DelphiZine.com: The Dish on Kylix - Cross-platform Controls, From Windows to Linux, and Back

Jul 16, 2000, 13:44 (5 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Robert Kozak)

[ Thanks to Nate Case for this link. ]

"These are exciting times for Borland. Not since the first whisper of Delphi has there been this much excitement about a Borland product. I'm talking, of course, about Kylix, the project to bring C++Builder and Delphi to the Linux operating system. The Delphi version will be available first, so for the rest of this article, Kylix refers to Delphi for Linux."

We're developing a new VCL that will work with the Windows and Linux versions of Delphi. This means you can write an application in Windows, then move the source to a Linux box and recompile it - or vice versa. This new VCL is named CLX, for Component Library Cross-Platform. CLX encompasses the entire cross-platform library distributed with Kylix. There are a few sub-categories, which, as of this writing, break down as follows:

• BaseCLX is the RTL, up to, and including, Classes.pas.
• VisualCLX includes the user interface classes, i.e. the usual controls.
• DataCLX comprises the cross-platform database components.
• NetCLX includes the Internet stuff, e.g. Apache, etc...."

"As you can see, writing a cross-platform control isn't all that different from writing a VCL component. If you're a new component developer, it won't be difficult to learn. If you're an experienced VCL component builder, most of your knowledge will transfer to Kylix nicely."

"As I said earlier, there are a lot of differences, but that should only affect developers who have components that rely on the Windows API. If you wrote a control that was a descendant of a VCL control, an aggregate of a few controls (as I did here with TCalculator), a non-visual component that doesn't rely on the Windows API, or was a TGraphic control, then you shouldn't have much trouble porting it to Linux."

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• First Kylix Screenshots Available!(Jun 06, 2000)
• Website on Kylix (Delphi & C++ Builder for Linux)(May 16, 2000)
• O'Reilly Network: Kylix is Coming! Delphi and C++ Builder Invade Linux(Apr 19, 2000)
• LinuxPR: Kylix Could be Big says Delphi in a Nutshell Author(Apr 18, 2000)
• Borland Community: Getting a glimpse of Kylix(Mar 28, 2000)
• PRNewswire: Inprise/Borland's Kylix Project Builds Strong Third Party Network for Linux(Mar 25, 2000)
• About.com: Kylix := Delphi in [Linux](Mar 17, 2000)
• Borland Community: Prepare for Kylix: The Compiler and RTL(Mar 17, 2000)
• Project Jedi: Kylix Shows Its Face In Spain(Mar 16, 2000)
• VNU Net: Inprise unveils Kylix RAD tool for Linux(Sep 29, 1999)
• CORRECTED: Delphi for Linux On Its Way -- Inprise Commits To Development Tools(Sep 28, 1999)