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Embarcadero Updates C++ Builder for Windows 8
C++Builder XE3 implements a new native compiler architecture that supports development on both Windows 8 and Mac OS X PCs.
Embarcadero Technologies has updated its rapid application development platform, C++ Builder, to deliver applications natively to multiple devices via a common code base.
C++Builder XE3 implements a new native compiler architecture that supports development on both Windows 8 and Mac OS X PCs. The company plans to add support for Android ARM mobile devices in 2013.
With this release, the company is responding to the expanding diversification of client devices, which Embarcadero's senior vice president of marketing, Michael Swindell describes as "a seismic event with tremendous implications for software developers."
"The question for developers today is how to deliver applications across multiple devices including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android without compromising performance and user experience or radically increasing development time and cost," Swindell said in a statement. "This is the problem and opportunity driving our reinvention of the C++ platform. With C++Builder XE3, developers can build once and deploy natively across multiple platforms. As we add additional platforms to the solution, the benefit to the developer will continue to increase."
C++ doesn’t grab the headlines generated by Java or the latest dynamic scripter, but it's one of the leading development languages for commercial client and server software. The list of applications and system written in C++ includes Mac OS X, iOS, Oracle database, Microsoft’s Word and SQL Server, MySQL, Adobe Photoshop, and the Chrome and Firefox browsers. C++Builder is a rapid application development environment that was originally developed by Borland. It was initially a Windows dev platform.
C++ Builder XE3 comes with a new 64-bit compiler architecture designed to provide "some of the best C++11 language standards and library compliance in the industry," the company says. The compiler architecture "generates applications that can utilize more memory and data, and directly access 64-bit APIs, device drivers and system services, enabling developers to create higher performance, more capable and more powerful applications," the company says.
This release also includes an updated visual component library (VCL) for existing C++Builder customers that enables rapid 64-bit updates for millions of existing Windows applications.
The company is underscoring the new platform’s support for Windows-8-style user interface development for desktop applications, and its ability to support development of Mac apps that exploit the Retina Display.
The new dev platform is available now. More information is available on the company’s
Web site.
About the Author
John K. Waters is the editor in chief of a number of Converge360.com sites, with a focus on high-end development, AI and future tech. He's been writing about cutting-edge technologies and culture of Silicon Valley for more than two decades, and he's written more than a dozen books. He also co-scripted the documentary film Silicon Valley: A 100 Year Renaissance, which aired on PBS. He can be reached at [email protected].