31Aug 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

A simple approach to software development

Rad Studio Delphi Development, Software development Concepts
A simple approach to software development Setting up your software development for a new application there are quite a few set of software developers that tend to jump on their machine and begin coding.  I would strongly suggest that an application which could be successful needs to start from thought to paper (even electronic) before any new code is typed. Now as some suggest creating designs or layouts are the best method for them and sometimes that does make sense.  Creating a sketch board  or laying out the screen design is a simple way to visually see what you want to achieve. Here are the steps that you can use when you are preparing to create a new application. Sitting at a table or desk Using white boards do help…
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31Aug 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

Visual Studio 2017 Version 15.3 Released

Microsoft Development, Software Events
Visual Studio 2017 Version 15.3 Released For Visual Studio 2017 version 15.3, Microsoft focused on improving accessibility, particularly using Visual Studio with the most popular screen readers. Microsoft made over 1,700 improvements but if you are using Visual Studio 2017 in a low-vision or no-vision mode, a lot has improved. Couple of the more major things Microsoft improved. Debugging is much more accessible. Debugger windows like the Call Stack, Locals, Autos, and Watch windows were inaccessible to screen readers. That’s now fixed. The VS editor’s text adornments let developers know about features available at particular points on a line of code, such as breakpoints, lightbulbs, and error and warning “squiggles.” Customers can now discover and navigate between these adornments via the new “Show Line Annotations” command set, which you can…
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31Aug 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana are going to work together

Microsoft Development, Software Events
Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana are going to work together Amazon and Microsoft announced on Wednesday that they’ve been working on a partnership to allow their respective voice assistants, Alexa and Cortana, to speak to one another. Starting later this year, owners of Amazon Echos and other Alexa-powered devices will be able to say: “Alexa, open Cortana” to start querying Microsoft’s voice assistant. Owners of devices running Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system will be able to summon Alexa via Cortana in a similar manner. Why would customers want that — especially with the relatively clunky nature of the necessary voice command? The companies say that each voice assistant has its strengths — features like Microsoft Outlook and Exchange email integration for Cortana and smart-home controls or shopping for Alexa — and that…
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30Aug 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

New WinDbg debugger available in preview!

Microsoft Development
New Microsoft debugger WinDbg available in preview! Debugging Tools for Windows Microsoft is excited to announce a preview version of a brand new WinDbg a Windows debugger.  WinDbg has more modern visuals, faster windows, a full-fledged scripting experience, built with the easily extensible debugger data model front and center. Things to know Installation - You can install the WinDbg Preview from the store if you have Windows 10 Anniversary Update or newer at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/windbg/9pgjgd53tn86 - WinDbg Preview uses some features from the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, so that’s required for now. Feedback - Familiarize yourself a bit with the Feedback Hub!  Microsoft will be using the Feedback Hub to help prioritize what you want Microsoft to work on! The Windows Insider website has a great overview on how to give good feedback - https://insider.windows.com/en-us/how-to-feedback Once you've read that, just hit the 'Feedback Hub' button…
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25Aug 2017 by richard@baronsoftware.com

Expert Delphi by Paweł Głowacki

Book Reviews, Rad Studio Delphi Development
Expert Delphi by Paweł Głowacki   After reading the latest book from Author Pawel Glowacki the feeling of fresh FireMonkey Delphi material left an excellent karma.  It should be part of anyone's Delphi Library since it has great reference material.  The book was written by Pawel Glowacki whom is Embarcadero's European Technical Lead for Developer Tools. The book begins with a basic primer on Delphi helping you get accustomed to the IDE and the Object Pascal language.  It quickly moves into advanced concepts dealing with FireMonkey.  You should be able to build server-side services, create new Internet of Things (IOT) and integrate your applet with web services to deploy them to market. As always the pricing from PackT is on the mark.  The writing is very clear at 506 pages and…
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