Developer Forum

ealThinClient is a set of easy-to-use components for writing
internet-enabled applications using any Delphi version (even the personal
edition) and BCB. No other components are needed. It even comes with a
ready-to-use WebServer implementation comparable to Appache, supporting
PHP5.

RealThinClient Core 1.x components - commercial license with full source
code for Delphi and BCB = 95,- EUR
Check www.realthinclient.com for more info.

With this purchase, you get 1 year first-hand techical support with all
minor updates and bug fixes.
As a licensed RTC user, you can define the way RTC will be evolving in the
future.

RealThinClient Core now contains

* RTC Core Server components:
- TRtcUDPServer
- TRtcTCPServer
- TRtcDataServer
- TRtcDataServerLink
- TRtcDataProvider
- TRtcServerModule

* RTC Core Client components:
- TRtcUDPClient
- TRtcTCPClient
- TRtcDataClient
- TRtcDataClientLink
- TRtcDataRequest
- TRtcClientModule

* RTC Core Remote Function components:
- TRtcFunction
- TRtcFunctionGroup
- TRtcResult

* RTC Core Value objects:
- TRtcValue
- TRtcArray
- TRtcRecord
- TRtcDataSet
- TRtcFunctionInfo

Some information about RTC Core components:
----------------------------------------

* Complete package: You don't need to buy the Enterprise version of Delphi
or BCB, nor upgrade to the latest Delphi/BCB version to use RealThinClient
components. All RTC components compile with standard editions of Delphi and
BCB, starting from Delphi 4.

* True RAD: Everything you do with RTC is component-based, while all the
code you will ever need to write is defined as events, so you can truly
design your server and your client applications, without the need to use
wizzards or code your interfaces.

* Multi-Threading: A very sophisticated Threading mechanism is built into
all RTC Connection components, which allows thousands of active connections
to be running in separate threads, all at the same time. And the only thing
you need to do is change a simple MultiThreaded property to True. Then, any
newly received connection will be handled by a thread pooling mechanism
which saves valuable System resources, while enabling nearly unlimited
number of symultaneous connections at the same time.

* Uses Proxys: Data Clients will never have to be specialy configured to get
through corporate firewalls to reach the server. Simply by setting the
UseProxy property to True, DataClient connection will use a connection
provider which uses the same settings as Internet Explorer for browsing the
Web. This means that Clients can work in any corporate LAN and have full
access to the internet.

* Non-Blocking: Other than most other internet components, RTC connection
components are non-blocking and event-driven. This means that, even when not
using a multithreaded mode, your users will not be blocked ("Application Not
Responding") during communication between your client and the server. For
each state change in the connection, there is an event that will be
triggered.

* Remote Functions: Implementing and using remote functions is as easy as
writing local functions. You just place a RtcFunction component on your Form
or a DataModule, set function name and write your OnExecute event. OnExecute
event receives the Connection object, Function Parameters and a Result
object. You just have to use the parameters passed to the function to
prepare the result. The

Hi Danijel,


How do you see it evolving yourself now?

With TRtcDataClient, remote functions..., how would you compare your
offering to KbmMW or RemObjects ?


Any plan to have it all compile and run on FreePacal and Lazarus to allow
Linux support?


Could we think of something like RemoteForms? that would output XForms and
link to Remote Functions written with RtcFunction ?

You spoke of integration with PHP. Any support to call Java methods
planned?

Regards,

Oliver

Hi Oliver,




The RTC Core is now a basic component set for remoting and web development.
It mostly compares to something a Java developer is used to having at start,
since you write server-side code for processing requests and execute remote
functions. So, it is the base for developing any internet-enabled
application by coding the server to produce HTML content for the browser,
and/or using remote functions to writing server-side functionality useabe by
any RTC Client.

The two things that RTC mostly resembles now in the Delphi world are:
1.) IntraWeb: only without a Forms designer, since you send your web content
as pure HTML code.
2.) RemObjects, since RTC is offering very simmilar functionality without
the use for shared interfaces


I'd love to do that. I plan to port the components to .NET next year, but
I've also thought about Kylix and other Pascal versions. The only things
that should change are the connection provider components, which I have kept
"under the hood", so they can be replaced without compromising the public
interfaces.The rest of the code should be compatible across sysems, by using
compiler directives.


Yes. That is what I want to do next, but that will be quite a lot of work,
since you need a separate component for everything visual. This will be made
available to everyone who has licensed RTC Code as add-on, since not
everyone will want to use those components to build their server/client
applications.


I plan on making the Remote Functions work with SOAP,
the same way they work now by using the RTC format.
Java methods could then be called using SOAP, if they are published as a
service.
But, I could also write a component set for creating RTC Objects in Java,
so you could write the same remote functions in java and call them using a
RTC native format.

Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec

One more thing :)

Judging by the reactions of some people here, someone might think that I am
selling waporvare (software that isn't finished or needs a lot of testing
and polishing to work). This isn't so. I have been working on RTC Core since
October 2004 (that's 7 months) and it has been my full-time job since. But,
I didn't feel like publishing it or offering it here befoere I had a
complete Core component set for the client and for the server, which can be
used to write fully-functional applications client/server applications.

I do not want RealThinClient to have the same faith as RemoteOffice, where
some people are still attacking me just because I've sold the copyrights to
a company which didn't want to offer the same licensing terms for their
product I did while it was mine. I also do not want to make any promisses
regarding future upgrades and RTC updates. When I say that I plan to do
something, it is only ideas which I would like to realize.

RTC Core 1.1 is best suited for writing Web Servers, SOAP/XML Services, or
Client/Server applications. For WebServers and Services, you will be writing
server-side code only, using RtcDataProvider components to implement the
functionality. And for Client/Server applications, you will most likely be
using server-side remote functions, called by your clients. Since the
framework of RTC Core is built with a goal to work as a general server,
being capable of supporting data from different sources, all RTC components
can be used together in one application.

I will be enhancing RTC Core continualy, but ... please, do not go and buy a
copy if you are doing this only because I might add some feature in the
future. If you like RTC Core but miss some functionality, please contact me
directly (www.realthinclient.com) and I will tell you if that functionality
is implemented or will be inplemented in short, so you know if it is worth
waiting or you should take some other component set, already available. Each
time I add something interesting to the RTC Components library, I will post
it here as an announcement [ANN]. If you like what you see and feel like you
can use it, then RTC may be worth taking a look.

Again: Don't buy something you can't start using today. But, if you have
ideas for RTC and want to help me realize those, I would be more than happy
to grant you a free RTC license in return for your help.

Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec

Danijel,

RTC looks fine to me.

The only thing I'd like it to do is that it should
work with FPC (Free Pascal Compiler).

The reason I would like it is this:

I have my own application which I would like to serve
to Internet. I'd like to do it under Linux for various
reasons.

I can get a X86_64 box dead cheap, which means I'd like
my own app to be 64bit native.

Kylix can not do that --I am not sure if Borland will
ever release another Kylix let alone 64bit version.

Cheers,
Ray

Hi Ray,

If you are interested in helping me to port RTC to Free Pascal, I would be
more than happy to do this. I would give you one RTC Core license in
exchange for your support. I wouldn't ask you to do any coding, though. Just
point me in the right directions, in case you are familiar with Free Pascal.
If you are interested, pleasae contact me directly (you will find my E-mail
address at the bottom of my www.realthinclient.com site).

Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec

Hi Danijel,

I'd like to, but I am probably not the best person that can
do that, not yet at least. Why dont you ask the same question
in FPC forums/NGs.

Cheers,
Ray

I have just checked the www.freepascal.org site and I really like what I see
there. Being able to write one code for multiple platforms is exactly what I
was hoping for. Never knew this was possible with Pascal, I thought this is
only possible with C. I will take a closer look at FreePascal and see how
much work it would be to port RTC components to FreePascal. If it's not too
much incompatible with Delphi4, I will most likely port RTC components to
FreePascal before I port them to Delphi 2005 and .NET. I won't be making any
promisses here, since that port will most likely take a couple of months and
there are some other things I planned to do before that.

Best Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec

Yep! Those guys are on Mac OS X, as well as 64-bit platforms already.


Good to hear rthat :-)

Cheers,

Well, I have to say, I am surprised by the compatibility level between
Delphi and Lazarus. I've ported all my high-level components to Lazarus, so
that RTC now compiles with Delphi/BCB and with Lazarus. The only thing I
will have to do now is find a good cross-platform library for basic TCP/IP,
so I can use this to implement a connection provider for RTC. If I get
lucky, then Kylix version of ICS will do the trick and RTC will be ready for
Linux :o)

Regards,
Danijel Tkalce

ICS is good.

I suggest you take a look at Synapse too.
http://www.yqcomputer.com/

All RealThinClient components are compatible with Lazarus and you can build
Windows clients and servers with them.
Next step will be to port the low-level communication stuff to Linux.

Regards,
Danijel Tkalcec

Hi Danijel,

Congratulations for the good work you are doing ! and the communication of your
progress on the newsgroup.


Great. As far as the cross-platform library for basic TCP/IP is concerned, I
think you should investigate Synapse. Would love to read that you would achieve
full compatibility between Delphi and FreePascal/Larazus using your tool. I
followed your progress on that in the newsgroup and find that great.

I believe you should work on that before the port to .NET. That would allow
Delphi developers to target Linux easily while still developing for Windows.

Many corporations are looking for an alternative to Microsoft on the server
side now, and next the client side. Developers, I believe, want, for now, to
target Windows first, and do want to easily build a Linux version effortlessly
and let their client choose between the two offering. I believe you are close
to that with your tool.


This is really great to read that. I hope you will be successful. I would like
to see that on your road map.


Really great. I hope you can invest some time in that. It really sounds great.

Having both Freepacal/Lazarus support and great Java integration is really the
way forward to convince companies to move to something more productive and
efficient than what is offered today on the market. Both of what you are
proposing is needed and very interesting.

Please, continue you great work and keep us informed !

Oliver

BTW, I saw the great work you are doing on your new web site.