Monthly Archives: November 2016

General, InterBase

InterBase Roadmap Update

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Disclaimer: The information included in this roadmap does not constitute, and should not be construed as, a promise or commitment by Embarcadero to develop, market or deliver any particular product, feature or function. The timing and content of Embarcadero’s future product releases could differ materially from the expectations discussed here. Embarcadero reserves the right to change its product plans or roadmap at any time.

Overview

It’s been a busy couple of years since the last public roadmap. In that time, the patent pending Change Views feature has delivered some massive competitive advantage win stories to customers using InterBase XE7 and InterBase was nominated for and won the prestigious IoTA (Internet of Things Award) for “Most Innovative Use of Data”.

Following on from the previous public roadmap InterBase has been on the rise, and here we are sharing the current plans for the next release of InterBase in 2017.

Features and Technologies Delivered in InterBase XE7

The major features delivered in XE7 can be seen in the InterBase XE7 DocWilki

In summary:

  • Change Views
  • 64bit Linux Server added
  • Performance Improvements
  • 64bit Transaction ID’s – Allowing systems with the highest demand to run even longer
  • New ODS restore feature
  • OpenSSL upgrades
  • Enhanced Journal Archive Management
  • Service API’s for Online Dump and Journal Operations.

Features and Technologies Expected in InterBase BigBang

This week (15-Nov-2016) at CodeRage the hood was taken off a number of things that have been worked on in the labs for project BigBang. This project will ultimately become the next release of InterBase and includes:

  • A focus on SQL Features
    • Derived Tables
    • Common Table Expressions
    • Truncate Table – A fast way to delete data
    • Transaction Wait Time
    • Exclusive Isolation Levels
    • ISQL scripting enhancements
  • Faster core engine
  • Server-wide Performance Monitoring
  • New Platform Support
    • Latest Mobile & Desktop
    • InterBase ToGo on Linux

Ideas for the future.

InterBase releases are based on a specific On Disk Structure (ODS). The ODS helps manage new features and tells the InterBase engine what the database can do and what performance benefits it can take account of. This is one of the reasons is important to backup and restore when upgrading. – But what has this to do with the future?

Making mid-cycle ODS changes is something that we have been very reluctant to do with InterBase in the past because a change to the ODS will prevent you from using the database on an early version. E.g. if Update 2 had a newer ODS, then you would not be able to move back to Update 1 if you wished to.  With the changes added for managing ODS in the restore in XE7, we are now comfortable that if we need to, we could move up an ODS during a release cycle. This may pave the way to new features mid-release.

Ideas under review for the future include

  • Auditing
  • Scale Out / Load Balancing
  • Even Smarter, Faster Engine
  • More SQL features
  • Change Views 2.0
    • Change views working on Views
    • Option for Backup / Restore (rather than DataDump)
  • Enhanced Tooling (e.g. IBConsole)
  • Enhance Drivers for 3rd Party Tools (e.g. More ODBC, JDBC, ADO.Net enhancements)
  • Coded functions (enabling UDF capabilities with ToGo where platforms do not allow external libraries, e.g. iOS)

 

General

10.1 Berlin Update 2 – Anniversary Edition

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What’s New in 10.1 Berlin Update 2?

Today sees the release of RAD Studio 10.1 Berlin Update 2 – Anniversary Edition. Here is a quick overview of what is new in 10.1 Berlin Anniversary Edition for Delphi, C++Builder and RAD Studio. Also check the links at the bottom for more online resources.

Package your existing VCL code today ready for the Windows Store!

By far the biggest thing in this release for me is the ability to package existing VCL applications ready for use in the Windows 10 Store. Embarcadero is leading the market in enabling developers to reach this massive market place. With the “bring it with you mantra” we take for granted, many other developers are looking on in envy as they see that RAD Studio / Delphi / C++Builder don’t have to start from scratch to get into the Windows Store! – Awesome!

Windows Store support is available thanks to the Windows 10 Anniversary Update that introduced the Windows Desktop Bridge. The Windows Desktop Bridge (previously know under its project name Centennial) enables developers to take existing applications based on the Windows API and package them as UWP applications (or appx packages) to be distributed directly to Windows users or to be distributed (and sold) via the Microsoft store.

Marco Cantu has already done a great blog post on Packaging and Reaching the Windows Store  with an existing Delphi Application, including links to what you need to do to get started.

Developer Productivity in 10.1 Berlin Update 2 – Anniversary Edition

One other very cool feature added in Update 2 is Quick Edits. Quick Edits increase developer productivity by speeding common tasks in the VCL Form Designer. You can easily build forms, add new components and change their properties, customise layout, connect data sets & sources, and more.

New VCL Calendar Control

If getting to millions of new customers via the Windows Desktop Bridge and Windows Store, and enhanced IDE productivity enhancements isn’t enough, then two new VCL controls come in to support those already created in 10 Seattle. This makes reaching the new UI of Windows 10 exceptionally easy, while maintaining backward compatibility to older versions of Windows!

New VCL and FMX Styles for Windows 10

Finally, there are new styles that are added in 10.1 Berlin Update 2 – Anniversary edition that enhance the look and feel of existing applications.

More on Anniversary Edition

For more details on Anniversary edition check out