Build Desktop, Database, and Cross-Platform Applications

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Learn Object Pascal and build real applications with Delphi.

Object Pascal is a language designed to be read, and Delphi turns it into fast native applications with a visual designer that lets you go from idea to working program quickly. Countless business and desktop applications run on it — and many of them need developers who understand them. This book starts from zero and takes you all the way to a complete database-backed desk application, explaining the language, object-oriented design, memory management, and the frameworks you will use every day. Every chapter ends with graded exercises and worked solutions.

• 560 pages · 28 chapters + 4 appendices
• Setup with Delphi Community Edition or the free Lazarus and Free Pascal
• Language fundamentals: types, control flow, routines, arrays, records, sets, units, and exceptions
• Object-oriented programming: classes, properties, inheritance, interfaces, and object lifetime
• Modern features: generics, collections, anonymous methods, records with methods, helpers, and JSON
• VCL desktop apps, FireDAC with SQLite, FireMonkey cross-platform UIs, and REST APIs
• Multithreading, DUnitX testing, debugging, deployment, and maintaining legacy code
• A complete case study: a bike-rental desk application with pricing rules, a database, and tests

Table Of Contents

Part I — Getting Started

• Ch 1 · Why Delphi and Object Pascal Today
• Ch 2 · Setting Up: Delphi, Lazarus and Free Pascal, and Your First Program
• Ch 3 · Program Structure, Variables, Types, and Constants
• Ch 4 · Operators, Expressions, Strings, and Console Input and Output
• Ch 5 · Control Flow: if, case, and Loops

Part II — Core Language

• Ch 6 · Procedures and Functions: Parameters, Overloading, and Default Values
• Ch 7 · Arrays, Records, Sets, and Enumerated Types
• Ch 8 · Units: Organizing Code into Modules
• Ch 9 · Dynamic Arrays, Pointers, and Memory Basics
• Ch 10 · Exceptions: try..except, try..finally, and raise

Part III — Object-Oriented Programming

• Ch 11 · Classes and Objects: Fields, Methods, Constructors, and Destructors
• Ch 12 · Properties, Visibility, and Encapsulation
• Ch 13 · Inheritance, Virtual Methods, and Polymorphism
• Ch 14 · Interfaces and Reference Counting
• Ch 15 · Object Lifetime: Ownership, Free, and Avoiding Memory Leaks

Part IV — Modern Object Pascal

• Ch 16 · Generics and Generic Collections
• Ch 17 · Anonymous Methods and Closures
• Ch 18 · Records with Methods, Operator Overloading, and Helpers
• Ch 19 · Strings, Unicode, Files, Streams, and JSON
• Ch 20 · Testing and Debugging: DUnitX, the Debugger, and Clean Code

Part V — Building Applications

• Ch 21 · VCL Desktop Applications: Forms, Components, and Events
• Ch 22 · Layouts, Actions, Dialogs, and Multi-Form Applications
• Ch 23 · Databases with FireDAC and SQLite
• Ch 24 · Cross-Platform Applications with FireMonkey (and Lazarus LCL)
• Ch 25 · Calling REST APIs and Working with JSON Data

Part VI — Advanced Topics and Case Study

• Ch 26 · Multithreading: TThread, Tasks, and a Responsive User Interface
• Ch 27 · Deployment, Packages, and Maintaining Legacy Delphi Code
• Ch 28 · Case Study: Building the Tidewell Bike Rentals Application

Appendices

• App A · Object Pascal Cheat Sheet
• App B · Templates and Reference
• App C · Code Review Checklist
• App D · Glossary

WHO IT IS FOR
Beginners looking for a clear first language, developers from other languages who need Delphi for work, maintainers of existing Delphi applications, and Free Pascal and Lazarus users who want a practical guide to modern Object Pascal.

FORMAT
PDF (A4), 560 pages, English, clickable table of contents and PDF bookmarks. 1st Edition, 2026. Published by thenexbooks.

This book is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Embarcadero Technologies. Delphi editions, features, and license terms change over time — always check the official site.

Book details