Customer Review(s)
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Its all good
Comment: I Realy can't see the need for the PRO edition if your not doing database work.
reasons for standard edition I Don't need Database stuff i have a linux box and use mysql Source code for the vcl
it gets the job done EXPEdit , ExpFtp , ExpMail were all coded in delphi with the standard edition
Customer Rating: Summary: A good product downgraded
Comment: Delphi 4 standard was an excellent tool both for learning programming and preparing quick and powerful applications under Windows. It included all the components needed to accelerate production of most stand-alone non-networked applications.
Delphi 5 has increased the level of network components (just) and made it easier to write non-GUI programs at a high cost in removing all database components other than limited support for Microsoft Access(!?).
Nearly all programmers work with databases in some form at some time. This product would be much more useful with the database components restored, but for that you need to move up to the much more expensive Professional product.
Even the rudimentary tutorial provided in the help files assumes that you have purchased a version with database support and explicitly states that it does not work with the standard edition.
That being said, Delphi is more powerful and quicker than VisualBasic and easier to learn than VisualC++ (or even Borland's own C++Builder).
Customer Rating: Summary: Best tool in the market
Comment: Delphi is the best all around tool i've used. You can do everything you can do in C++ and it's so easy. It's learning curve is almost the same one to learn Visual Basic. Delphi creates standalone executable without dlls, and your applications run since the first time like they are supposed to do. Ask anybody from VB to know the problems with VB.
You can create apps, web server extensions, dlls, ActiveX Objects and ActiveX dlls, Control Panel applets, your own controls and much more. You have tons of components, and you can get more tons of them for free at the web.
The standard version doesn't have database components, so you should get instead the Pro or Enterprise version, although you can import the MSADO library and use it the same way you use it at VB.
Delphi is what MS wants the .NET platform to be.
Highly recommended. It's sad that a lot of managers select VB without even considering other tools like Delphi, but if you know Delphi you will finish your projects before the others using VB and your app will run smoothly since the first time.
