five of the best tools for delphi
why you need more than an just the ide
max kleiner
question:
from time to time (if we have time) i have been asked, which are the best tools beside delphi, for example to design a oo-database or to make calls between instances or units visible.
answer:
on the other side, it's difficult to find tools we don't know they exists. anyway, i want to start with that article to make a very short introduction to keep you informed that such best tools with delphi/kylix exist and what they solve.
but before we start, here’s the disclaimer. each tool is a complex and fully-featured product (not a component), and a review such as this can only scratch the surface, and try to give you a motivation of what the following tools are and what they can do.
by the way, delphi is not a language it's the product so objectpascal is the language and is getting more and more engineers around the world with the products delphi, kylix and virtual pascal! ;)
1. bold for delphi
the product bold for delphi (enterprise r3.0-d5, release 3.0.1.9), provides a model-driven software development environment for delphi developers. it means that developers can design their applications using uml (the class-diagram), and bold will help to build a system right from the model.
bold is designed to implement 'business object logic’. the point is that many business applications are basically the same: gui front end, logic-based middle layer, and a database at the back end to make things memorizable. so a lot amount of duplication of design, and probably duplication of code as well. it would be very useful if there was some sort of framework to help you implement multi-tier business solutions.
bold is that framework and their product recently gained software development’s productivity award, and it is being used in the swedish (it's a swedish product) and french parliaments, us government departments, also the swiss tax authorities among many others.
http://www.boldsoft.com
2. modelmaker
modelmaker 6.1 represents a new way to develop classes and component packages for delphi (1-6). modelmaker is a two-way class tree oriented productivity, refactoring and uml-style case tool specifically designed for generating native objectpascal code (in fact it was made using delphi and modelmaker).
delphi's objectpascal language is fully supported by modelmaker. from the start modelmaker was designed to be a smart and highly productive tool.
it has been used to create classes for both real-time / technical and database type applications. modelmaker has full reverse engineering capabilities.
it supports drawing a set of uml diagrams and from that perspective it looks much like a traditional case tool. the key to modelmaker's magic, speed and power however is the active modeling engine which stores and maintains all relationships between classes and their members.
a unique feature, currently not found in any development environment for delphi, is the support for design patterns. a number of patterns are mplemented as 'ready to use' active agents. it's the 100% uml-tool which works with so tightless with delphi.
http://www.delphicase.com
3. aqtest
aqtest, the complete application testing system from automatedqa, means automated support for functional, unit, and regression testing in one easy to use and totally flexible package. aqtest brings testing out of the dark ages (that's what they say;).
aqtest is the only true test automation and management tool for delphi applications (that's true). it is written in delphi and boasts several industry firsts, especially a uniquely flexible, user-oriented approach.
with aqtest, you test your own way, with scripts or delphi code written your own way, and test reports organized to your own needs.
aqtest gives external test scripts access to all onscreen vcl elements, with their properties and even their methods. optionally, it gives access to all published elements of the delphi application under test, and optionally again it gives scripts practically the same access to application internals as the delphi ide has.
start using aqtest, and you'll be able to make every test run into a contribution to development. aqtest can keep a project on schedule and on spec, the team confident and the work 100% productive.
for example delphiscript support is built into aqtest.
