Re: What's the big deal with cross-platform?

"Scout" <Toothpaste@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:MPG.21fd843f156fadaf9897cf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I continue to read messages here about how Delphi should be cross-
platform, or should be able to produce the executable that someone
requires on their desired platform, but I always wonder why?

Because some of us would like to sell our software to Mac users?

Not everyone using delphi makes in-house business apps (where the platform
is controlled by an IT dept) or writes contracted software. For those of us
who work on software sold via retail markets, why wouldnt we want a cross
platform delphi so that we can extend our user base? It's also the reason I
want solid unicode support - it builds the potential customer base.

And if thats not a good enough reason, then consider how a cross platform
delphi affects those who *do* write inhouse apps or contracted software.
Nowadays, its very frequent to have cross platform functionality - or even
just the _potential_ for such - built into a project. A customer may want a
windows app now, but want the possibility to move to another OS in the
future. For any contract like that, Delphi is *immediately* disqualified.

Back in the late 90s, I was desperately trying to get a company I worked for
to switch to Delphi. But no - they wanted cross platform. So they switched
to java. They never did make a cross platform version of their app... but
just having the _potential_ future requirement for such killed any chance
of that company switching to Delphi, ever. I have no doubt that same
scenario has played out many thousands of times at other companies since.

Even if this doesnt directly affect YOU, it affects Delphi's market share,
which in turn affects everyone who uses Delphi. Do you want your skills to
be marketable? Or do you want to be pidgeon-holed as an old dinosaur useful
for only the most mundane in-house business tasks?

The way that Delphi programmers go about doing their jobs usually
involves either providing some sort of data entry system, or some sort
of data presentation system.

Since I started using Delphi in 1995 (v1), I've never once made a 'data
entry' system. 'data presentation system' is meaningless jargon. Every
program presents data.

IMHO, cross-platform is a crock. You will never be able to identify
the right combination of platforms to keep everyone happy.

Windows, Mac, Linux. That'll get you 99%.

A native 64 bit compiler would be nice, but does it really make that
much difference?

Yes, if you need to access large amounts of RAM. Again, not everyone writes
data-entry apps.


.

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