Delphi third-party component Summary

From: http://www.hongen.com/pc/program/third/delphi/dthird01.htm

As we all know, Delphi provides a large number of components, which can basically meet our programming needs. However, for programs with specific requirements, only the built-in components of Delphi cannot be used. For example, Delphi does not provide a serial communication component (I did not find it anyway). To write a program related to serial communication, you need to use an API function to implement serial communication, which is troublesome. In addition, some of the component functions provided by Delphi are relatively simple and difficult to meet some of our specific requirements. Fortunately, there are a lot of third-party components, which have powerful functions and cover all aspects of programming, greatly facilitating us. Using these third-party components often results in a multiplier effect, greatly improving programming efficiency. It also makes our programs more beautiful, professional, and powerful. Therefore, the third component is a magic weapon for us to use Delphi programming.

Third-party components are often extensions of built-in delphi components. They are used to enhance functions on the basis of built-in delphi components, and refine and specialize functions. For example, some third-party components refine buttons and labels into many types, each of which implements a specific function. Some third components are not available in Delphi. These components often integrate some common methods, functions, and APIs into these components based on the common programming requirements, you do not need to write these programs during programming. Such as trayicon and specomm. These components are often particularly useful.

The third component can be divided into a single component and a package. A single component has only one component. These components are generally specialized and often have powerful functions, such as specomm. A package consists of multiple components. A package can be divided into two types: one is a complete set of components, which contains a variety of components (possibly hundreds ), it generally covers most fields of Delphi programming, such as ahm, rxlib, and ABC. These components are generally not very professional and feature-oriented extensions of built-in delphi components, but not very powerful; the other component package contains fewer components, generally only 6 or 7, which usually involves only one aspect. However, these components are often characteristic and have very powerful functions, it is very useful in programming, such as coolmenu, dragdrop, and xlgrid.

Third-party components can be divided into three categories: interface enhancement, image, multimedia, system, database, and network.

A part of third-party components are prepared by individuals. These components are often a single component or a small package, and their excellence is closely related to the level of the compiler. Some personal components are very good, professional, and some are not very powerful. Personal components are generally shared and free of charge. Other components, especially component packages, are provided by specialized component vendors. These components are usually professional and stable in performance, and some of these components are shared for free, some of them require registration and payment. Pay-as-you-go components (packages) are enterprise-level components with powerful functions. Compared with free components, the free components have different levels. But for us, these free components (packages) are enough. In addition, we can find the registration code of paid components (packages) or crack files on the Internet.

Currently, there are few individuals or organizations (developers) Preparing delphi components in China, and most third-party components (packages) are provided abroad. However, we do not need to download data from these foreign sites. Many domestic Delphi sites provide the download of the Delphi Component. Here we recommend several:

Delphi University ()
Delphi master ()
Cui Wei's world ()

Currently, there are many third-party components, such as rxlib2.75, ahm2000 for delphi5, abc5d, xlgrid1.62, coolmenu1.5, and dragdrog3.7. We will introduce these typical components (packages) later.

Third-party components must be installed before they can be used in Delphi. The installation of various components may be quite different, which may be troublesome, but some may be fully automated. For beginners, the installation of third-party components is a very practical problem. We will describe the installation of third-party components in detail later.

The following article is a netizen's opinion on a variety of third-party groups (control). The hero's views are slightly the same, and his views are quite insightful. But the red text below is my personal opinion.

The ancients said: "to do good deeds, you must first sharpen your tools ." I think anyone who uses Delphi should have a deep understanding of this sentence. Indeed, if Delphi does not support the control, the popularity will be greatly reduced, and there will be no such fan, so I will use BCB or VC again. But now the control is full of sky and don't say it's a DSP (Delphi super page). The control above a deep adventure has been spreading over tens of thousands of times and is still being updated every day, A little scary:) However, when there are too many choices, the troubles will come along. (well, if there are so many mm options, let me pick them ), I can't try them all one by one, so many excellent controls are not well known, so I wrote this article, hoping to become a guide for everyone, play a role in attracting others. Now, let's go to the subject.

First, we will roughly divide the controls into classes to facilitate our subsequent discussions. However, because there are too many types of controls, they are roughly divided into the following categories:
--- Interface style
--- Shell appearance
--- Editor class
--- Grid class
--- DB class
--- Report
--- Graphics
--- Comprehensive

(The classification here is not very accurate or comprehensive)

The premise of the agreement is: all freeware, all source. As for commercial controls to be purchased, I will discuss them later. Each control we discuss in this article will give a quality score. Commercial controls and free controls are treated equally, not price-based, but quality-based. The general scoring criteria are as follows:
Level 1 super cool controls:★★★★★
It is also a good control:★★★★
General but distinctive controls:★★★
Controls below three stars are not covered in this article. (☆Indicates★The effect is halved)

◆ First, let's discuss free third-party controls (with source code ):

(I) interface style

A good software should have an excellent operation interface, which I think is unquestionable. However, a friend who has used C/C ++ to write a program will surely feel this way. It is too tired to make a beautiful and easy-to-use interface (except for BCB ). But since the advent of Delphi, all this has suddenly changed. Here, I first recommend four sets of excellent interface control packages.

1. flatstyle2.1 quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: Very good interface control package. What is cool? After faltstyle is used, you will know: In the latest version 2.1, flatstyle has made great changes, not only several new controls, the source code has also been greatly modified and more organized. however, there are still a few bugs. on this basis, awater revised it and added several controls. The feeling is that there is only one word to describe it! Highly recommended!

(Flatstyle2.1 is indeed a good set of components. As the name suggests, it has a major feature of flat effect, but it seems a little worse to be rated as a 5-star component, I don't use it much in programming)

2. jlaqua1.0 quality:★★★★

Evaluation: This is a control package for Mac OS interfaces. If you have a special liking for Apple's human interface, this is your best choice. absolutely eye-catching. however, because it is Version 1.0, awater still seems to have missed something after using it. but it's already good. I recommend it to you.

3. Platinum controls quality:★★★☆

Evaluation: it is also a control package similar to the preceding jlaqua, the main difference is that the control package simulates a classic old Mac OS interface, while jlaqua is somewhat trendy, at the same time, this control package provides fewer types of controls and a single function. However, it is quite special and worthy of recommendation.

4. coolform quality:★★★

Evaluation: When I used this guy for the first time, I was caught by its name. Later I checked its source code carefully and found that this was not the case, actually, it is just an odd form, but it is very concise and has good functions, especially the Attribute Editor in his inner. It is very interesting to write, you can automatically generate a mask image based on the image you provide. Well, it's a good control. You don't need to use it as needed.

(Ii) Shell appearance

I believe that many of my friends are not satisfied with the opendialog and savedialog provided by Delphi when writing a program. Sometimes they need to be something similar to the Resource Manager (Explorer, the FileListBox and directorylistbox provided by Delphi are too ugly and simple. Although Delphi provides shellapi. Pas, it is too troublesome to write such a component from the beginning. The following things can free you from redundant repetitive work.

1. DFS tsystemtreeview v0.95 beta quality:★★★★☆

Evaluation: Speaking of DFS, I believe that all the old birds who use Delphi will not be unfamiliar. This control can be regarded as a high-quality product, and awater won't chew on it much. However, it is still unstable due to the beta version, and sometimes it may cause errors. So I only played four stars, and it was a bit wronged. Recommended to you!

2. lsfileexplorer 2.7 quality:★★★☆

Evaluation: A good control package. The only pity is that tlsdirtreecombo has a bug. When tlsdirtreecombo is placed on tcoolbar or tcontrolbar, once the width changes, you will find that the clickbutton position of tlsdirtreecombo has serious misplacement. Haha, awater wanted to call it★★★★☆, The result is dropping. It's a pity. If this bug can be corrected, it would be nice, but I will say it again. Is it free after all. It is worth recommending to you.

(Iii) Editor class

Is there such a feeling? Memo is too simple, RichEdit is not easy to use, and the version is too messy and prone to problems. Do you want to have a powerful editing control that supports syntax highlighting like the editor provided by Delphi? Please refer to the following two items.

1. mwedit 0.92a quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: This is currently a top-level free control, with powerful commercial controls and open source code, but the majority of Delphi programmers are blessed! With it, you can easily write an editor like the editor that comes with Delphi. In addition to the special highlight display that supports Pascal syntax, more than 10 other syntaxes can be highlighted. The best thing is that mwedit can still be connected to the database. It is so powerful that we strongly recommend it to you!

2. Unicode EDIT 1.0 quality:★★★★☆

Evaluation: this control is one of the famous Jedi projects. It is basically similar to mwedit, but it is not as powerful as it is, but it is already quite good. The feature is that more than one hundred Unicode (widestring) functions are built in. Isn't that scary? Oh, I recommend it to you!

(Iv) grid class

In reality, many data organization methods are very suitable for grid representation, especially in a system with a large amount of data and complicated information. Without Grid Control, it cannot be imagined. However, the grid that comes with Delphi, whether it is stringgrid, drawgrid, or DBGrid, is not powerful enough. The following grid controls may make you feel excited.

1. tstringaligngrid 2.0 quality:★★★★

Evaluation: although this control is free of charge, it can be seen that the author is still very careful. The function is not very powerful, but enough. As long as you are not doing anything special, this control is definitely your best choice. A Detailed Help file is provided, which is recommended.

(V) dB type

In this regard, there seems to be no outstanding free controls. If you pick them up, you just find this one.

1. tkbmmemtable v. 2.33 quality:★★★★

Evaluation: A good memory table control. If you are in urgent need of such controls, try it. It is recommended.

(Vi) Report Type

When it comes to reports, many of my friends will feel a strange sensation. After tasting the embarrassment of Quickreport, we have always sought out an excellent report control with outstanding functions. Below we recommend two excellent report controls, they are also developed by Chinese people themselves:

1. ereport quality:★★★★☆

Evaluation: A very good report control, designed for the Chinese report format. It also contains a report editor. The working mode is similar to the overlay mode. It would have taken a month to work with Quickreport, you can use ereport in three days. However, it should be noted that ereport currently does not support report nesting, which is a pity. (Wang hansong himself, author of the report, said that the nested part of the report has already been written. Unfortunately, I am not careful about the loss, and I have never written it down. Whining ......)

2. rmachine quality:★★★★

Rating: there may not be many people who know about this stuff. But speaking of fastreport, I believe everyone should have heard of it. This control was developed based on the famous fastreport and fixed some bugs and enhanced many functions. Pretty good. Recommended!

(Vii) graphics class -------- it should be said that the scope of the graphic class controls is too large, from the general image to the chart, there are a variety of effect. The content is too wide, I will simply pick a few of the most distinctive introduction to everyone.

1. fastlib quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: A very good graphics library that provides a large number of graphic processing functions. Its powerful functions are even inferior to some commercial controls. The various graphic effects made with it can only say one thing. We strongly recommend you!

2. GLScene (OpenGL component) quality:★★★★☆

Evaluation: Have you ever tried to write the OpenGL program like this: select a model, and then add lights and textures to it. Adjust the size and position in real time. Not satisfied? Just change the model and try again. Everything does not seem to be writing a program, but like editing it on site in 3dsmax. How are you doing? It's amazing. You can't try it now. Oh, I strongly recommend it to you!

3. tpicshow v2.3 quality:★★★★☆

Evaluation: this little Dongdong provides one hundred and twenty-two kinds of graphic effects, and the efficiency is also good. There is a lot of time left for you to check books and code. Come and try it. Add some special switching effects to the graphics in your program so that your user can praise your program interface. Oh, I strongly recommend it to you!

(Image components most suitable for beginners)

Comprehensive category

A comprehensive control Package refers to a hodgedge of various types of controls. The following lists some excellent comprehensive control packages for free controls:

1. rxlib 2.75 quality:★★★★☆

Evaluation: when talking about this guy, should everyone be familiar with it? Well, awater won't say much, but don't tell me you don't know yet. I strongly recommend it to you!

(The 5-star rating of rxlib is not too good)

2. Ralib 1.52a quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: although the name of this Dongdong and rxlib is a different word, it is more powerful than rxlib, but it is not as well known as rxlib in China. Let's try it, you will be pleasantly surprised. We strongly recommend you!

3. devexpress Forum Library 2.0 quality:★★★★☆

This control package is a free and source code expansion package produced by developer Express, a famous Delphi control manufacturer. Adhering to the consistent style of developer Express, this control package reveals a "Nobility" everywhere, including many excellent controls, it doesn't feel like a free control at all. If you look at its source code, you will have a more clear and reasonable structure. It is really a famous man. Haha. However, such a good stuff can not be obtained at will. First, you have to participate in the developer express forum and register with them (of course it is free of charge. Register now. Highly recommended!

The next section describes the commercial controls.

Okay. After reading some free third-party controls in the previous section, let's take a look at the commercial controls. We also divide the commercial controls into eight categories for evaluation, we can compare it with the Free controls we have previously recommended to see who is interested in it. Commercial controls may not be all dominant! Commercial controls (but you have to pay for them ):

(I) interface style

1. devexpress bars 3.1 Quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: it is a control group of Word2000 Interface Class produced by developer Express, a famous Delphi control manufacturer. The powerful functions and the interface are gorgeous. I even have some doubts that dephi's menu and toolbar use this stuff. It's cool. In contrast, the free toolbar97 is simply a chicken threat and tasteless. Well, if you want to make a beautiful pop-up interface, this is your best choice, and you can still have a lot of time to repeat. It is strongly recommended !!!

(Devexpress bars 3.1 is indeed a cool component)

2. extarpack 1.5 quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: If you want to make your own program interface an alternative, this is the best choice. You can arm your program to your teeth. If others do not know it, they will definitely think that you will use a new operating system. If you want to surprise others, use extarpack. It will make you satisfied. However, I would like to remind you in advance that the system resource consumption of this stuff is not small. Highly recommended!

3. formcontainer 1.5 quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: you will not have used the teechart that comes with Delphi. This stuff is written by two programmers in the company that comes with teechart. Is it of good quality. Never humiliate teechart. Do you know what a person will be dumb in front of a computer? Most of them see the program written with formcontainer. Haha. Absolutely, the classic interface style can surprise you. Awater is an amazing programmer who can write this control. Unfortunately, the source code cannot be obtained, or you must study it carefully. We strongly recommend you !!

(Ii) Shell appearance

1. Shell control pack VCL v1.5 quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: awater won't bother to talk about this control. I just want to say: It feels like using Resource Manager (Explorer. Haha, very good. We strongly recommend you !!

(Iii) Editor class

1. Dream memo 3.1 Quality:★★★★☆

Evaluation: The Powerful editing controls produced by the famous Delphi control manufacturer "Dream Team" dream company. It should be said that all aspects are excellent. At least before awater didn't use mwedit, he thought it was the best. Right now, hey, of course it's not the best. However, it is indeed very powerful, but it is a pity that this stuff is too complex to write. So, there are also many bugs. But it is worth recommending to you.

2. plusmemo 5.2 quality:★★★★☆

Evaluation: this control is old and powerful. Very distinctive. It has its own style and supports data sensing. It is also very compact. Very good. We strongly recommend you !!

(Iv) grid class

1. devexpress expressquantumgrid 2.1 quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: it is also a super grid control developed by developer Express, a famous Delphi control manufacturer. It is mainly used in database operations and usage. Powerful functions, with many unique martial arts ". Well, if you use the Go field to score the score, the level of this control may still be above 9. Super-class. Even in the same commercial controls, I am afraid that the database operations are better than expressquantumgrid. If you match the dxtreelist and dxprintsystem from the same door, it's really no match in the world. It is written in VCL 100%. Is it cool. We strongly recommend you !!!!!

2. topgrid 2.01 quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: although this control is not as sharp as devexpress expressquantumgrid in the previous step in database operations. However, it is widely adapted and competent for all the work of stringgrid, drawgrid, and DBGrid. Unlike expressquantumgrid, it is only applicable to database operations. In addition, the topgrid interface is very cool, a bit like the datawindow in powerbuild, and it is more beautiful. The function is very flexible and it is very convenient to operate each cell in the grid. The only drawback is that the compiled EXE file is a little bigger, but you can use ASPack to press it on both sides. We strongly recommend you !!!

3. xlgrid 1.62 quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: using this control reminds me of MS Excel. Powerful, powerful, or powerful. Unfortunately, database operations are not supported. On its home page, there is a pre-release 2.0 implementation function plan. awater saw it, and it was cool. Unfortunately, it hasn't been released yet. However, this 1.62 version is quite cool. We strongly recommend you !!!

(The xlgrid component is really cool. I am using it. It is really good. The latest version is 1.63)

(V) dB type

There are too many, from the high-end Asta to the comprehensive performance of dbisam, from Dao to Topaz, and the famous infopower, there are too many, and all of them are five-star. Awater won't write any more. In this regard, commercial controls won in all respects. Haha.

(The biggest feature of Delphi is its powerful data functions. Therefore, the most prominent of the third component (especially the commercial component) is the database class)

(Vi) Report Type

1. reportbuilder 5.0 quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: A very powerful report control. Don't ask me how powerful it is, because it is estimated that it can be fully written into 5000 or 6000 words to be clear to you. If you are missing a powerful report control that is applicable to a wide range of functions, you only need it. This is your best choice. It can be said that as long as you want to get it, it is basically done. We strongly recommend you !!!

2. htmlreport quality:★★★★☆

Evaluation: putting this stuff on may make up the data. It cannot be said that the function is very powerful. But you can see its name. There is a very fashionable word in it: HTML. By the way, it is used for this purpose. If you need it, you can find it. The overall performance is also good. Of course it is not as powerful as the reportbuilder above. We strongly recommend you !!

(Vii) graphics class

1. Pegasus series of graphic control quality:★★★★★

Evaluation: Pegasus has produced many well-known graphics controls, such as fxtools and imagn', which have been heard before. If you have high requirements on graphic processing, consider the first-class controls produced by Pegasus. It is not a normal free control that can be replaced. We strongly recommend you !!

Comprehensive category

I will not write the evaluation for the comprehensive class, whether it is a dinosaur LMD, ahm2000, rzlib, or an exquisite 1 stclass. The powerful functions and a wide range of controls are comparable to those of free control packages. The only thing that worries me when I use them is what I should use? Isn't that a headache?

(This is really an annoyance. I sometimes get stuck in these super cool package, but no matter how many mm you love, you can only choose one)

In comparison, I think everyone has a bottom point. Under the evaluation of the above eight free controls and commercial controls, it should be said that commercial controls take an absolute advantage, except for one editor class, free controls can compete with commercial controls, and there is a certain gap between the rest. Especially in the DB class, the free controls are the worst.

However, if there is no white lunch in the world, do you still have to spend money to buy good things. However, we can conclude that although commercial controls are powerful and of excellent quality. However, if you do not have much money to buy, or you do not have very strict performance requirements for a certain aspect of the program, you can fully consider using some excellent third-party free controls, or perform secondary development on the basis of the blueprint to meet your design requirements. This is also a very good and cost-effective solution.

From the above discussion, you should be able to understand some information about third-party controls of Delphi. However, awater should remind you that although controls are good, they cannot be abused. A good programmer should not only use it, but also write it on his own. If you have time to study the source code of excellent controls, it will be helpful for improving the level, and you can have a deeper understanding of the object-oriented programming mechanism. I hope that one day we Chinese people will write excellent programs like Delphi, so that foreigners in the world can develop third-party controls for us ......