Description

Hydra is an application framework that allows developers to create modular applications that can mix managed (.NET and Java) and unmanaged (Delphi and Island) code in the same project, creating a seamless user experience while combining the best technologies available from either platform.

Hydra bridges the gap between the worlds of unmanaged Delphi code and the Microsoft .NET and Silverlight platforms by letting developers integrate the 2 platforms seamlessly within the same application – whether by reusing Delphi code in new .NET applications or extending exiting Delphi VCL apps with new parts created in .NET, Silverlight or FireMonkey.

Combining Delphi and .NET
These days, many Delphi developers consider migrating to the .NET platform, either to make use of its advanced development capabilities and better languages or to leverage new technologies such as the Windows Presentation Foundation or LINQ. At the same time, they are rightfully hesitant to leave the existing investment in their extensive Delphi code base behind.

Hydra – provided in one SKU for Delphi, .NET and Island – enables you to keep your investment in your existing native Delphi code base, while at the same time opening your applications to managed plugins. This allows new development to happen in .NET, for example using C#, Oxygene, Visual Basic.NET or any other language available for .NET.

At the same time, the existing code can be kept and maintained in Delphi, and both parts can contribute to what appears to the end user as a single, unified application.

This makes it possible to employ new and emerging .NET technologies within your existing Delphi-based application frame. For example, you might decide to implement fancy diagrams using the hardware-accelerated Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) introduced in .NET 3.0 (as in the example shown on the left) or XE2's new FireMonkey. Or maybe you want to leverage technologies such as LINQ in your non-visual data processing code and show the results in your Delphi app.

Hydra is also helpful for migrating applications to .NET altogether, in a step-by-step fashion. Developers can start by modularizing their existing Win32 code base and extend it with .NET code or port selective modules over to .NET, where it makes most sense (for example those modules that still see most active development and would benefit most from using new, .NET-based development technologies).

Additional Information