Sunday, May 19, 2013

XE4 Upgrade Decision

I'm currently using Delphi 2010 Professional and it's time to make that upgrade decision . . . again. The first decision I had to make was should I upgrade to Rad Studio XE4 or Delphi XE4. I've decided to upgrade to Delphi XE4.

Now I have to decide which version of Delphi XE4 should I go with, Professional Upgrade ($494.10) or the Enterprise Upgrade ($1,349.10).  That's a difference of $855. So I decided to study the Delphi XE4 Feature Matrix.

The Professional version has three different Optional features:
  • 1 Requires purchase of Mobile Add-On Pack for Professional
  • 2 Requires purchase of FireDAC Client/Server Pack for Professional
  • 3 Requires purchase of Mobile Add-On Pack for Professional for use with mobile apps. Requires purchase of FireDAC Client/Server Pack for Professional for use in Windows and Mac apps.
Each one of Optional features requires a separate purchase:

1. Mobile Add-On Pack for Professional ($494.10)
2. FireDAC Client/Server Pack for Professional ($399.00)
3. Both of the above ($848.10)

For me, Chances are I'd have to purchase the above tems if I went with XE4 Professional. However, the above items are included in the Enterprise version of XE4. So that makes the difference a whopping $6.90.

With XE4 Enterprise you also get
  • Additional UML MODELING
  • dbExpress drivers available for 64-bit Windows InterBase, Firebird, Oracle, MySQL, SQL Anywhere, Informix, and SQLite
  • dbExpress drivers available for OS X InterBase, Firebird, Oracle, MySQL, SQL Anywhere, Informix, and SQLite
  • TSQLMonitor support for SQLite
  • DataSnap Mobile Connector support for latest versions of iOS, Android and BlackBerry
  • Several dbExpress server connectivity versions
  • DataSnap capability
  • A couple additional BizSnap pieces
  • Some IntraWeb pieces
So, given my track record for slow upgrades it looks like the best choice for me is the upgrade to Delphi XE4 Enterprise.

Note: The prices quoted came from embarcadero's website store on 05/19/2013.


 Semper Fi,
Gunny Mike








8 comments:

  1. Almost appears as if the pricing structures and the purchase of FireDAC is being used to "convince" people to buy higher SKUs. Hmm...who saw that one coming?

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  2. Not including the mobile and client/server add-ons, I think the biggest single advantage of the Enterprise SKU over Professional is DataSnap.

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    1. Bruce, I have basically dismissed DataSnap out of ignorance. I think it's time I figured out what DataSnap is all about.

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    2. Welcome to the world of multi-tier.

      If you want to spark a lively discussion, ask whether the business rules belong in the middle tier (application server) or in the database. Then stand back. :)

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  3. Looks like you are quite vendor-locked-in :-) Good luck anyway!

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    Replies
    1. I'm someone that's not subject to vendor lock-in. I program in quite a few different languages (inc. the first version of MacApp - if you can remember back that far).

      People make decisions based on familiarity with a set of tools (which is not so much vendor lock-in, but capitalising on your own experiences).

      For the record, I prefer VCL as the easiest framework for programming that I'm aware of. The only commercial tool that comes close to being as easy to use (to my knowledge) would be Visual Basic, but that has some severe limitations that hold it back (including the underlying language - when I last looked).

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  4. Enterprise has also QA Metrics and QA Audits, very useful functionality

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    Replies
    1. I have XE4 pro which works fine for my current vcl development but I want start doing mobile development with n-tier database connectivity. It is quite costly to upgrade from pro to enterprise. Is Enterprise worth the cost?

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