Buy Code Faster in Delphi From LeanPub or Amazon.com
This book will make you a faster Delphi developer, it doesn't matter if you are just starting out, or have been using Delphi since version 1, you will find all sorts of tips, tricks and hacks to boost your productivity.
But don't take my word for it, here is what people are saying...
Reviews:
"This book is extremely well thought out and focuses on many aspects of how you may code faster in Delphi. Did I say many? Everything related to boosting your productivity is covered!" -- Dave Nottage. Full review here.
"To be honest, I purchased the book simply because I purchase just about every new Delphi book that ever hits the market. I didn't think I would get much out of this particular book as I assumed that it was targeted mainly at Delphi noobs. I was wrong. It's a nice reference that most anyone can rely on to improve their skills. I'm glad that I purchased this book and I look forward to Alister's next book." -- Darian Miller. Full review here.
"You have done an excellent and very complete job that will surely help us in our daily work as programmers and analysts" -- Javier Pareja
"I just got a chance to review the first of a series of new books about Delphi from Alister Christie, and even if it is a short book - 160 pages - it is perfect and on the spot - looking forward to the next in the series." -- Steffen Nyeland. Full review here.
"For me, this book is now a staple, a standard book every Delphi developer should have. Read it, I’m sure you’ll agree." -- Danny WInd. Full review here.
"A highly recommended book and I think it is essential in our library as programmers." (translated) -- Full review here.
From the back cover:
Don’t touch that mouse! Hands on the keyboard, and eyes front. You’re about to embark on a Bootcamp to tone your coding muscles, sharpen your shortcuts, fix forms faster, and accelerate your career as a Delphi Programmer.
Now drop and give me twenty lines of code and five laps of that while loop.
This book will help you Code Faster in Delphi through a vast array of tips, tricks and hacks to squeeze every bit of productivity out of yourself and the Delphi IDE.
Some ways your coding will be made easier:
By enhancing the IDE with plugins.
You’ll be introduced to powerful language features such as:
- Interfaces
- Generics
- Anonymous Methods
Get started with some of the best parts of the Run-Time Library, including:
- Generic Collections
- Parallel Programming Library
- Regular Expressions
- Enhanced RTTI
- FireDAC
Use Meta-Programming to write and modify code to save you from horribly repetitive tasks.
Improve your physical environment with easy solutions to hardware and station problems.
And of course, once you’ve mastered these, where to go to get even faster and better.
With over one hundred areas of improvement covered, this holistic approach to Coding Faster In Delphi will boost your productivity, and therefore your value to your clients, bosses, and colleagues.
Table of Contents
Copyright 1
Dedication 1
Table of Contents 2
Foreword 6
Preface 7
Acknowledgements 8
Introduction 9
Conventions Used in this Book 9
Scope 10
Code Samples 10
Code Faster by Typing Faster 11
Touch Typing 11
Getting Started with Touch Typing 13
Know Thy Keyboard Shortcuts 15
The Delphi Code Editor 16
Keyboard Shortcuts 16
CodeInsight 26
Code Templates 27
MultiPaste 31
The Editor Toolbar 32
IDE Insight 33
Structure View 34
The Class Explorer 36
Code History 37
Macros 39
Surround 40
SyncEdit 41
The Delphi Form Designer 42
Keyboard Shortcuts 42
Quick Edits 44
Quick Actions 45
Add Control and Add Component 45
Object Inspector 46
Structure View 47
The Component Palette 49
Editing the Form’s Source 51
Editing the Clipboard 52
Aligning Controls 52
Position 53
Alignment (and Size) 53
VCL Guidelines 56
Windows Magnifier 57
Customising the IDE 58
IDE Layout 58
Unpinning and Undocking 58
Desktop Speedsettings 61
Changing the ToolBar and ToolButtons 63
Welcome to the Dark Side 64
Write Your Own IDE Plugin 66
Further Learning 70
Language Features 71
Interfaces 71
Further Learning 73
Generics 74
Generic Collections 76
Anonymous Methods 77
Variable Capture 80
Anonymous Threads 81
Further Learning 81
Inline Variables and Type Inferencing 82
Know the RTL 84
Measuring Time 84
Generic Collections 86
TDictionary 88
Further Learning 90
Parallel Programming 90
No Parallel Example 91
Background Thread Example 93
Multiple Tasks Example 94
Parallel For Example 97
Further Learning 99
Regular Expressions 99
IP Address Validation 100
IsMatch 101
Match 102
Matches 103
Replace 104
Summary 104
Further Learning 105
Enhanced RTTI 105
Reading Properties 105
Writing Properties 107
Further Learning 108
FireDAC 108
TFDConnection 109
Adding a TFDQuery 111
But There’s More 113
Further Learning 113
Tools and Plugins 114
Third-Party Tools. 114
cnWizards / cnPack 114
Structural Highlighting 114
Tab Order 117
Component Prefix Wizard 119
ModelMaker Code Explorer 120
Live Documentation 121
Class Browser 122
Tip of the Day 124
The MMX Toolbar 124
Navigator 125
Bookmarks 128
CodeSite 129
Further Learning 131
GExperts 131
Clipboard History 131
File Favorites 132
AutoCorrect 132
Backup Project 133
Other Non-Delphi Specific Tools 135
Third-Party Libraries 135
Metaprogramming 136
Case study - BDE Replacement. 136
Find and Replace 137
In the IDE 137
Turbo GREP 137
Delphi AST 140
DFM Parser 141
reFind 143
Mida Converter 145
cnWizards Property Corrector 146
GExperts Replace Components 147
Your Physical Environment 149
Hardware 149
Keyboard 149
Mouse 149
Computer 149
Screens 150
Chair 150
Desk 150
Other Considerations 151
Environmental 151
Interruptions 151
Multitasking 152
Sharpening the Saw 153
Where to go when you are Stuck 153
Google is Your Friend 153
Asking Questions 154
Stack Overflow 154
Recommended Reading 154
Social Networks 155
Facebook 155
LinkedIn 155
Twitter 155
Meetup 155
YouTube 156
StackOverflow 156
Delphi-PRAXiS 156
Becoming Known as an Expert 156
What’s Improved Productivity Worth 157
As an Employer 157
As an Employee 158
Self Employed 158
Diminishing returns on investment 158
Further Learning 159
Final Words and Conclusion 160