On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 2:31 PM, DZ-Jay <d...@caribe.net> wrote: > > It can never be known in advance what new features will be added or which old > features may be deprecated by a new version of a compiler; and whether any of > it will break existing code or not.
Of course not. > ICS, like many other components, is tested thoroughly with all known versions > of Delphi to ensure compatibility across all supported versions. Since a new > compiler is an absolute unknown factor, it cannot be assumed to be supported > by default. Delphi is very well known for maintaining backward compatibility at almost all costs. Delphi 2009 was a significant exception. But even then, the decisions made regarding Unicode support were significantly biased for backwards compatibility where possible. > When ICS claims that it supports Delphi version "X", you can be sure that it > was thoroughly tested in that version. My components don't state that they will support future versions. If someone installs one of my components in a version that I haven't announced support for, then they are doing so at their own risk. They are liable for their own testing at that point. I wouldn't put anything into production using a component library that doesn't officially support the compiler I'm using. I am sure that all component libraries we use will have official Delphi XE versions well before we put any Delphi XE project into production. But, unfortunately, none of them have support for Delphi XE today. And my team needs to begin our migration to Delphi XE now. > This is important and necessary testing that you do not have to do. Surely > this type of support is not a waste. Of course not. > To do what you request would be irresponsible, since it would give a false > sense of security to those using ICS on production systems, whom are > contemplating upgrading their compilers. To put code into production that has not been thoroughly tested is irresponsible, no matter what the scenario. And I would agree that stating that ICS will work well on all future versions of Delphi would be irresponsible. That wasn't at all what I was suggesting. ICS shouldn't announce or state support for a particular version until it is appropriate to do so. To reduce the amount of work required to support new versions of Delphi is not irresponsible. The VER based include files grow significantly with each new version, since the _UP variables have to be duplicated so much. The approach I'm suggesting is much cleaner and takes much less time to maintain when new versions of Delphi are introduced. -- Jon Robertson Borland Certified Advanced Delphi 7 Developer Good programming is 40% experience, 30% skill, 20% RTFM, 10% caffeine, and 5% attention to detail. -- To unsubscribe or change your settings for TWSocket mailing list please goto http://lists.elists.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/twsocket Visit our website at http://www.overbyte.be
