I discovered Pascal in 1990 during my university studies and I loved this language. It's readable, structured and structured.
I switched from Turbo Pascal to Borland Pascal, then to Delphi in 1995 when it was released, and I've never stopped using it for myself, in my company or as a service provider.
Over the past 30 years, I've used it or seen it used to manage databases, create and manage e-commerce sites, pilot clothes conveyors in industrial laundries, make industrial cuisine (charcuterie, ready-made meals and pastries), manufacture vaccines, store in stores, compare prices, make video games, print delivery labels, manage a fleet of couriers, publish the results of a world swimming competition in real time on the event's website, process admissions to a water park, manage the membership of shooting ranges in Belgium, do business management, do accounting, manage farms, follow up patients in private clinics, take care of the medical follow-up of pets, horse farms and herds, hiking, recruitment management, Chinese medicine, training, Windows printing for all the customers of a global printer manufacturer, calibration of mirrors and lasers for specialized satellites, management of truck and bus fleets, etc. ..
Delphi can do it all: command line programs, Windows services, desktop and mobile applications, web sites, drivers, database and web servers, Linux daemons, ...
When Ian Barker asked us to shoot a short video about our experience with Delphi, I froze. I couldn't find a project to put forward, and I couldn't share 30 years of work on (private) projects in companies or unofficially developed using Delphi. I could talk about my passion for the language and my love for the work environment (despite its occasional glitches), but 3 minutes isn't long! And what can I say that I haven't already said or shown?
It's hard to choose between all these projects, even if I do have a preference for some because of their usefulness and impact on our lives.
Here are just a few of the projects that have left their mark on my life and touched millions of French people without them even knowing it.
1997 saw the launch of Micro Discount, one of France's first Internet hardware sales sites.
Thanks to Delphi, over 10,000 products (and many more web pages) were updated on the site every day. The shopping cart and sales were handled by DOS programs (also developed in Delphi) interfaced in CGI with the web server.
In 1998, I used Delphi on Windows 3.1 to interface garment conveyors in industrial laundries with the management system on AS/400s.
In 1999, Delphi programs enabled me to launch LaVague.com, a directory of brand and online sales sites in France. The database was under Paradox. Delphi was used for updates and static site generation.
In 2000, I developed the order, customer and supplier management system for the online sales site Planète Discount (hifi, IT, telephony, etc.). Multi-user on a MySQL database used by online sales sites developed in PHP.
In 2001 I developed a contract and CV management tool for a recruitment agency.
Also in 2001, I set up a page generator for the Bourse City site, using external sources to present the accounting and tax data of companies on the site.
In 2002 I created DB Replicator to synchronize data between web sites developed in PHP and Delphi projects. A Windows service acted as a server, handling the exchange of information between projects.
In 2003, I developed an interface between accounting software and e-commerce systems.
I also used it in companies and associations for maintenance, new developments and training.
In 2016, I went back to creating small video games using FireMonkey under Delphi.
And since the start of the COVID pandemic, it's on Twitch that you'll sometimes find me developing software, mobile applications, video games or websites live between two customer missions.
The next version of Delphi has been announced. Version 12.3 will be shown on March 13. It should mark the beginning of a new era as we await the next major release.
In the meantime, I'd like to join the movement and wish Delphi and all the developer communities around the world a happy thirtieth birthday.
