VCL - Delphi, in all its glory

Can’t load package xyz.bpl. %1 is not a valid Win32 application – BPL dependency failure

bug, Bugs, Delphi, Windows / bpl, bug, code, Delphi, error, libraries, Pascal, programming, VCL

Locating BPL dependency failure In one instance my package required another package, but its BPL was not present. The error I got was “Can’t load package xyz.bpl. %1 is not a valid Win32 application”. I used the Dependency scanner feature from ‘PE Explorer’ ( www.heaventools.de ) to detect this. There was supposed to be a […]

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Converting VCL code to FMX

Delphi / code, Converting, FMX, VCL

Even though there are a few tools for porting a project from the VCL (Visual Component Library) to FMX (FireMonkey) the process is not easy especially because not all VCL components have direct FMX equivalents. Some components require substitution, and some functionality must be reimplemented. The problem deepens with 3rd party VCL components. Tools for

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$(Auto) – One package to rule them all

Delphi, Libraries, Packages / book, code, Delphi, IDE, libraries, Pascal, path, programming, VCL

Note: This page is an excerpt from my “Delphi in all its glory – Libraries” book. $(Auto) is a new environment variable, introduced in Delphi 10.4. Embarcadero didn’t make a big show around it so it went unnoticed by most programmers. But don’t ignore it! It is extremely useful for packages, where it can

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SetFocus is broken in Delphi

Bugs, Delphi, Shitty code / VCL

SetFocus is broken in Delphi. Has been since v1 and there are no signs that it will be fixed soon. What does it mean, broken? Do I really have to explain it? We all know. Try to set focus on a visual control that is disabled or is invisible or simply is not focusable, and

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Mouse Digger – Show control under cursor

Delphi / component, control, Delphi, mouse, VCL

I worked in a large project that had lots of frames and lots of dynamically created controls. When the software was running was difficult to figure out which control is which and were is created. So, I wrote this tiny piece of code that tells you which control is under the mouse. I was showing

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