30 Years of Delphi: My Story with a Game-Changing Development Tool
Today marks a monumental milestone—Delphi’s 30th anniversary! It’s incredible to think that this development powerhouse has been shaping the software world for three decades. As I reflect on my own journey with Delphi, I can’t help but feel a deep appreciation for how it has influenced my career, projects, and the broader developer community.
The Early Days – ClubRunner and Delphi 5
My story with Delphi began in 1999 when I started working with a Leisure Management Software company, ClubRunner. At the time, we were transitioning from DOS to Windows, and Delphi provided the perfect tool to make this leap. My first copy of Delphi was version 3, but we quickly moved to Delphi 5, which became the foundation of our software for many years.
ClubRunner managed everything from health club memberships, bookings, and class scheduling to video rentals, POS printers, cash drawers, and even membership card printing. One of Delphi’s greatest strengths was its ability to integrate seamlessly with any hardware we needed. It gave us the flexibility to tackle any challenge, no matter the complexity.
Rapid Prototyping and Expansion
Delphi’s rapid prototyping capabilities enabled us to develop new features quickly, which led to our software winning numerous awards and expanding into new sectors like Soft Play and Golf Driving Ranges. No matter what we needed to build, Delphi gave us the tools to make it happen. We never encountered something we couldn’t code for, and that was a testament to its power and adaptability.
While much of the industry has moved to web and cloud-based solutions, there are still strong reasons why local software and hardware integrations remain critical. The modern Delphi full-stack approach ensures that developers can build solutions that bridge both worlds seamlessly.
Joining Embarcadero – Advocating for Delphi Developers
In 2011, I had the opportunity to join Embarcadero, a defining moment in my career. As a Presales Engineer, I’ve had the honor of talking to developers worldwide about what they create with Delphi. I’ve seen Delphi power everything from high-frequency trading software for the South African Stock Exchange to black box recorders, automated milking machines, and countless line-of-business applications.
During my time as Senior Product Marketing Manager, I was proud to play a role in launching the updated Delphi Community Edition, which has been a significant support for students and educators. South Africa, in particular, has a thriving Delphi community, with Delphi being the primary programming language taught in secondary schools. It’s been inspiring to see how it has helped shape the next generation of developers.
While today, my time is largely split between a number of Brands at Idera, Delphi remains a core focus with the presales team I run supporting developers world wide. As part of that effort, today we are launching a new book specifically for helping other developers from other languages get started with Delphi, and this is now available to anyone with an active Update Subscription via GetIt.
Longevity and Business Value
One of the things that has always impressed me about Delphi is the sheer longevity of its codebase. Many companies have compact development teams achieving incredible results thanks to Delphi’s long life span and strong backwards compatibility. Even at ClubRunner, we were able to evolve the software by adding web services as an API, (thanks to upgrading existing code easily into Delphi 7 and then later 2009) allowing customers to expand beyond the original scope of the product. This ability to extend and innovate while maintaining compatibility kept customers loyal and provided immense business value.
Building for the Future – Cross-Platform Success
In today’s fast-moving world, so much code is written and discarded, but with Delphi, I’ve been able to leverage my experience to build lasting applications. One of my proudest achievements has been using my Delphi knowledge to create cross-platform apps that reached the top of the App Store. That’s a testament to the power of Delphi—it allows developers to continuously evolve their skills while building applications that stand the test of time.
Conclusion
As Delphi enters its fourth decade, I’m excited about what the future holds. The ability to build powerful, cross-platform applications with a compact and efficient team remains one of Delphi’s greatest strengths. Looking back at my journey—from ClubRunner to Embarcadero, from local software to global applications—I’m reminded just how powerful and enduring Delphi truly is.
Happy 30th Anniversary, Delphi! Here’s to many more years of innovation, efficiency, and game-changing development.