Dephi Vs Java

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Caveman™

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Well why do we use delphi? or Turbo Delphi more like. Ive been using linux a while now, and bin teaching myself basic javascripting. I must say i prefer java instead of Delphi. What're your views?
 
Java or Javascript?

Javascript is very rudimentary and only for basic control tasks. It's also supported to different degrees on different platforms. Delphi is a full fledged programming language with modules that can integrate with other languages and can integrate modules from other languages. Scripts are interpreted on a string token basis making them too slow for processor intensive applications. Most of the processing goes into the interpretation only.

I still have to go with C++ simply because it gives you all of the features no other language does in case you need them. Some would prefer Java as it doesn't have all those features but neither does Delphi and Delphi is fully compiled to machine instructions.
 
I use Delphi for hobby projects.

I have no experience with java, but I'm not too keen on this interpretation thing they have. I'm told that the speeds are almost the same nowadays, but I'm skeptical.

If I'm going to learn a new language, its going to be C#.
 
Project X said:
Delphi sucks thats what they use to teach beginners...
Click to expand...

Thats a very narrow minded position. Skype is written in Delphi, as is SpyBot S&D, Quickbooks POS and Homesite. So much for beginner applications. It all depends what you are writing. One should look at the best tool for the job and not pick the tool before the job. My advise would be the following:

1) Multiplatform Support (Windows, Linux, Mac, etc) - Java
2) Multiplatform Web Server solutions - PHP, Java or perhaps even Ruby
3) Windows Server solutions - C#/.NET
4) Client Side solutions in a controlled environment - C#/.NET
5) Native Code / Client side / Shrink Wrap Solutions - Delphi
 
Thee old which programming language is better argument...

It's all a matter of personal preference in the end and not necessarily which tool is the best for the job. There are the usual exceptions of course. Websites would obviously be Java or Flash. Preference lies with whether wysiwyg creation is preferred.

Java is highly object oriented with runtime optimization at the expense of taking control away from the programmer.

Delphi is suited for most applications but with limited pointer and array support. In fact you can get pointers of objects but not use them to get the objects again.

VB still relies too much on interpretation and external libraries and is restricted to windows programming.

C++ has extended user control at the expense of compiler optimizations but intelligent user optimizations could provide a better payoff.

Assembly is the only fault tolerant language. User errors are not taken into account and any program longer than 100,000 lines is generally considered untestable anyway.

Picking one or two based on this and learning to master it will provide an answer for most problems. Never stop learning.
 
Delphi is being/has been sold by Borland as far as I know so it's dying a very sad death (I learned how to program in Pascal and Basic and later moved to Delphi).

As for the whole Java VS. Delphi thing, personally it was restrictive when I was still programming in it, now that I've used Java can't honestly see myself going back.

As for C++ well don't much like it to be honest the amount of work you put in isn't worth it (what have you really gained by using it? Yes the interpreter is a hassle but code safety outweighs it in my opinion), most current research shows that Java is equal to C++ in speed and faster in other instances and speed is constantly being increased, only downside really is the memory footprint because of the interpreter.
 
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Prometheus said:
Delphi is suited for most applications but with limited pointer and array support. In fact you can get pointers of objects but not use them to get the objects again.
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Thats not true, you can retrieve an object from a pointer. The only thing one would not be able to do with Delphi is build device drivers.
 
You can do just about everything with Delphi that you can do with c/c++. Device drivers included. You'll have more work to do, since you don't have all the libraries that are available for C++ to link into, and would have to write them yourself, but it can be done.

The biggest gain for Delphi over Java, is that you don't have all the overhead of the virtual machine. Often the virtual machines use something like 50% more memory to do the same task, so you cannot have a 'small' Java program.
 
The main problem with Delphi IMO is not that it lacks capability. The problem is that the community is too small. If I code in Delphi and want to do some neural network stuff, then I find a gazillion C++ demos and 5 for Delphi v1.:(
 
Abe said:
Thats not true, you can retrieve an object from a pointer. The only thing one would not be able to do with Delphi is build device drivers.
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Ok, my mistake. Appears you can get the objects again.
HavocXphere said:
The main problem with Delphi IMO is not that it lacks capability. The problem is that the community is too small. If I code in Delphi and want to do some neural network stuff, then I find a gazillion C++ demos and 5 for Delphi v1.:(
Click to expand...
I think the problem is that there is no standard for it. Borland isn't updating its languages often enough. Their C++ is 7 years old broken resource linker and all. They were a leader at some point but now I think open source and collaborative projects will take the lead and are more likely to comply with external standards.
 
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