Delphi in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))

The heart of this book is its reference sections on built-in Delphi language features and other useful information on this development tool. Each entry has a guide to syntax, a description of all parameters and return values, and code samples, plus many entries feature "tricks and tips" with additional information. While this title concentrates on the "core" language (instead of Delphi's extensive support for visual components), there's little doubt that it will be useful if you work with the tool on a daily basis.

The book also delivers an advanced guide to ramping up on the latest and greatest in new language features in Object Pascal. Material on using classes, and the type of information features available in today's Delphi, are particularly effective. There are a lot of smart tips on proper class design techniques, including using properties, constructors, and destructors. (Delphi has its own conventions here, and this book will fill you in if you are coming to Object Pascal from another programming language.) Along the way, the author offers numerous expert nuggets on when to use (and when to avoid) using certain features. Whether you are a novice or a more experienced developer, this tutorial and reference is all you need to be productive with the latest and greatest in object-oriented programming with Delphi. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Overview of Delphi Object Pascal, units and libraries, data and string types, exception handling, file I/O, classes and objects, inheritance, constructors and destructors, interfaces, reference counting, Windows messages, memory management strategies, virtual method tables (VMTs), properties, using TypInfo, virtual and dynamic methods, automated methods and COM, Delphi type information and RTTI, concurrent programming with threads, synchronization, thread local storage techniques, Delphi language reference, system constants, operator reference, compiler directives, code samples, and programming tips.

Product Description
With a new name and a new focus on CORBA, database drivers, and Microsoft Back Office applications, Inprise/Borland Delphi is enjoying a resurgence, with a growing user base of programmers who use Delphi for rapid development of enterprise computing applications. Not to rest on success, the latest version of Delphi, Version 5, includes further expansion and refinement of the 3-tier application framework introduced in Delphi 4 and has resulted in a prize-winning product.

"Delphi in a Nutshell" is the first concise reference to Borland/Inprise Delphi available. It succinctly collects all the information you need in one easy-to-use, complete, and accurate volume that goes beyond the product documentation itself.

"Delphi in a Nutshell" starts with the Delphi object model and how to use RTTI (Run Time Type Information) for efficient programming. The rest of the book is the most complete Delphi Pascal language reference available in print, detailing every language element with complete syntax, examples, and methods for use. The book concludes with a look at the compiler, discussing compiler directives in depth.