The certification program tests your knowledge in Delphi, we recommend you to use Delphi XE or XE2 release in order to be prepared to answers questions related with the IDE, generics, anonymous methods, DataSnap, unicode, and other areas, which was implemented/improved after 2009 releases.

[box type=”alert” style=”rounded”]You can buy the Delphi Certification from our online shop or local partner, If you purchase or upgrade to Delphi XE2 or RAD Studio XE2 by September 30th 2011, you can get a free code to take the Delphi Developer Certification exam.[/box]

The Delphi Certification program allows you to distinguish yourself from all the other professionals in this increasingly competitive marketplace.

Andreano Lanusse | Technology and Software Development Follow me on Twitter: @andreanolanusse

Exceptions are exceptional conditions that require special handling; the exception handling provides a standard way of dealing with errors. Using exception handling you will be able to manage errors when it happen and decide what to do.

The RAD Studio documentation has a specific topic about Exception Handling, take sometime and read this topic, it will help you to answer the exam questions related with exceptions.

You may think because you use try..except..end, you know enough to answer the exam questions, I would say NO. Since we have a large pool of questions, the exam will ask you about different aspects of exception handling, like: Re-raising Exceptions, Silent Exceptions and more.

Silent Exceptions is a way to raise a exception without showing the error message, while the regular exception show the error message, but is not only this.

• Silent exceptions all descend from the standard exception type EAbort.
• Delphi has a procedure called Abort, which automatically call raise a EAbort exception

function GetFileList(const Path: string): TStringList;
var
  I: Integer;
  SearchRec: TSearchRec;
begin
  Result := TStringList.Create;
  try
    try
       I := FindFirst(Path, 0, SearchRec);
       while I = 0 do
       begin
         Result.Add(SearchRec.Name);
         I := FindNext(SearchRec);
       end;
     finally
       FindClose(SearchRec);
     end;
  except
    Result.Free;
    raise;
  end;
end;

GetFileList creates a TStringList object, and then uses the FindFirst and FindNext functions to initialize it. If the initialization fails – for example because the search path is invalid, or because there is not enough memory to fill in the string list – GetFileList needs to dispose of the new string list, since the caller does not yet know of its existence. For this reason, initialization of the string list is performed in a try…except..statement. If an exception occurs, the statement’s exception block disposes of the string list, then re-raises the exception.

The exam goes beyond of the two aspects mentioned here. The following three links will help you to learn more about exception handling:

• RAD Studio documentation – Exception Handling
• Delphi Basic – Exception handling in your code
• Delphi Basic – Raise

Andreano Lanusse | Technology and Software Development Follow me on Twitter: @andreanolanusse

Presentation Slides

Webinar Replay

All the Certification Program information is available at the Certification Center, as well as the study guides and FAQ.

• Delphi Developer
• Delphi Master Developer
• Certification FAQs
• Free Exam Offer for Delphi XE and RAD Studio XE Users
• Purchase an Exam Code – here
• Contact a Delphi Certification Center to take the Delphi Master Developer Certification exam, find one here

Andreano Lanusse | Technology and Software Development Follow me on Twitter: @andreanolanusse

Every Delphi Developer should know that every single class has a Constructor method, which is used to create the object. The RAD Studio documentation describe the Constructor as:

A constructor is a special method that creates and initializes instance objects. The declaration of a constructor looks like a procedure declaration, but it begins with the word constructor.

It is conventional to call the constructor Create, a class can have more than one constructor, but most of the time we just see one. Since what define the class constructor is the keyword constructor, you can call it whatever you want. There are many situations where you will need multiple constructors, in general we don’t use multiples names, but the capability to give different names for the constructor could help to have a better understating of the code. The following example has 7 different constructors using three different names Create, New and Update:

  TMyClass = class
  public
    name   : string;
    constructor Create; overload;   // This constructor uses defaults
    constructor Create(name : string); overload;
    constructor Create(name : string; age : Integer); overload;
    constructor New(name : string);overload;
    constructor New(name : string; age : Integer);overload;
   constructor Update(name : string);overload;
   constructor Update(name : string; age : Integer);overload;

  end;

The TMyClass could be instantiated using one of the following constructor:

  TMyClass.Create;
  TMyClass.Create('Mike');
  TMyClass.Create('Mike', 50);
  TMyClass.New('Mike');
  TMyClass.New('Mike', 50);
  TMyClass.Update('Mike');
  TMyClass.Update('Mike', 30);

There are more to learn about Constructors and I suggest the following links:

• RAD Studio Documentation Method Topic
• Delphi Basic – Constructor

Andreano Lanusse | Technology and Software Development Follow me on Twitter: @andreanolanusse

In order to encourage others, I decided to start writing tips for the Delphi Certification Program, which will help you during your preparation for the exam. The Delphi Developer Certification Study Guide is the official guide and provide all of the information you need to be ready for the exam. My tips are a complementary material and doesn’t replace the Study Guides.

I won’t be posting questions and/or answers related with the exam. My goal here is to help you to be ready for the exam, learn more about Delphi, be a better developer, improve your skills and chances to become Delphi Developer Certified.

To start, let’s learn about System.RawByteString type and improve our knowledge on Unicode support, the exam may ask you directly or indirectly about this matter.

System.RawByteString type

RawByteString is one of the new String types introduced in Delphi 2009 because of the Unicode support. RawByteString is an AnsiString with no code page set by default. Each string in Delphi is associated with a code page. The runtime library uses this information to safely convert and manipulate international character sets. RawByteString can be used as a variable type to store some BLOB data and should be use as a code page agnostic parameter to a method or function.

The RAD Studio documentation describes RawByteString as:

Enables the passing of string data of any code page without doing any codepage conversions.

RawByteString enables the passing of string data of any code page without doing any codepage conversions. The purpose of RawByteString is to reduce the need for multiple overloads of procedures that read string data. This means that parameters of routines that process strings without regard for the string’s code page should typically be of type RawByteString.

RawByteString should only be used as a parameter type, and only in routines which otherwise would need multiple overloads for AnsiStrings with different codepages. Such routines need to be written with care for the actual codepage of the string at run time.

In general, it is recommended that string processing routines should simply use “string” as the string type. Declaring variables or fields of type RawByteString should rarely, if ever, be done, because this practice can lead to undefined behavior and potential data loss.

Below three links I recommend you read:

• Delphi Unicode Migration for Mere Mortals: Stories and Advice from the Front Lines
• Using RawByteString Effectively
• RAD Studio Documentation – String Types (Delphi) – already mentioned on the Study Guide

Reading this information you will be able to answer questions related with RawByteString and Unicode, and the most important learn more about Delphi.

Andreano Lanusse | Technology and Software Development Follow me on Twitter: @andreanolanusse

Study Guides are available for each exam; the study guide reviews the topic areas of the certification test and provides links to online learning resources as well as a list of books on Delphi. For both exams you have 60 minutes to answers 60 questions, at the end you will know your score and if you pass you will receive your certificate in PDF format via email.

The Delphi Developer exam costs $49 USD, is un-moderated; it means you can take the exam from anywhere.

The Delphi Master Developer Certification is moderated; you must choose from a list of Certification Centers to arrange for testing and cost only $149 USD.

Delphi Developer Certification

The Delphi Certified Developer exam tests general knowledge of Delphi programming concepts, including language syntax, programming techniques and using the IDE and database development.

If you’re a registered Delphi XE user or RAD Studio XE user, you are eligible to take the one Delphi Developer Certification exam free of charge, more information on the Certification Center Page.

The exam is organized in 12 sections:

• Delphi Fundamentals
• Data types, variables, and Constants
• Procedures and Functions
• Classes and Objects
• Object Interfaces
• Generics, Attributes and Anonymous Method
• Database Concepts
• Standards Routines and I/O
• Libraries and Packages
• Memory Management
• Exceptions and Assertions
• Database Concepts

Delphi Master Developer Certification

The Delphi Certified Master Developer exam tests advanced knowledge of Delphi programming concepts, fundamental and advanced Delphi language syntax, programming techniques, using the IDE, building projects and groups, component use and development, and experience in architecting and building desktop, client/server, Internet and multi-tier applications.

• Delphi XE Interface and Configuration
• Delphi VCL and RTL
• Working with Components
• Delphi Language and Object-Oriented Programming
• Database Concepts/Data Access Techniques
• dbExpress
• DataSnap
• Writing DLLs and Packages
• Libraries and Packages
• Windows Concepts
• Component Design Basics
• Internet Programming
• XML

Certification Study GuidesMy recommendation for who is looking to became Delphi Certified is to start reading the Study Guide, it is your starting point in order to became Delphi Certified Developer or Master Developer.In case you don’t know what exam to take first, my recommendation is to start with the Developer Certification, it will give you a good idea about the whole process, from preparation to the time you take exam. If you prefer you can go directly to the Master Developer Certification, which cover an advanced aspects of the Delphi development, but it will request additional knowledgement and more time for the preparation.In both cases our training partners offer a number of different training that will help you to be prepared for the certification. Passing the exam you will be able to use respective Delphi Certified logo on your email signature, website, business card, etc, and other benefits. Certification CenterThe Certification Center Page contain all the information you need. I encourage you to visit the following links, and please read the Study Guides and FAQ, if after that you still having question, please send your question to certification@embarcadero.com.

• Certification Center Home Page
  • Delphi Developer Certification Page
  • Delphi Master Developer Certification Page
  • Delphi Certification FAQs
  • Where to buy

Certification WebinarOn June 21st I will be presenting the Webinar about the Certification Program in english, three different times:

• 6:00am PDT / 9:00am EDT / 3:00pm CET
• 11:00am PDT / 2:00pm EDT
• 5:00pm PDT / June 22 10:00am Australian EST

On this webinar I will cover:

• Overview of the Delphi Certification program
• Delphi Developer and Delphi Master certification levels
• Preparing for the certification exam
• Tips for successfully completing the exam
• Benefits of being a certified developer
• Interactive Q&A session with attendees

You can register for this webinar HERE

Start preparing for the certification, have fun and good luck in your exam.

Andreano Lanusse | Technology and Software Development Follow me on Twitter: @andreanolanusse