XE2 Update #4 On The Horizon

19 Jan 2012 in Delphi, XE2 | 16 comments

The release notes for Update #4 have appeared online, signalling the imminent arrival no doubt of the update itself.

The good news if you are using FireMonkey is that this is a significant update, including functionality for printing.

The bad news is that like update #1, this update is not an incremental patch but seemingly will require a full uninstall and reinstall.

For update #1 there were legal/licensing issues that made this necessary. What is the excuse this time I wonder ?

Tags: Delphi, updates, xe2

16 comments

Lex Li on 19 Jan 2012 at 18:09

If you read from InstallAware blog, you will find more astonishing facts,

http://www.installaware.com/blog/?p=43
Miroslav Ondrisek on 19 Jan 2012 at 19:08

Quoting from Embarcadero web:
This update involves fully uninstalling and then reinstalling the product. We strongly encourage you to update as all future patches will be based on this build and this release will be the only way to get updates
(http://edn.embarcadero.com/article/41650)
Does Embarcadero know, that we are using 3rd party components and libraries and we are to re-install and re-configure them too??? Do they know, how much work and time it costs???
No more comments
1. WarrenP on 24 Jan 2012 at 02:24
  
  You can back up your local machine registry keys, and restore them, and indeed any delphi developer should know how to restore these critical settings. Not only for when you need to do a reinstall of delphi but also when you buy a new PC, or have to get a new developer started. Anybody who can’t do a reinstall without losing days of work, is simply put, incompetent.
  
  Warren
  1. Deltics on 24 Jan 2012 at 02:58
    
    @Warren: It’s not about the practicality of installing the update but the imposition of an unnecessarily (these days) cumbersome process. Time is literally money in this business and we pay handsomely enough for this software in the first place. It is not unreasonable to expect (especially when promised!!) that keeping the software up to date should not subsequently be an imposition on us.
    
    And considering it from a “health of the community” perspective, it’s quite simply not a “good look” for people looking at the current state of the Delphi tool chain – in this day and age, having to uninstall and reinstall in order to apply what should be a simple update looks positively antiquated. It is actually a greater imposition, at the most basic level, than installing an entirely new version, given that doing that does not require UNinstalling the previous version. Especially when you further consider that in that case you are getting far more for your efforts – an entirely new version of the product with presumably vastly more new features, rather than just bug fixes to existing ones.
    1. Miroslav Ondrisek on 27 Jan 2012 at 19:51
      
      Thanks Jolyon, your words should be carved in stone (which could be placed in front of company headquarters).
Miroslav Ondrisek on 19 Jan 2012 at 19:09

The quote from Embarcadero in my last comment was related to the Delphi XE2 Update #1 (not #4)…
LDS on 19 Jan 2012 at 21:04

Frankly, as much as I could dislike BorCodeDero, I dislike InstallAware more. Recently they sent to customers a mail about an ex-employee I would have not sent. Something alike that blog post.

And while Sinan Karaca complains about other companies, he often doesn’t look to behave better, see for example: http://msmvps.com/blogs/installsite/archive/2006/12/11/oops-they-did-it-again-installaware-quot-inspired-quot-by-competitor-s-web-site.aspx

Then I do not know if it is an InstallAware fault or an Embarcadero one. The only truth is the Delphi installer sucks, and each update is a nightmare.
Paul on 19 Jan 2012 at 21:28

I haven’t checked back, but I thought we had a “promise” that after update 1, there would not be the need to again uninstall / re-install the product ?

Depending on what is fixed in this release, they may find a body of the usser base skipping this one and waiting until ISO’s for update 5 , 6 or 7 become available i.e.. put off the re-install pain until it’s actually beneficial. If the reason for the uninstall turns out largely to be for the FireMonkey side of things and little is offered in the area of Win32 fixes, then we may well be in that camp.
1. Karl on 22 Jan 2012 at 21:05
  
  Can someone tell me what the acronym “ISO” means? I’ve seen it used elsewhere in the context of Delphi but I don’t recall it ever being explained.
  1. Deltics on 23 Jan 2012 at 07:31
    
    “ISO” simply stands for “International Organization for Standardization” (yes, I know – technically and officially it isn’t an acronym ).
    
    In the context used w.r.t Delphi installs, it refers to “ISO disc images” – a single file representation of the contents of a [data] CD or DVD which can be burned to a physical disc “as is”, or “mounted” and appear to the system as if it were a real CD/DVD in a drive.
    
    In this usage, “ISO image” or “ISO file” is really short hand for “ISO 9660 image file”, since ISO 9660 is the particular ISO standard relating to such data disc specifications.
    
    Obviously this isn’t specific to Delphi, but in the case of Delphi, as well as downloading an installer (which in turn may then download additional files during installation), the installer is (usually) made available in the form of an ISO which contains not just the installer but all the files that the installer may download during installation.
    
    Thus, by choosing to download that single ISO file, mounting it and installing from the “virtual” DVD that you then end up with, you can install without being connected to the internet (or the risk of the install failing/being interrupted due to connectivity problems).
    
    Product Activation still requires internet access of course, even when installing from an ISO image.
David M on 19 Jan 2012 at 23:34

“The bad news is that like update #1, this update is not an incremental patch but seemingly will require a full uninstall and reinstall.”

I don’t see that on that page. The closest I see is, “If you need to uninstall the update, you must uninstall the entire product and reinstall a full build. It is not possible to uninstall only the update.”

That’s only for uninstalling. The bits further above about using the update checker etc imply it will install as a normal update.

I think it might be better to wait until it’s actually released and you see its final official form before complaining about it.

Cheers,

David
1. Deltics on 20 Jan 2012 at 06:16
  
  @david m…
  
  ” Delphi and C++Builder XE2 Update 4 is a full inline update that requires uninstalling your existing RAD Studio product before installing the update. ”
  
  This at best is ambiguous and at the very least is quite different from the wording of previous incremental updates. And it does clearly state “requires uninstalling RAD Studio before installing the update”. You read this as saying something other than what it appears to ?
  1. David M on 21 Jan 2012 at 02:33
    
    You’re right, I completely didn’t see that! I only saw the bit I quoted. My apologies, I can see why you interpret it the way you do.
    
    I agree having to uninstall is a pain. But, if it’s required… what can you do? Better to have a better product than not, I think, and hopefully the effort for the benefits will be worth it.
    
    I’ll wait until it comes out
    
    Cheers,
    
    David
markus on 20 Jan 2012 at 00:23

Never buy the latest version, when new features are introduced. Buying D2009 was my lesson.
andrew on 24 Jan 2012 at 22:16

Buying D8 was my lesson.

But it depends on when the special update offers are made, and under what conditions. Knowing when to buy your next Delphi is an art form.
1. Deltics on 24 Jan 2012 at 22:31
  
  @andrew … or a lottery.