Since the 1980s I have been using Delphi for programming when I need to do so. My last Delphi upgrade was to Berlin 10.2. I also use Devexpress VCL and Devart for DB connections. As the version of Delphi I have was the one prior to Firemonkey so I have a limitation of programs for Windows only. To upgrade these packages now to add IOS and Android would cost in excess of around $4,000.00. Then Devexpress VCL doesn't cover Firemonkey (from memory) either. I have found Delphi RAD studio easy to use with the simple drag and drop components. is there a similar 'all encompassing' IDE similar to RAD studio that's more cost effective? I.e. for Windows/Mac/IOS and Android applications and perhaps useful for websites? I'm a scientist my profession and although I know my way around Delphi/Devexpress/Devart, I must confess I know little of other programs although I have used Basic and a little C++ before - and some SQL and HTML/CSS. I realise I'll have to 'start afresh' with a new language but being 72 YoA now is why I'm looking for rapid development environment similar to RAD studio, but hopefully a lot cheaper and produce easily distributable 'packages'. Not sure how much a difference there is these days between compiled and interpreted languages with faster CPUs also. Perhaps Python or Java? C++, C#? or some other 'stable' language that will still be around for a few years. Continue reading...
