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Freelance coders and other specialists will appreciate this free IDE software for the Windows OS

Freelance coders and other specialists will appreciate this free IDE software for the Windows OS

Vote: (308 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Embarcadero Technologies

Version: 10.3

Works under: Windows

Vote:

Program license

(308 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Embarcadero Technologies

10.3

Works under:

Windows

Pros

  • Automatically highlights code
  • Customizable menus
  • Easily imports modules from outside repositories
  • Multi-platform

Cons

  • Mostly built with closed-source libraries
  • Uses quite a bit of RAM
  • No support for vi keybindings

Embarcadero Delphi is an IDE that allows users ot write, package, compile and ship native applications all from a single dashboard.

Various versions of the Delphi platform have been in use since the Windows 3.1 era. If you learned how to use any of these older programming environments, then you can put your skills to good use. Embarcadero's modern IDE supports all of the same keyboard shortcuts that you've come to rely on.

Unfortunately, it doesn't natively support vi, emacs or nano-style keybindings. This could be a problem for those who are coming from a Unix or Macintosh background to work on PC programs.

On the plus side, you'll be able to program for these platforms without ever having to leave Microsoft Windows. Delphi gives you the freedom to write source code in Pascal that can then compile on a variety of architectures. By default, Delphi supports the Windows, Macintosh and GNU/Linux paradigms.

Android and iOS developers can also write mobile apps using Embarcadero's default tools. Sadly, the IDE itself is built on some closed-source modules that may not completely jive with the spirit of these operating systems. You're free to import any open-source libraries you find online, however, so users who tend to browse through Git repositories will still have access to their favorite third-party extensions.

Those who might have never touched a previous Delphi IDE should find a number of attractive features too. Since it highlights your data types and variables as you type, anyone who has worked with Pascal in the past can learn to use it in just a few minutes.

Coders who don't have any Pascal experience but might have worked with another object-oriented language in the past may find that Pascal comes naturally anyway. Those who might not want to write graphical apps in their new language right away can take advantage of Delphi's powerful console-based libraries.

These should also prove attractive to those who want to write sophisticated CLI-based software. Any program developed in this fashion can run in Windows' terminal emulator or inside of an interactive PowerShell window. Those who still have a classic MS-DOS command interpreter installed can also run console apps inside of it. Tech-savvy developers might want to use this feature to write efficient headless programs.

Wizards who decide to write visually-rich graphical applications with Delphi will find that they leverage all of the native widgets that Windows' default libraries offer them. Once the IDE has compiled and linked your code, you'll be given the option of executing it right away. Your new project should adhere to whatever color choices you made when using Control Panel.

Power users who prefer Windows' new settings manager should find that their projects respect any options they set in it as well.

Pros

  • Automatically highlights code
  • Customizable menus
  • Easily imports modules from outside repositories
  • Multi-platform

Cons

  • Mostly built with closed-source libraries
  • Uses quite a bit of RAM
  • No support for vi keybindings

This download is no longer available. This could be due to the program being discontinued, having a security issue or for some other reason.

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