🚀 go-pugleaf

I few months ago, I posted a long listing titled "Why I hate Builder".  You
might try searching Deja View for it.  Builder is mainly a RAD tool.  Some
people swear by it; some swear at it.  My experience with RAD is that it can
give you something visual to show customers and bosses very quickly but
isn't any help at the nuts and bolts work.  And the price is pretty severe.

There are a number of things that just can't be done with Builder.  I have a
library of .dlls that my application uses to calculate a value using one of
several rather complex formulas.  The naming convention for these dlls
require that the name start with a number.  Apparently, Builder can only
compile to filenames that are legal variable names.  That is just one
example.

What I hate most is the Builder IDE.  Some of what I hate may have changed
with version 5; I haven't yet installed it.  With C++ 5.2, I can create
source pools of files with unique compile attributes for each.  I have even
been able to create virtual copies of the source pool where the source pool
is there twice but there is really only one.  I can't say a really like the
MDI interface used by 5.2; I prefer free standing documents.  However,
Builder's is worse.  You can't place two files side by side and compare the
text like you can in 5.2.  In 5.2, not only could I open two files, I can
split the current window horizontally or vertically to compare.

All that said, I think Builder is inevitable.  If Borland would continue to
update the compiler for the 5.x interface, I would say skip it.  But unless
you are into command line compiles, 5.x is a dead end.

Greg Brewer

"Rich Mynick" <Rmynick@home.com> wrote in message
news:3AFC2D0F.355DDA17@home.com...
> Hi all,
>
> Could some kind soul offer a few general words as to how substantial the
> differences really are between the C++ (of almost 5 years ago, which
> still seems like an enormously capable program to me), and today's
> latest Builder version?  I don't want to be clinging to an obsolete tool
> that I've grown very comfortable with -- but need some solid reason to
> persuade me that there's more to Builder than just the fact that it's
> the "latest thing."
>
> Thanks for any comments -- RichM
>