[fpc-devel] what fpc is good for?

[Graeme Geldenhuys]

On 5/12/07, Bisma Jayadi <bisma at brawijaya.ac.id> wrote:
>
> Nicely put. ;) I've found it has good points on some arguments. It's good to be
> considered. :)
>

Everybody is entitled to their opinion.   I am allowed mine and
totally disagree with his statement about GUI's not being used on any
other platform than Windows. And that FPC and Lazarus cannot be used
for decent GUI applications.

Our development team at Master Maths are busy rewritting our 3rd major
version of our flagship product using FPC and Lazarus. Been working on
it for over 1.5 years now and it isn't a small 'toy' project!  Also it
has to be cross platform (Linux and Windows) so Delphi could not be
used!    Our product consists of 4 applications all GUI based, talking
to a backend Firebird RDMS. The product is a CBT system with Centre
Admin side and Accounting module and the content it displays to
learners are being designed using Adobe (Macromedia) Flash and has a
size of around 7+Gig covering school grades from 1 though 12. We also
have authors busy with the Science modules now.

Our product is being used by 200+ franchisees and a few schools.  Our
current v2 system can only run on Windows and considering that every
centre has 25+ computers, that's a lot of Micro$oft tax that they have
to pay. Also they need a MS server license which adds a lot more to
the cost.

We are in the process of switching all those 200+ centres to Linux
which will give them a significant money saving. No more costs for
server software, licensing, upgrades, etc...  All this made possible
by using FPC and Lazarus - and all GUI based applications.

Our product can also be used as a 'distance learning' product, where
students can purchase a Maths Grade CD/DVD licensed for 1 year. They
can then use that CD at home, be it on a Windows or Linux PC. Again a
GUI only product.  Mouse clicks are easier that command line
interfaces!

We are just one such South African company - there are many more.
South African is a big sponsor of Open Source software and the Linux
platform.

Just my 2c worth...


Regards,
   - Graeme -