Foreign correspondent from Belgium
Your correspondent was looking at the Skype the 8.5 billion deal. Delphi developers rejoice!
Rapid Sharing?
99.5% of the world's Delphi developers will not see a single cent of the 8.5 billion dollars, unless you happen to be in the higher-up echelons of Skype B.V. or higher-management in Skype. Most of the lower-rung will take home a usual salary. All the world's Delphi developers will find that they get nothing from this deal, which is a good thing: say, if someone uploads Skype source code (written in Delphi 2007 with parts of TNT framework heavily modified, Global Sound DLL loaded-in-memory -- Global Sound was acquired by Google, ZeroC ICE framework with Delphi extensions**) that deal would turn into a US$0.00 deal, from billions to zero.
** from binary analysis as permissible by law. It is legal to identify parts of open-source or related products in programs.
Everything of value is destroyed by rampant file-sharing: You see lots of people uploading source codes to various download sites. One wonders why not one single brave Delphi developer working in Skype BV uploaded the sources of Skype? A brave Delphi developer working in Kaspersky uploaded the Kaspersky source codes uploaded it to a Russian file-sharing site and was eventually arrested.
(The above is compare and contrast the actions of Delphi developers in the community vs. growing a business)
Microsoft will probably convert it all to C++ :)Sure, Skype is currently in Delphi. But with most of the code in other languages (i.e., the servers, the NET DLLs which are in XBOX360, Windows 7 mobile, Mac OSX version written in QT, Java version in Android), it would be natural to harmonize, probably the QT version with the Windows version:
In QT, you can make a single-source EXE file with no dependency in OSX, Linux, Windows (i.e., in OSX a single APP file with no extra files, in Linux a single file, in Windows a single EXE file).
Then there would be no need for Delphi at all. Now that Microsoft has taken over Skype, it would probably replace the defunct or mostly unusable Windows Telephone system (a bunch of MSN messenger DLLs) with Skype's telephony system.
Other implications
The other company which supplies Skype the communications engine -- ZeroC will probably have to be taken over too, since the Skype engine depends on ZeroC ICE. The other method is what Google Chat does - use the XMPP (Jabber) framework to provide P2P chatting and network discovery.
Delphi developers will probably rejoice that Microsoft has taken over Skype. But bear in mind, that, in the foreseeable future, if there is a new version of Skype with no more Delphi, no more C++ builder parts, they change from Innosetup to MSI, then it will be complete: Skype will be all in Delphi in name and formerly developed in Delphi.
Other Apps written in Delphi?While Delphi developers rejoice, they need to see the actions of their peers: Morfik (partially written in Delphi) technical support is in the pits; FL Studio, is mired with issues, with tirades, insults and slurs written on their forums. There is no C++ Builder/64 version as of today -- that the FL Studio developers are having deep trouble porting their BCB codes over to 64-bits; WinRAR (formerly written in BCB) is now a Visual C++/64-bit application. Many developers are moving their sources over to QT (Single-binary), WxWidget or MFC and native Cocoa/Objective C application.
Making a Skype
While the value of the deal is significant, most Delphi developers will not make it to make a Skype: To make Skype, you need to be at expert level, able to make components (help me please! I need this D2007 component upgraded to D2009), write good codes (not steal), provide good support (not spit at your customers). Able to take radical actions (like dumping Indy), not go to the newsgroups and troll around.
The people at Skype already know the best database. It is funny that Skype uses SQLite instead of Accuracer Databases (see the ETLQS header on the Skype Data files). They probably they used it because it is 10 or 20 times faster than Accuracer database.
The other developer would be crushed to hear this is Chad Hower: there is no Indy inside Skype. Formerly, older versions of Skype would use this, but the Skype forum is formerly filled with cryptic Indy messages that the next version of Skype had it all removed.
There is no Nevrona Reports inside Skype: you are taken instead to a HTTPS site which generates web-pages or reports for you.
What now?For most Delphi developers, they need to sit back and contain their excitement. Sure, a Delphi application was sold for 8.5 billion, but most Delphi developers would not see a single cent of it -- they would probably pay their dues and subscriptions to a Skype telephony plan.
Your correspondent was looking at the Skype the 8.5 billion deal. Delphi developers rejoice!
Rapid Sharing?
99.5% of the world's Delphi developers will not see a single cent of the 8.5 billion dollars, unless you happen to be in the higher-up echelons of Skype B.V. or higher-management in Skype. Most of the lower-rung will take home a usual salary. All the world's Delphi developers will find that they get nothing from this deal, which is a good thing: say, if someone uploads Skype source code (written in Delphi 2007 with parts of TNT framework heavily modified, Global Sound DLL loaded-in-memory -- Global Sound was acquired by Google, ZeroC ICE framework with Delphi extensions**) that deal would turn into a US$0.00 deal, from billions to zero.
** from binary analysis as permissible by law. It is legal to identify parts of open-source or related products in programs.
Everything of value is destroyed by rampant file-sharing: You see lots of people uploading source codes to various download sites. One wonders why not one single brave Delphi developer working in Skype BV uploaded the sources of Skype? A brave Delphi developer working in Kaspersky uploaded the Kaspersky source codes uploaded it to a Russian file-sharing site and was eventually arrested.
(The above is compare and contrast the actions of Delphi developers in the community vs. growing a business)
Microsoft will probably convert it all to C++ :)Sure, Skype is currently in Delphi. But with most of the code in other languages (i.e., the servers, the NET DLLs which are in XBOX360, Windows 7 mobile, Mac OSX version written in QT, Java version in Android), it would be natural to harmonize, probably the QT version with the Windows version:
In QT, you can make a single-source EXE file with no dependency in OSX, Linux, Windows (i.e., in OSX a single APP file with no extra files, in Linux a single file, in Windows a single EXE file).
Then there would be no need for Delphi at all. Now that Microsoft has taken over Skype, it would probably replace the defunct or mostly unusable Windows Telephone system (a bunch of MSN messenger DLLs) with Skype's telephony system.
Other implications
The other company which supplies Skype the communications engine -- ZeroC will probably have to be taken over too, since the Skype engine depends on ZeroC ICE. The other method is what Google Chat does - use the XMPP (Jabber) framework to provide P2P chatting and network discovery.
Delphi developers will probably rejoice that Microsoft has taken over Skype. But bear in mind, that, in the foreseeable future, if there is a new version of Skype with no more Delphi, no more C++ builder parts, they change from Innosetup to MSI, then it will be complete: Skype will be all in Delphi in name and formerly developed in Delphi.
Other Apps written in Delphi?While Delphi developers rejoice, they need to see the actions of their peers: Morfik (partially written in Delphi) technical support is in the pits; FL Studio, is mired with issues, with tirades, insults and slurs written on their forums. There is no C++ Builder/64 version as of today -- that the FL Studio developers are having deep trouble porting their BCB codes over to 64-bits; WinRAR (formerly written in BCB) is now a Visual C++/64-bit application. Many developers are moving their sources over to QT (Single-binary), WxWidget or MFC and native Cocoa/Objective C application.
Making a Skype
While the value of the deal is significant, most Delphi developers will not make it to make a Skype: To make Skype, you need to be at expert level, able to make components (help me please! I need this D2007 component upgraded to D2009), write good codes (not steal), provide good support (not spit at your customers). Able to take radical actions (like dumping Indy), not go to the newsgroups and troll around.
The people at Skype already know the best database. It is funny that Skype uses SQLite instead of Accuracer Databases (see the ETLQS header on the Skype Data files). They probably they used it because it is 10 or 20 times faster than Accuracer database.
The other developer would be crushed to hear this is Chad Hower: there is no Indy inside Skype. Formerly, older versions of Skype would use this, but the Skype forum is formerly filled with cryptic Indy messages that the next version of Skype had it all removed.
There is no Nevrona Reports inside Skype: you are taken instead to a HTTPS site which generates web-pages or reports for you.
What now?For most Delphi developers, they need to sit back and contain their excitement. Sure, a Delphi application was sold for 8.5 billion, but most Delphi developers would not see a single cent of it -- they would probably pay their dues and subscriptions to a Skype telephony plan.
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2 comments:
I also turned away from delphi when i got a mac last year. I use now Titanium for Developing Apps on mobile and on desktop machines. I can share code between the systems and have no problems to use it in other projects.
I also didn't understand the rumor about Delphi and Skype. Maybe in the context of the AppWave. Imho this was simply communicated to gain attention and have maybe convince the one or other to renew Delphi ... M$ bought the brand and nothing else.
What is the message - another company that never made profits now taken over:).
Don't get me wrong. Selling IDE's at the moment is similar to selling caskets. There are people called morticians that want to give the faded one a comfortable environment to rot - an experience.
In this context Delphi is shabby gentility with a solid cushion - the world decided to burn requirements down and to bury the 90s Windows developers and their developments in nailed spruce boards. (throw away software vs. reuse and maintenance)
You can have interesting discussions with morticians about comfort in caskets and among them for sure and also about how to organize the best funeral, but the funeral is for the relatives.
The one who does the work is the one who is employed and the contract says monthly pay, this is the grave digger, they simply are given shovels, because they work in teams and shovels scale - mini diggers don't.
Someone will say - the comparison is false. An integrated IDE + third-party content is for morticians to greedy or have no lasting demand to hire employees and with a mini digger they dig their own grave - from the business perspective, if we think of mass business, this is what international business is about, teamwork.
International business is different this has a lot to do with mass business and solution found in the context of solving international problems. You don't have internationalized ERP systems because they are applied in a local context only:)
The same we had last time. If you are making business in the clouds your business you should find a way to produce software with almost no commercial dependency and the results of the development should be readable and fixable in editors.
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