Technology

Delphi Application Modernisation
without throwing away what already works.

Delphi is still a live product under Embarcadero. What is not live is Delphi 7 from 2002, and that is the version most of the business applications we are handed were built with.

You get an honest answer on upgrading versus rebuilding, then the work done either way with the data reconciled as you go. We do this for businesses in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US, at a fixed price.

Book a 20-min scoping call
  • Independent No licence commission, no reseller agenda
  • 18+ yrs Building business software
  • Fixed Price scopes, no surprises
  • AU NZ UK US Perth-based, working remotely
Australian owned and operated

Built here. Your data stays here.

  • No offshore development. Everything is written by our own team in Australia. Nothing is subcontracted overseas.
  • Your data stays onshore. Hosted in Australia, on infrastructure you own, under Australian law.
  • Every state, not just ours. Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and everywhere between.
Where we fit

Still fast, still stable, and stuck in 2002

Delphi 7 was extraordinarily popular and extraordinarily stable, which is why so much Australian business software was built with it and why so much of it is still running. It compiled to a single fast executable with no runtime to install, and that self-sufficiency is exactly what let it survive unattended for twenty years.

The obstacles are practical rather than mysterious: third-party VCL component sets whose vendors no longer exist, database access through BDE which Borland deprecated long ago, and a codebase current Delphi will not simply open.

See all legacy upgrade services

What the work actually is

Keep the good code, or rebuild it for the web

Delphi code is often good code. We read it, work out how much of the value is in the logic and how much is trapped in dead components, then either bring it forward to a current Delphi or rebuild it for the web.

What you have now

  • .pas units, .dfm forms and a .dpr project
  • Third-party VCL components from vanished vendors
  • BDE database access
  • A compiled executable that just keeps working
What we build

Decide honestly between modernising and rebuilding

Delphi code is often good code. We read it, work out how much of the value is in the logic and how much is trapped in dead components, then either bring it forward to a current Delphi or rebuild it for the web.

Get a fixed-price scope

What you end up with

  • A web application, or a current Delphi build if the code deserves it
  • Database access on something supported instead of BDE
  • No dependency on component vendors that no longer exist
What we do

Only the Delphi work you actually need

Most engagements are some combination of these, and most start with the first.

  1. Assess the codebase

    Delphi 7 code is frequently well structured and worth carrying forward. We say plainly whether this one is, rather than defaulting to a rewrite.

  2. Deal with the components

    Third-party VCL packages from vendors who have disappeared are the usual blocker. We identify what each does and replace the behaviour.

  3. Replace BDE

    Borland Database Engine access moved to something supported, which is usually necessary before anything else can proceed.

  4. Modernise or rebuild

    Forward to a current Delphi where the code justifies it, or rebuilt as a web application where remote access is the real requirement.

  5. Keep it running meanwhile

    A Delphi 7 application can be supported while you decide. It compiles to a standalone executable, which makes holding position genuinely viable.

Where you are now

It works, and nobody will touch it

  • Built on Delphi 7 from 2002 and never brought forward
  • Third-party components whose vendors no longer exist
  • BDE database access, deprecated for many years
  • Installed machine by machine, with no remote access

After

Supported, documented and yours

  • A supported toolchain, or a web application, whichever fits
  • Database access that a current developer recognises
  • No dependency on components nobody sells
  • Access from anywhere if that is what the business needs

Scoped and quoted before you commit. You own the code, the documentation and the credentials at the end of it.

Get a fixed-price scope
Common questions

What people ask us about Delphi

Delphi is still sold. Why would we move?

Often you should not, and we will say so. The trigger is usually a component vendor that no longer exists, a need for remote or browser access, or simply not being able to find anyone to make a change.

Can Delphi 7 code be opened in a current Delphi?

Not without work. Unicode handling changed, and the third-party components are usually the harder half. It is a project, not a file conversion.

What replaces BDE?

FireDAC in a current Delphi, or a normal database layer if the application is being rebuilt for the web. Either way BDE has to go before much else is possible.

Should it become a web application?

Only if remote access, multi-site working or mobile use is a real requirement. If it is a fast internal tool used at desks, a current Delphi build can be the cheaper and better answer.

We have lost some of the source. Is that fatal?

Not necessarily. Delphi executables can be examined to establish structure and behaviour, and the database usually survives regardless. It changes the estimate rather than ending the conversation.

Tell us what your Delphi system does

What the system does, roughly how old it is, and what is forcing the question. We will come back with a straight answer and a fixed-price scope, even if the answer is to leave it alone.

Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.