I've been using Delphi for almost 20 years now, I have worked in various industries and have also used other languages and IDEs like C#, Xcode, VB.Net, but while developing in other languages I have always been doing something with Delphi and I am a big fan of it. There are many reasons why I enjoy and have a preference to develop some applications in Delphi, but recently I have one problem with it.
The problem I have with Delphi is its future and the question that gets raised 'how easy is it to employ new developers?'. In the UK it is almost impossible to employ a good Delphi developer and can take years to find one. The other option is to employ a developer with good OOP skills and knowledge of a similar language like C# and for them to learn the language (currently no Pluralsight courses). The problem with employing a developer who does not know Delphi is they do not want to learn Delphi, it is not a big enough carrot on the stick and salaries in the UK are less than other languages.
What I would like to know are the selling points of Delphi to a young person who knows OOP and has some experience in software development. I asked myself the question, 'if I was young and needed to choose a language and development environment, would I invest my future in Delphi?' The short and current answer is 'No'.
Serving my thoughts and experiences of developing software with Embarcadero Delphi
