Client-Server application writing in delphi

Question

What is the best way to write a client-server application under delphi? I know there\'s a DataSnap technology, but it\'s not in Professional version. Do You have any experience

Answer 1

Take a look at our Open Source Client/Server ORM.

It's multi-tier compatible, and you can have ORM at both Client and Server level. ORM is used everywhere, and JSON is the format chosen for the Client/Server transmission.

You can start your application as local application, then just by changing the class type used to access to the data, it will become a Client/Server application communicating via Named Pipes, HTTP/1.1 or GDI messages.

It was designed to work with SQLite3 as a small but efficient database engine on the server side, but you can use the ORM without SQlite3. There is a pure Delphi in-memory engine provided, if you prefer.

This framework try to implement N-Tier architecture from the bottom up. The upcoming 1.13 version will have a powerful filtering and validation mechanism, perfect for N-Tier architecture. There is some User-Interface units, with full reporting (and pdf generation), able to create most of the User Interface from code, using the ORM layout of the data.

It's based on the RESTful paradigm to access the data from the Client, via JSON. And there is a easy way of implementing Client/Server Services if the RESTful approach is not enough, just like DataSnap.

It's Unicode ready (uses UTF-8 at all internal level), and works with every version of the IDE, from Delphi 6 up to XE (even the Starter edition).