Benz Blog

So I thought I’d start off by explaining why I am currently working with Delphi. Since May, 2006, I’ve been working for the world’s leading provider (I think) of software to the private equity industry. I’ve worked pretty much exclusively in Java for at least the past 10 years or so. The product I work on, a Java-based web application that allows investors to collaborate online to perform their due diligence on investment opportunities, has lost a few clients of late, all blaming the economy and the need to cut costs. My employer could, if they wanted to, save a lot of money and lay me off, but thankfully they’ve asked me to do a tour of duty on our flagship product: a windows based application written in Delphi.

Now notice I said “thankfully” – it should not go unnoticed that I’m very happy to just have a job in these tough times. Also, the team that develops this software are all top-notch individuals, any of which I would ask to join my own company if I had one, and all of which I am honored to work with. Lastly, the application itself is extremely powerful and is used by a very large percentage of the top investors in the private equity world.

It’s just that I haven’t worked with Delphi in 14 years, and it’s not something that I have any desire to learn. These days my heart is in Mac/iPhone development, but unfortunately I’m simply not driven enough to spend all my free time mastering Cocoa and Objective-C. My sole wish is to someday get paid to write Mac/iPhone software.

And then there’s Windows. After working almost exclusively in OS X for the past 4 years, I really just can’t stand working in it. I took one look at Vista about a year ago and was not impressed at all. In fact I thought it was horrible. I know Windows 7 has been getting some good press, and I’m happy about this – competition is good – but I’m so comfortable and productive in OS X that you’d have to hold a gun to my head to go back.

Either that or ask me to do a tour a duty on your employer’s flagship product.

So these next few entries are essentially going to be me venting about my frustrations with both Windows and Delphi. Disclaimer: I’m well aware that many of my Delphi complaints are not without workarounds or solutions, so if anyone ever reads this who is fluent in Delphi – keep in mind that I’m a new comer and I’m just expressing my frustrations, and that I don’t hate Delphi by any means – I just would much rather be digging into my fat Cocoa book than my fat Delphi book. Ok?