windows applications, bar none. The economic impact of this simple fact is why Delphi is still being used today, despite Borland's self-induced problems, and will continue to be used for the same reason for as long as Win32 is around - probably a long, long time indeed.

DISCLAIMER: Borland wanted to do a case study on my company's use of Delphi, even after I told them I thought that their marketing department was brain dead. They compiled and published the case study, but I still believe that their marketing department is brain dead.

Better choice for learning Delphi
I found the book attractive and easy-reading. Marco Cantu boosts Delphi learner's expectations again, with this Mastering Delphi 2005 edition. The author makes learning Delphi a gentle issue, as if he's chating with you personally. Definitely, the book is a better choice for learning Delphi.
... Read more

Product Description
Teaching the same Delphi topics covered in training seminars costing hundreds of dollars, this one-of-a-kind, interactive tutorial and reference package is for new Delphi programmers. Readers learn from hundreds of hands-on video presentation segments with voice narration. Features interactive quizzes at theen d of each lesson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Need basics first?, this book can deliver.
This book is for the beginner in Delphi.It is a seamless guide through many of the important features of the Delphi programming interface.The 'interactive' part is up to the user of this tutorial.I made it interactive by pausing the movie, with delphi 2.0 running in the background, I just flipped to it, tried what I saw in the movie and flipped back to the lesson and hit play.This is an iterative process that, if done correctly, makes this a true interactive seminar.Now if it just had voice recognition so I can ask questions, that would be great! When is this book coming out for Delphi 3.0?I want to see ActiveX and many of the new features explained this way.

Delphi for dummy in Live !
This is the 'live version of delphi for dummy' the investment for this book is worth for the money. At least it is comparable to attend delphi for beginner class

A good intro for someone switching from VB to Delphi
Since I had used Microsoft's "Mastering VB" CD series to get up to speed on VB4, I thought I'd give Delphi 2 Tutor's "interactive training" a try. The CD examples are well done - dozens of them (though many are quite brief).This type of training isn't really interactive, though, but rather McKelvy's demonstration of how to do something along with some commentary.There isn't much more in the example than in the book, but I think it's good to watch someone go through the steps and add commentary as he goes along - McKelvy does a good job of that.The text is well-organized and well-written as well, so overall this was a very useful book for me to get started in Delphi 2

Good Start for the beginning programmer
This book is an excellent book for the beginning programmer who knows nothing of Delphi. The step by step tutorial leads you through the Delphi programming enviornment, and gives you the needed basics of Form design, Unit layout and so-forth. A good book for those of us who need the basics first. It is NOT an Object Pascal reference guide. Buy it if your starting out green. You'll be glad you did. ... Read more

Product Description
Learn Object Pascal with Delphi provides an introductionto the popular programming language that is used as the basis for manycomputer science programs and a wide range of professional softwaredevelopment projects. The book is organized around specificprogramming skills, such as defining constants, creating variables,declaring types, making decisions, looping, encapsulating routinesinto procedures, using arrays and records, and handling files.

Among the elements that make this book perfect for beginning Delphidevelopers are Quick Check review questions to reinforce new concepts;Test Your Knowledge exercises for trying out newfound skills; and anappendix listing Object Pascal’s reserved words.

The companion CD-ROM puts you to work immediately with the completeDelphi 5.0 Standard Edition compiler ready for installation. The CDalso contains the complete source code for all of the examples; trialversions of GLAD components; and a trial version of the UIL SecuritySystem from Unlimited Intelligence Limited. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Good but could be better.
Good introduction to Pascal. Easy to read. Code from page 285 (chapter 11) did not compile in Delphi 7 Pro.

A Question.
To anyone who bought this book. Does Delphi 5 Standard that comes with the book include a commercial distribution license, meaning you can sell any apps you right with it, or is it strictly a learning edition? Thanks.

GOODTOSTARTWITH
This is a great introductory book to programming for the non-programmer. The books starts at the very basic level and takes you through conventional programming (not to much of oop). In the last chapters of the book the examples are not presented clearly enough and somtimes it is hard to follow the authors line of thought . In conclusion -a good book to start off with !!

Delivers what it promises!
I can't understand the negative reviews for this book. I'm with the first reviewer, Larrywp from Carson City, NV -- this is a great introductory book to programming for the non-programmer. All of the essentials behind programming in any language are here(declaring and initializing variables, working with strings and arrays, pointers, file-handling, looping, etc.), and the book also includes a minor intro to object-oriented programming. While I would have appreciated going a little further into OOP and at least cursory info about how the Delphi IDE fits in, the book makes clear from the start that it won't be going there. Rather, this book's aim is to provide novices with the foundation they need to understand what's going on in code behind the IDE, and at that, it succeeds quite well.

There were a few typos/formatting glitches that a tighter tech or page-proof edit would have caught, but the content of this book is nonetheless clear. If you happen to agree with the author's view that the place to start is with fundamental coding skills (that means practicing and learning with console (DOS) applications, not GUI apps), then this book really is an excellent place to start.

As for choosing Delphi Pascal as a learning language, I've looked at many languages and read several books to try to grasp the fundamentals. I have no prorgramming or computer science experience, which made my search for the right language and tutorial all the more difficult. Believe me, I've looked at just about everything: VB, C++, C#, Java, RealBASIC, Perl, Python, Objective C, Rebol, and Ruby, to name most of them. After much study, I believe that Pascal, with its focus on highly structured and well throught out "unit" modules, really makes the most sense for a beginner (RealBASIC comes close, but good reference material is still a bit scarce). The language just makes sense to me, and coupled with Borland's Delphi IDE, programming is just easier and more fun to learn.

If you're just getting started on your adventures in programming, this book can't be beat. It even includes Delphi 5 standard to practice with, which is a ... value on its own. Although Delphi 6 is already out, use this book and v.5 to explore the language (which hasn't changed at all, as far as I can tell) and the environment as a means of deciding whether Delphi is for you. If so, you'll want to move on to additional references, like Marco Cantu's Mastering Delphi books.

One more note -- just because this book is for absolute novices, that doesn't mean it's a no-brainer. The pace is relatively swift, and I had to re-read some sections several times to catch on. The code samples build on prior lessons, too, and I found myself going back to previous material to refresh my recollection. This, however, helped rather than hindered my learning, as I was forced to re-study recently learned concepts I would have otherwise forgotten.

In all, this book is a great value and an excellent read. It's finally got me going as a fledgling programmer, and for that, the author and publisher (as well as Borland) deserve great thanks!

A Very Good Book For Those New To Pascal And Programming
I consider that this is one of the best introductory books on computer programming I have read and I have read a lot of books on computer programming. It not only teaches the reader how to code in Pascal, but also how to program. The techniques which the author elaborates are applicable to other computer languages such as C++ and Java. Typically, the authors of books on computing, propose a problem and then give the solution as a listing without giving any indication of how they arrived at the solution. This author breaks the problem down into its component parts and proceeds to code and discuss each part and then combines the parts into a program or in Chapter 8 and succeding chapters into one or more units. The author also explains the advantages of modularizing a program using procedures, functions and units as an aid to information hidding and security. Readers who are new to programming should note how the author prefaces each of his procedures and functions with a panel giving a brief description of the purpose, input parameters and output values.

The author makes it very easy for the uninitiated to do the example programs by creating a template project which is used throughout the book.

The semantics of Pascal are well covered in the first seven chapters.

In Chapter 8 the concept of units is introduced. My first attempt at the Currency Conver program with two units would not compile, so I tried the program from the CD-ROM, and although it compiled correctly, I got a run time error. I typed in the complete program again and this time it worked perfectly.

In Chapter 9 on arrays, the author gives an interesting example of how a non-numerical ordinal type (char) can be used as the control variable in a FOR loop in the airplane seat reservation program.

Chapter 10 on records gives a good example using student details of how all the procedures and functions can be contained in a unit, with only a simple menu, using the case construct as the main program. Also in this chapter isan introduction to stack and queue structures.

Chapter 11 gives an introduction to object orientated programming using the queue structure from the previous chapter. While this chapter discusses the aspects of OOP, it is only an introduction to the subject of object orientated programming and a more advanced book would be required for a more in depth study of the subject, but what is given is adequate for an introduction.

The twelth and final chapter discusses file IO and pointers. The file IO componet covers various ways files can be handled and is quite adequate. The section on pointers is probably too brief to be of much use, but the linked list is an interesting example of how pointers can be used.

It is not the author's intention to delve into the graphical apects of Delphi, so there are not any examples of it in this book, but if any readers want to see Pascal in the Delphi environment, then they can see Marco Cantu's online book: Essential Pascal .... Marco Cantu is the author of the series of books Delhi Unleashed.

I would have given this book a four star rating, but in Chapter 7 and some other chapters, nearly all the inequalities are missing from the statements. This is gross carelessness on the part of the author and the proof readers. I suggest readers down load the programs from the CD-Rom to see what the inequalities should be and pencil them in. ... Read more

Product Description
Combine Delphi 3 For Dummies with Borland's Delphi 3 development package and you have all you need to get started creating your own Windows 95 and Windows NT applications. Thanks to author Neil J. Rubenking's hands-on, plain-English approach to programming, you'll feel comfortable starting from scratch if you've never programmed before and right at home if you're already familiar with Visual Basic, earlier versions of Delphi, or other languages. Turn to Delphi 3 For Dummies to find out how to Create and run Delphi programs effectivelyTake advantage of the Delphi program's components as well as the Windows 95 program's built-in componentsWrite 32-bit programs as easily as 16-bit programsCreate Internet applications and ActiveX programs for your Web site by using DelphiDesign complex applications for Windows 95 or Windows NT by using Delphi's intuitive, visual interfaceGain insight into programming techniques by studying Delphi-generated codeDelphi 3 For Dummies also features Neil Rubenking's own top ten lists for Delphi, includingTen of the most common Delphi mistakes and how to avoid themTen handy built-in Delphi functionsTen Windows API (Application Programming Interface) functions to use with DelphiPlus, a free Delphi programming cheat sheet is yours for the detaching -- keep it close by for quick reminders and tips whenever you use Delphi. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Introduction to windows programming
Excellent book for Turbo Pascal programmer as an introduction to Delphi programming. Explains better than Borland itself how to
use it's own GUI.

Hey! It is good for start!
Well, maybe this book is not for professionals, but it's wonderful for beginners! It's easy to teach object-oriented programming with it.

Excellent for beginners to small companies
This book provides a personal and hands-on approach to Delphi that veryother people could manage.It is informtive and gets you working straightaway, no long tedious introductions for the techhie.But a cover diskwould have been helpful for the blocks of code.

Still a dummy!
This book really teaches nothing. All it does is tell you how to drawcomponents on the form and nothing else really. No OOP coding which is whatI really wanted to learn about go from VB to Delphi but no, none of that.Try another book if you want to step up from dummy status.

A fairly good book ruined by poor editing & no example disk
This book is full or errors; most are typos or text from a prevoous edition not updated but a few are real stoppers for any beginner let alone a dummy.Object Pascal code is often presented without enough explanation for one to write similar code.No example disk is a futher deficiency.Beginning Delphi 2 by Peter Wright isfar superior.On the positive side the tone of the book is pleasent, the author's outlook is broad and helpful and with editing and an example disk it would be a good starting text. ... Read more