4 ms·

If the client asks and I tell them I write it in Delphi, I loose the contract period, if they don't ask I generally get the contract. Been like that for last 20

by boznz 8y ago

If the client asks and I tell them I write it in Delphi, I loose the contract period, if they don't ask I generally get the contract. Been like that for last 20 years and will be for the next 20

koala_man 8y ago
Is this real? If so, please elaborate.
- karlakush 8y ago
  Nobody writes Delphi so it would be difficult for the client to maintain their software if their relationship with the original author ever ended.
  - indecisive_user 8y ago
    Yup, I don't blame the client at all for rejecting a Delphi contractor. Where I live it would be easier to just start the project from scratch than to try to find someone proficient in Delphi to maintain it
    - devit 8y ago
      Just find any decent programmer and have them learn Delphi as needed? I mean, a lot of people program in a language they aren't familiar with because it has the best ecosystem for a given job or because the open source project they are modifying is written in that language.
      - bwilliams 8y ago
        That's an option, but I can't imagine many folks would want to learn Delphi and continue to invest their time into it unless the money is worth it.
      - ransom1538 8y ago
        "Just find any decent programmer and have them learn Delphi as needed?" That is big money.
  - Theodores 8y ago
    I just read the marketing material for Delphi and I beg to differ. I thought Delphi was a curiosity last heard of in 1993. How wrong I was. According to the tick boxes you can rapidly develop for any platform and deploy everything without waiting around. I have no idea why anyone would want to develop in anything else. If the client could not find a developer to take on the project they could be up and running pushing all the features by teatime.
    - nickpsecurity 8y ago
      On top of it, there's a Delphi-compatible, FOSS IDE and compiler to use instead: https://www.lazarus-ide.org/ https://www.lazarus-ide.org/ It has an active community. I don't know how big it is, though.
- boznz 8y ago
  Its real, certainly not going in to client details though that would be pretty unprofessional. Currently my main income is derived from a suite of software I wrote for a small winery who subsequently grew to be a very big winery. They got big enough to hire an IT team and a Manager and a consultant who basically are telling me that Delphi is ancient and my whole system is a risk to the business despite having 100% up-time for the last 10 years (Basically if their server was up the system was up). Nothing I am able to do is going to convince them otherwise and it is on the cards to replace it. Again I will gracefully back down and support the system until it is changed so should get another 2-4 years out of it based on previous experience * I was an IT Manager for a long time and I do understand peoples worries but I also understand that if something is working, is documented, has an open source and data structure, can be supported and doesn't have a forced end of life there is sometimes a bigger risk to making a change. Behind a lot of software is generally one guy or gal, I don't try and hide that fact and sometimes pay the price but and I know several other packages that have just one guy as the linchpin but there will be no pressure on them as they hide it behind a company. I also have C and SQL skills which people don't find so offensive :-) * The expenses system I wrote in the UK had the same decision made on it in 2004 to replace it with the new mega SAP R/3 ERP they were moving to and it was still being used up until 2016. A Time Management System I wrote in 2008 is still being used despite the client telling me it would be phased out in 2013 as part of a new CRM system.
jayd16 8y ago
If they don't ask then they don't plan on making changes to the code (even if they will, they're not _planning_ for it). If they do ask then they are planning to make changes. If they're planning for that then it makes sense they would lean towards the most popular and easy to hire for languages.
noonespecial 8y ago
I loved Delphi. I still use the OSS "Lazarus" IDE for hobby projects. But I've got enough experience with Delphi and its "VCL" libraries that I'd require a fully licensed and running VirtualBox image with your exact build environment capable of compiling the project before I'd sign off on the deliverable.
ransom1538 8y ago
Using Delphi is an unfair business advantage.

by boznz 8y ago

If the client asks and I tell them I write it in Delphi, I loose the contract period, if they don't ask I generally get the contract. Been like that for last 20 years and will be for the next 20

koala_man 8y ago

Is this real? If so, please elaborate.

karlakush 8y ago
Nobody writes Delphi so it would be difficult for the client to maintain their software if their relationship with the original author ever ended.
- indecisive_user 8y ago
  Yup, I don't blame the client at all for rejecting a Delphi contractor. Where I live it would be easier to just start the project from scratch than to try to find someone proficient in Delphi to maintain it
  - devit 8y ago
    Just find any decent programmer and have them learn Delphi as needed? I mean, a lot of people program in a language they aren't familiar with because it has the best ecosystem for a given job or because the open source project they are modifying is written in that language.
    - bwilliams 8y ago
      That's an option, but I can't imagine many folks would want to learn Delphi and continue to invest their time into it unless the money is worth it.
    - ransom1538 8y ago
      "Just find any decent programmer and have them learn Delphi as needed?" That is big money.
- Theodores 8y ago
  I just read the marketing material for Delphi and I beg to differ. I thought Delphi was a curiosity last heard of in 1993. How wrong I was. According to the tick boxes you can rapidly develop for any platform and deploy everything without waiting around. I have no idea why anyone would want to develop in anything else. If the client could not find a developer to take on the project they could be up and running pushing all the features by teatime.
  - nickpsecurity 8y ago
    On top of it, there's a Delphi-compatible, FOSS IDE and compiler to use instead: https://www.lazarus-ide.org/ https://www.lazarus-ide.org/ It has an active community. I don't know how big it is, though.
boznz 8y ago
Its real, certainly not going in to client details though that would be pretty unprofessional. Currently my main income is derived from a suite of software I wrote for a small winery who subsequently grew to be a very big winery. They got big enough to hire an IT team and a Manager and a consultant who basically are telling me that Delphi is ancient and my whole system is a risk to the business despite having 100% up-time for the last 10 years (Basically if their server was up the system was up). Nothing I am able to do is going to convince them otherwise and it is on the cards to replace it. Again I will gracefully back down and support the system until it is changed so should get another 2-4 years out of it based on previous experience * I was an IT Manager for a long time and I do understand peoples worries but I also understand that if something is working, is documented, has an open source and data structure, can be supported and doesn't have a forced end of life there is sometimes a bigger risk to making a change. Behind a lot of software is generally one guy or gal, I don't try and hide that fact and sometimes pay the price but and I know several other packages that have just one guy as the linchpin but there will be no pressure on them as they hide it behind a company. I also have C and SQL skills which people don't find so offensive :-) * The expenses system I wrote in the UK had the same decision made on it in 2004 to replace it with the new mega SAP R/3 ERP they were moving to and it was still being used up until 2016. A Time Management System I wrote in 2008 is still being used despite the client telling me it would be phased out in 2013 as part of a new CRM system.

jayd16 8y ago

If they don't ask then they don't plan on making changes to the code (even if they will, they're not _planning_ for it). If they do ask then they are planning to make changes. If they're planning for that then it makes sense they would lean towards the most popular and easy to hire for languages.

noonespecial 8y ago

I loved Delphi. I still use the OSS "Lazarus" IDE for hobby projects. But I've got enough experience with Delphi and its "VCL" libraries that I'd require a fully licensed and running VirtualBox image with your exact build environment capable of compiling the project before I'd sign off on the deliverable.

ransom1538 8y ago

Using Delphi is an unfair business advantage.