• Delphi Overview (Delphi Editions and User Interface)
  • What is Delphi?
  • What is it good for?
  • Delphi editions
  • The language
  • The environment
  • Code Insight

• Delphi Configuration (Customising the Environment)
  • Environment options
  • Editor options

• Hello World
  • What is a project?
  • What is a project file?
  • An all in one project
  • Better programming with units
  • Working with units

• Delphi Projects, Files and Settings
  • What a basic project contains
  • Other file types
  • Files to keep
  • Files that can be deleted
  • Project options
  • Compiling and linking

• Forms, Controls and Properties (Form Design Essentials)
  • What is a form?
  • The parts of a form
  • Components and controls
  • Placing controls on a form
  • Properties and events
  • Common controls

• The Object Pascal Language (History and features)
  • History
  • Delphi
  • Language features
  • Comments
  • Capitalization
  • Statements
  • Decision and looping structures
  • Operators and types
  • Type conversions

• User Interface Elements (Accessing application features)
  • Application access features
  • Menus
  • Toolbars
  • Dialogs

• Units, Procedures and Functions (Keys to efficient programming)
  • Unit structure
  • Circular References
  • Procedures
  • Functions
  • Methods
  • Value, reference and constant parameters
  • Default parameters
  • Assignable typed constants
  • Scope

• Object Oriented Programming (A primer)
  • Object Oriented Programming Principles
    • Abstraction
    • Encapsulation
    • Inheritance
    • Polymorphism
  • Classes and objects
  • Static, virtual and dynamic methods
  • Constructors and Destructors
  • Class completion

• Debugging Programs (Power programming)
  • Project Debug Options
  • Debugger Options
  • Debug Windows
  • Debug Shortcut keys

• Exception Handling (Errors? What errors?)
  • Traditional error handling
  • Protecting code from errors
  • Raising and re-raising exceptions
  • Identifying classes of exception
  • Global exception handler
  • Resource protection
  • Silent Exceptions
  • Defining your own exception classes

• Visual Inheritance (Maximising reuse of visual elements)
  • Frames
  • Form inheritance
  • Object repository

• User Interaction
  • Unexpected events
  • Showing forms:
    • Show
    • ShowModal
  • ModalResult

• Useful User Interface Controls (Easy and powerful user interface features)
  • Page Controls
  • Radio group boxes
  • Media Player
  • Shell Controls (sample tab)

• Core Delphi Classes, VCL and CLX (What makes Delphi tickâ€?
  • To CLX or not to CLX
  • Components versus objects
  • A short class hierarchy (how forms work)
  • Helper classes
  • TStringList, TList (classes unit)
  • TObjectList (contnrs unit)
  • TCanvas (graphics unit)
  • TIniFile (IniFiles unit)

• Database Technologies (Choices and options)
  • Technology choices
  • Know your direction
  • Working with multi-tier

• Working with the BDE (Because sometimes you have to)
  • BDE Administrator Configuration
  • Defining Aliases
  • Distribution license
  • BDE Architecture

• Your First BDE Application (Database connectivity with tables)
  • Table access without a database
  • Why use a data source?
  • Data aware controls
  • Using a grid to display data
  • Display database fields in individual controls
  • Drag’n’drop
  • Master-detail display

• BDE: Tables and Fields (Metadata discovery and manipulation)
  • How grids work
  • About fields
  • Persistent fields
  • Field definitions
  • Hiding fields
  • Customising fields
  • Appearance
  • Behaviour

• BDE: Queries and Stored Procedures (Database application architecture elements)
  • Queries
    • SQL
    • RequestLive
    • DataSource
    • Params
  • SQL Builder
  • Stored Procedures

• Advanced BDE Part 1
  • Data Modules
  • Session
  • TDatabase
  • Local Alias

• Advanced BDE Part 2
  • Searching for records
  • Bookmarks
  • Updating queries that use joins
  • Dataset navigation
  • Filtering records
  • Dataset state
  • Easy transactions

• Working with ADO (with Microsoft ActiveX Data Objects)
  • ADO (dbGo) component overview
  • ADO architecture
  • Connecting to ADO data stores
  • Microsoft ADO (MDAC) updates

• Your first ADO application (Database connectivity with tables)
  • Table access without TADOConnection
  • Setting the ConnectionString
  • Why use a data source?
  • Data aware controls
  • Using a grid to display data
  • Display database fields in individual controls
  • Drag’n’Drop
  • Master-detail display

• ADO: Tables and Fields (Metadata discovery and manipulation)
  • How grids work
  • About fields
  • Persistent fields
  • Field definitions
  • Hiding fields
  • Customising fields
    • Appearance
    • Behaviour

• ADO: Queries and Stored Procedures (Database application architecture elements)
  • Queries
    • SQL
    • DataSource
    • Params
  • SQL Builder
  • Stored Procedures

• Advanced ADO Part 1
  • Data Modules
  • TADOConnection

• Advanced ADO Part 2
  • Searching for records
  • Bookmarks
  • Updating queries that use joins
  • Dataset navigation
  • Filtering records
  • Dataset state
  • Easy Transactions

• Advanced Design Features (Smart tools, smart programs)
  • Action Lists
  • Status bar
  • Splash Screens
  • Creating and freeing forms
  • Type Casting
  • MDI Applications
  • Drag and Drop

• Class Scoping
  • Overview of class scoping
  • Private
  • Protected
  • Public
  • Published
  • Automated
  • Properties

• Multi-threading (Super-charging your application)
  • Threads
  • Multi-threaded applications
  • The TThread class
  • Creating threads
  • Thread priorities
  • Managing thread execution
  • VCL and thread safety

• Dynamic component creation (Run-time power trips)
  • Recap â€?what is a component
  • Why create them at run-time?
  • Creating run-time components
  • Owner and Parent

• Compiler Directives (Fine-tuning compilation)
  • What is a compiler directive
  • Types of compiler directives
  • Switch directives
  • Parameter directives
  • Conditional directives

Optional Topics

• dbExpress (Lightweight database applications)
  • About dbExpress
  • Unidirectional limitations
  • Unidirectional features
  • Types of unidirectional datasets
  • What databases are supported
  • Connecting to a database server
  • Deployment

• Using dbExpress (Life in a unidirectional world)
  • Overcoming unidirectional limitations
  • What is a database really?
  • The briefcase model
  • Client Datasets
  • Reconciling errors

• DataSnap
  • DataSnap defined
  • General architecture
  • Goals of multi-tier applications
  • Client data sets revisited
  • Communication options
  • Pros/cons and alternatives

• Dynamic Link Libraries (Creating and using DLL’s)
  • Definition of a DLL
  • Uses for DLL’s
  • Writing DLL’s
  • Calling conventions
  • Calling DLL’s
  • Static linking
  • Dynamic linking
  • Library attach/detach notification

• Packages
  • What is a package?
  • Use a package or a DLL?
  • Types of packages
  • Creating a package
  • Package parts
  • Using packages

• Components (A Primer)
  • Components and classes
  • Component class hierarchy
  • Creating components
  • Good component design
  • Registering components
  • Installing components