This is a short tutorial on how to get started with Delphi Droid compiler version 0.3 as it currently is.
Note: The compiler isn't complete, there is still ALOT of work to be done. If you wish to help with the development, please contact me to contribute.
Requirements:
- The Android SDK together with the Java SDK and Ant. Ant get used to compile the Android application since DelphiDroid generate a standard Android project (similar to how you do it using Eclipse)
- Download DelphiDroid_v0.3.zip from the Google Code page.
- Off course you need Delphi 5.0 or later.
- .Net framework 3.5 run-time
What is in the ZIP:
Within the ZIP file you will find the following directories:
- bin: There is where the compiler etc are located. You can set this as your SYTEM VARIABLE to call from command line.
- DelphiDroid/DCCDroid: C# source code of the compile. This can be compiled using MS Visual Studio.Net 2008.
- DelphiDroid/Framework: The "Delphi For Android" package that all Delphi applications require.
- DelphiDTest: The Delphi example as in Sneak Preview 2 video.
- Test: The actual Android projected generated by the compiler from the DelphiDTest example.
Setup Android SDK etc:
I'm not going to explain how to setup the Android SDK, I assume you already have knowledge on how to install the SDK, set it up etc.
Setup the compiler:
Within the bin folder you will find DCCDroid.exe.config file, open this using a plain text editor like Notepad:
- Change the AndroidSDKDirectory to the location where you installed the Android SDK.
- Change DelphiBinFolder to the location of the Delphi BIN folder that contains the Delphi compiler etc.
Run the sample program:
Open DelphiDTest and make sure it compile and run successfully in Delphi.
Run the compiler with no parameters:
Open the MS DOS Command prompt and run:
DCCDroid.exe
The output:
Delphi For Android 0.0.0.3 Dev Build
Copyright © 2010 by Lennie De Villiers
Invalid arguments, the following arguments are required:
Project Name - Name of the project
Activity Name - Name of the activity
Package Name - Java package name
Input Source Path - Delphi source directory path
Android Output Path - Android output directory path
So this is very basic command line parameters, i don't need to explain how they work.
You can open compile.bat file under the bin folder for an example:
dccdroid.exe DelphiAndroid DelphiAndroid com.test c:\Demo\DelphiDTest c:\Demo\Test
copy C:\Demo\bin\Android.Framework\*.* C:\Demo\Test\src\com\Test
cd c:\Demo\Test
ant debug
This will compile the example program (assuming the location like c:\Demo) , copy the Android libraries and compile the program.
When all is done you can run the run.bat file:
cd c:\Demo\Test\bin
adb shell rm /data/app/com.test.apk
adb -s emulator-5554 install DelphiAndroid-debug.apk
This will install the sample on the Android emulator.
You can look at compile.bat and run.bat to write your own compile/run scripts.
What is done:
Just like I said before, there is still ALOT of work to be done. Currently only the following components are supported:
TEdit
TLabel
TButton
References:
Official Website: http:\\www.delphiforandroid.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/delphi_android
Blog: http://lenniedevilliers.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/delphi_android
Blog: http://lenniedevilliers.blogspot.com/
Mailing Lists:
Users:
http://groups.google.com/group/delphi-for-android-users
General users.
Developers:
http://groups.google.com/group/delphi-for-android-developers
Donations:
If you can't donate your time but wish to don't some money to help with the development, then please contact me.
