Delphi versions

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Delphi is the software development environment of Pascal, an object-oriented programming language. The first version dates from 1995. We have now reached Delphi 12.1.

The advantage of Delphi is that applications last for years. However, this means that many organisations still use old Delphi applications, which cannot easily be adapted or expanded. It is therefore wise to update old Delphi applications to the latest version – now 12.1 – so that you benefit from the latest possibilities offered by Delphi.

Turbo Pascal: the predecessor of Delphi.

The very first Delphi

The first version of Delphi (Delphi 1) was released for Windows 3.1 in 1995. It was one of the first Rapid Application Development (RAD) tools. Delphi had a fast 16-bit MS-DOS compiler with its own Delphi IDE and textual user environment toolkit for DOS (Turbo Vision). A year later Delphi 2 was released. This version brought support for 32-bit Windows. Delphi 3 (1997) added new VCL components (such as Rebar and Toolbar).

Delphi 4

Delphi 4 and 5: new editor and features

One year after Delphi 3 came Delphi 4. The IDE got a new editor and was dockable for the first time. VCL added support for ActionLists anchors and constraints. Delphi 5 (1999) included smart capabilities such as the ability to use frames, an improved integrated debugger, XML support and translation capabilities.

Delphi 7

Delphi 6 to 2007: the first steps to .NET and back to basics

Delphi 6 (2001) introduced several innovations, such as a completely new design of some components. These now had the style of Windows 2000. Its successor Delphi 7 is still one of the most widely used Delphi versions. Fast, stable and working on almost every PC, Delphi 7 included support for UML and XML for the first time. There was also limited support for .NET for the first time. The choice for .NET was further implemented in Delphi 8, which also included the VisualStudio-based interface. However, this proved to be unsuccessful, as a result of which the popularity of Delphi declined slightly. The following versions (Delphi 2005, 2006 and Delphi 2007) went back to basics and brought further improvements in the areas of memory management and IDE performance.

Delphi 2009, 2010 and the XE series: Unicode and multi-platform

The biggest addition in Delphi 2009 was the full Unicode support. It was also possible to use generics and anonymous methods. The support for the development of .NET disappeared from the Delphi IDE as of this version. Delphi 2010 introduced the RTTI, and had further improvements in the field of touch screen and gestures. Delphi XE contained a lot of small changes compared to Delphi 2010, only from Delphi XE2 onwards did the Delphi IDE again contain larger improvements; support for Mac and iOS was added through Firemonkey, and from XE5 also Android.

Delphi 10, 11 and 12: The cities generations

Delphi 12 (officially RAD Studio 12) is the latest version of Delphi. Delphi 10 Seattle (10.0) was released in 2015.  Subsequently, a new version of Delphi has been released almost every year, namely 10.1 Berlin (2016), 10.2 Tokyo (2017), 10.3 Rio (2018), 10.4 Sydney (2020), 11 Alexandria (2021) and 12 Athens (2023).

Delphi 12 was a major update that included significant changes across various aspects such as C++ (Visual Assist and new Clang Tech Preview), Installer & IDE (Multidevice Icons, DelphiLSP, VCL Designers), FireMonkey & Skia (Skia UI Controls, rendering and graphic formats, TMemo, and TEdit), VCL (MDI & Tab-based UIs, Fonts and Screens, Components Improvements), Data (JSON Data Binding, FireDAC Secure Coding, Sqids, RAD Server, HTTP, REST), Delphi (String literals improvements, platforms, Circular Uses Statements, Floating Point), and numerous bug fixes (over 1,200 issues, bug reports, and feature requests addressed).

In 2024, Delphi released version 12.1. This update primarily focused on enhancing the quality of the new features introduced in RAD Studio 12 and completing the Clang upgrade, which is now fully integrated rather than just a preview. Additional improvements include editor split views and other IDE enhancements, along with support for Android API level 34. The editor split views significantly boost productivity by allowing multiple editors to be open in a single IDE window, making coding more efficient.

The future of Delphi

Delphi is a fine programming language, embraced by programmers all over the world. It enables you to build apps for web, Linux, iOS, Android, IoT & more. In addition, applications run (optionally) in the cloud. So Delphi will probably be used for a long time to come. However, there are more good alternatives nowadays than in the past, such as a low code platform like Codolex. This is why at GDK Software we not only employ Delphi developers.

Delphi update?

Would you like to update your Delphi application? We are at your service for a Delphi update. With our years of experience, we will convert your Delphi application to the latest version. We do this with our own developed conversion tool. Please contact us for free advice.