Embarcadero is preparing a new release of their RAD Studio XE2 tools which includes Delphi XE2, C++Builder XE2, RADPHP XE2, and Prism XE2, at exactly one year after the initial launch of the XE line on August 30, 2010. This release has many new features, the most interesting being support for cross-platform development, Windows 64-bit, Amazon Cloud API, Native Android and iOS, and HD plus 3D animation.
Delphi and C++Builder have traditionally been used by Windows developers to create applications for Microsoft’s platform, but now they target Mac OS X as well. The IDEs do no run on Mac, but they have compilers generating binaries that can be installed and run over the network on a Mac computer, resulting in two application binaries from a single set of source files. Delphi includes support for Windows 64-bit machines, including a debugger and deployment manager.
Delphi and C++Builder also include FireMonkey, a new platform for creating HD and 3D animations for Windows, Mac OS X and iOS. These native applications make use of the CPU and GPU to draw the animations and can be connected to any data type through LiveBindings.
Delphi and C++ applications can be deployed to Amazon EC2 and Windows Azure, with support for Amazon Simple Storage Service API, Queue Service, and SimpleDB.
RADPHP now targets iOS and Android devices having the ability to visualize how applications will appear on the respective mobile devices. One can also generate native applications for those platforms from PHP ones. RADPHP uses jQuery Mobile controls for the interface.
Besides enhancements to old features, Delphi Prism has a number of new ones such as:
- All new Oxygene Compiler 5.0 from RemObjects
- Inline errors in editor with details, ranges & notes
- Live compiler errors in the code editor
- Fix-It support for selected new errors
- Language soft interfaces and duck typing
- Anonymous interface implementation
- Enhanced Oxidizer integration
Resources: a more complete list of enhancements detailing all the features available in RAD Studio XE2.
