Google+ Feature Suggestion: Rings/Spheres/Super-Circles

[Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes] A tenuous link to Delphi I accept, but a Google+ suggestion occurred to me, arising from my Delphi-oriented use of it. A potential problem I am seeing already on Google+ is where I get a notification that “So-And-So” has added me to their circles. In some cases I don’t know this person, but they have added me because *they* know they share a common interest with me. I cannot see that they have this interest, because I am not told which of their circles they added me to or why – and I should not see this. I appreciate the privacy this affords me when on the other side of the equation.

Delphi [Non]Starter Edition: No VCL Source!

[Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes] After an initial welcome (and purchase!) I find myself having to curb my initial enthusiasm.  Most of the omissions from the Starter Edition, as compared to the Professional and higher editions, make perfect sense and are in fact pretty much what I myself described as appropriate for a “Community Edition” some time ago (tho I still think that the attitude toward database access is from a bygone age – DBExpress should be included).  Other omissions were a little questionable, and others downright bizarre. But I have now learned of a single, crucial omission (not advertised) that renders the entire “Starter” moniker meaningless: No RTL/VCL Source Code!

Making a case for Strings, the sane way

[Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minutes] Lars Fosdal responded to my previous post suggesting a way of implementing string support in a case-like construct (but not actually a case statement) using generics and anonymous methods. All very clever, but way, way too complicated and – if you don’t mind me saying so – as ugly as sin into the bargain (imho – ymmv). For simple cases [sic], it is actually relatively straightforward to uses strings in a case statement.

Class Helpers: Extending Classes for Context

[Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes] NEWSFLASH: I believe I have found a use for class helpers in the wild! This, even though I have long held the view that class helpers should not be viewed as a general purpose utility. They were designed for a very specific purpose and the authors of the technology themselves tell us how they are intended to be used. Using them in other ways is asking for trouble: they can break your – or others – code, they hide details of an implementation in A Bad Way™ and you are likely to run into limitations because what you want to use them for doesn’t tally with what they are intended to be used for. But, somewhat to my surprise, I have recently found what I consider to be a legitimate use for them. Less surprisingly, it actually fits with their intended use.

Sons of Kahn: The Apocrypha

[Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minutes] I normally do not indulge in blog posts that merely link to other blog posts or articles, but I shall make an exception for the latest installment in the Homerian Epic: Sons of Kahn from Verity Stob.  As ever, the Sons of Kahn theme provides much humour and hilarity, tinged imho with the faintest of bitterness stemming from the truth it conveys.

How to Make Something Look Good…

[Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes] Make the alternative look worse than it really is.  In fact, go one better – don’t make it look worse, just describe it as being worse.  Some may consider it unfair to pick on one specific post, but I am increasingly disappointed with how the SVN integration in the new RAD Studio XE is being hailed as some great new addition to the IDE and don’t think it’s fair to paint it in such flattering shades without doing a fair comparison.