From the Trenches
Directions / Commentary
The Upgrade Game
Quick show of hands. How many of you upgraded to Delphi 3.01? Okay. How about Delphi 3.02? BDE 4.51? How about the various service packs for your operating system?
Software companies are working at a feverish pace to develop and release new versions of their products as soon as humanly possible. Maintenance releases and patches are being produced with even greater regularity. With each new version you can count on several new features — and several new bugs. For end users, it’s no fun to play the upgrade game; sometimes upgrading one part of a software package introduces problems in another part.
It’s even worse for developers. To successfully deploy quality applications today, you need to stay on top of every .001 release, and monitor how it interacts with every other part of your application. The amount of changes from Redmond alone can cripple a budding software company trying to support all the possible permutations of software configuration on an end user’s machine.
Why then, should you play this game? Developing software using outdated tools and libraries puts you at a distinct disadvantage in obtaining support. Most developers tend to update their development software when a new version comes out, so don’t go to the newsgroup expecting to get the same level of help for Delphi 2 and Delphi 3. It’s not going to happen.
When was the last time you were stuck maintaining old code? It probably wasn’t the most glamorous position, and it certainly wasn’t fun. Programmers want to build. They want to evolve the creation they started into something aesthetically pleasing. Maintaining dated applications doesn’t fit the bill.
We can look at the reason software updates occur. This may help explain why it’s beneficial to play the upgrade game. New versions are built to provide increased functionality. What was difficult — or impossible — to accomplish with the previous version, is made easier in the new one. This is why it’s extremely important to keep your software current; subtle — and not-so-subtle — flaws are worked out in subsequent versions.
This is especially true if you are on the leading edge of technology, or using some of the new features of Delphi 3. For example, multi-tier development with MIDAS, One-step ActiveX, and WebModules were all introduced in Delphi 3. Each maintenance release has corrected problems in these areas. If you don’t upgrade, you’ll be stuck trying to find workarounds for problems that are already fixed, i.e. re-inventing the wheel.
The upgrade to Delphi 3.01 was welcome for many reasons. Changes were made, bugs were fixed, and documentation was updated on such a grand scale that Borland decided to make the upgrade a full install, as opposed to a patch. Even at US$15 for an upgrade, it’s a good deal. Some of the major changes and additions in Delphi 3.01 include:
• Revised documentation, including additions of example code
• TMidasConnection to allow multi-tier development with TCP/IP and OLEnterprise (Client/Server Suite only)
• Updated ISAPITER.DLL to accommodate Netscape Server 3
• Addition of Socket components to the Professional version
• A CAB file to easily deploy, install, and configure the BDE over the Internet
There are many more updated features; check http://www.borland.com/delphi/del3update.html for details. However, even this short list shows that Borland has been listening to its customers. They’re striving to make the product better with each release. Even introducing new features in a .01 release! Borland has also increased the frequency of maintenance updates. No longer do you have to wait for Borland to release the next version of Delphi to get a bug fix.
Now, if you really want to be up-to-date, Borland released Delphi 3.02 in December 1997 (again, see http://www.borland.com/delphi/del3update.html for details). You can download this patch from the Web site, but you need to be using Delphi 3.01 to apply it. You can also find the latest version of the BDE, version 4.51, at http://www.borland.com/devsupport/bde/bdeupdate.html.
Dan Miser is a Design Architect for Stratagem, a consulting company in Milwaukee. He has been a Borland Certified Client/Server Developer since 1996, and is a frequent contributor to Delphi Informant. You can contact him at http://www.iinet.com/users/dmiser.
Why play the upgrade game? Developing software using outdated tools and libraries puts you at a distinct disadvantage in obtaining support. Most developers tend to update their development software when a new version comes out, so don’t go to the newsgroup expecting to get the same level of help for Delphi 2 and Delphi 3. It’s not going to happen.
Dan Miser discusses pros and cons of the upgrade game.