C to Delphi converter (2018)

https://github.com/WouterVanNifterick/C-To-Delphi

by peter_d_sherman • 7 years ago

74 37 7 years ago

github.com

v-yadli• 7 years ago

Sounds like there’s no macro support?

Edit: in that case, better target FreePascal or Lazarus.

FartyMcFarter• 7 years ago

Also no "typedef", "unsigned char", "unsigned long" support, nor apparently understanding of what "char *argv[]" means as a function parameter. So don't expect this is something you can use for arbitrary C code.

Still an interesting teaching tool, as long as the user understands it's very limited.

int_19h• 7 years ago

How does it compare to C2PAS?

raister• 7 years ago

Where exactly is Delphi being used nowadays?

detaro• 7 years ago

Niche/custom desktop applications.

ak392• 7 years ago

Mostly Windows desktop apps for specific verticals (seen many in insurance, finance etc) - albeit considered legacy.

I use it for Windows ISAPI dlls against various backend databases (mostly MS SQL Server).

The newer output however from this stack is from its cross platform and mobile features - Firemonkey (native UI and cross platform API wrapper). I haven’t used it yet but I have seen a few apps on AppStore and Play using them.

wila5• 7 years ago

Firemonkey does not use native controls, it draws its own buttons and other controls.

jasode• 7 years ago

A blog post listed some Delphi apps: https://jonlennartaasenden.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/famous-s...

On that list, I use WinRAR and BeyondCompare every day. I also see Skype but I think the client was rewritten in Electron/Javascript to be cross-platform Windows/Mac/Linux.

Not on that list is AcrylicDNS which I use as a DNS "firewall". The author provides Delphi source code for it: (https://mayakron.altervista.org/wikibase/show.php?id=Acrylic...)

tinus_hn• 7 years ago

The Dolphin emulator which is on the list is written in c++. Perhaps there once was a frontend in Delphi.

frankbreetz• 7 years ago

Delphi was one of my first interactions with programming. It was a CAD/CAM desktop application. They are still around today, but when I left they were trying to switch to C#. I have not met a lot of people. Who even know what it is.

clouddrover5• 7 years ago

Embarcadero has some Delphi testimonials on their website:

https://www.embarcadero.com/case-study

And the Delphi product page:

https://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi

user59944612• 7 years ago

I'd take any marketing material with a grain of salt. Delphi was big 20 years ago and used in important projects. There are certainly stories to tell, doesn't mean it's relevant to the current decade.

dejv• 7 years ago

Another niche is control software for industrial/laboratory instruments. I know about FTIR spectroscopes, huge weaving machines or system that call you by number when you are at office, bank or post office.

haolez• 7 years ago

I've seen it recently being used in industrial automation. The IDE is friendly to non-programmers, the generated binaries perform really well and the compilation times are very fast.

From my perspective, as a developer that uses more up-to-date tools, Delphi is not great, but it's not bad either.

maxxxxx• 7 years ago

I think if Delphi had been developed more it could still be the best windows desktop environment now.

syockit• 7 years ago

My experience with Delphi-based Windows software is that they always load quickly and and most things are snappy, in contrast to most modern programs. I've always wondered if it's due the language itself, but then again modern programs run in managed environment. I guess if the same program is created using MFC they would be just as fast. Maybe if you don't have to deal with accessibility or internationalization it's possible to create such binaries in any compiled unmanaged language.

kpwagner• 7 years ago

Broadcast radio automation.

S_A_P• 7 years ago

FL Studio is/was Delphi based but I got to believe that it’s been ported to c/c++ in light of the Mac version that’s now available. I know there is kylix but I can’t imagine that was the way it was ported. But maybe so. I actually maintain a Delphi app used for trucking and logistics that the company purchased the source code for. We have a vm sitting on our server farm that is hosting an image of a highly customized version of Delphi that’s our “build” server. We are going to port this to C# second half of the year. The dude made all sorts of UI snafus, like 4 way check boxes using multi color checks for security provisioning. To add insult to injury if you have any color blindness you cannot perform this task- red, violet, green and blue are the options. I don’t have any known color blindness and it’s hard for me to tell.

clouddrover5• 7 years ago

but I got to believe that it’s been ported to c/c++ in light of the Mac version that’s now available.

Delphi can be used for macOS and iOS development, which is what Image-Line did for FL Studio:

https://www.embarcadero.com/case-study/image-line-software-c...

ebj73• 7 years ago

I think Image-Line is still using Object Pascal actually, both for the PC and the Mac version of FL Studio. They've been managing the Mac version by using Free Pascal for the compilation. They also have a fair amount of inline assembly, for the performance critical parts, and they have their own in-house GUI and widget library, which, apparently, will compile and run equally well using both Delphi and Free Pascal.

Edit: I notice that the post below says they're using Delphi for both the PC and the Mac version now... It could be a recent development. Last year there were posts on the Image-Line forums saying they were still using Free Pascal, due to the fact that Delphi (at that point) could not produce 64 bit binaries for Mac.

wila5• 7 years ago

Delphi still cannot produce 64 bit binaries for macOS.

loeg• 7 years ago

Does it know when to use 1-indices for accessing converted C strings vs 0-indices for other types? That seems to be one difficult thing to infer dynamically, especially for non-constants. I suppose it could just always treat C char* as dynamic arrays.

It does appear to treat C string constants as Pascal string constants, so if those are to be indexed correctly, it must be somewhat clever.

childintime• 7 years ago

I was pleasantly surprised, does a lot of things, very useful for when it's needed.

It had one unexpected glitch:

    // C
    if (known_devices & BIT(0))

    // Pascal
    if known_devices and BIT(0 then )

shdown• 7 years ago

Could somebody please check how it converts the following program:

    #include <stdio.h>
    
    int main()
    {
        if (((unsigned char) 255) + ((unsigned char) 255) == 510) {
            puts("yes");
        } else {
            puts("no");
        }
    }

(The code outputs "yes", and it does not rely on undefined behavior.)

In other words, I doubt that proper “conversion”, with all the C semantics, is feasible.

badsectoracula• 7 years ago

Typecasts seem to trip it up, it replaces the check with

    if (unsigned char then 255) + ((unsigned char) 255) = 510 then  begin

avuxo• 7 years ago

I'm not particularly familiar with Delphi, but the issue here appears to be a combination of parenthetical grouping not being picked up and the program not knowing that "unsigned char" should become "byte".

Ex:

  unsigned char a = 255;
  unsigned char b = 255;
  if ((a + b) == 510) {
      puts("yes");
  }

becomes

  unsigned char a = 255;
  unsigned char b = 255;
  if a + b then = 510 then  begin 
    WriteLn('yes');
  end;

instead of

  var a,b: byte;
  begin
      a := 255;
      b := 255;
      if (a + b) = 510 then begin
          writeln('yes');
      end;

It's also worth noting that assuming parenthetical grouping is fixed, the C code snippet should work fine; according to the online compiler I was toying around with, Pascal uses integer type promotion.

vfclists• 7 years ago

It seems there a quite a number of people who are not that hot on C++, Qt or both.

The FreePascal guys though have put in some effort to create useable LCL interfaces (the Lazarus equivalent of Delphi's VCL) to interfaces to Qt4 and Qt5

C to Delphi converter (2018)

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