Regular updates and new features?

Hi Ray,
I'm not sure I understand your point.
Are you stopping the improvement and the new features of VCL product line like Kylix and FMX?
Are you going to produce a dashboard this year?
Is there a point for a VCL subscription?

Thanks,
Manolis Perrakis

Hello Ray

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. Unfortunately, your entire text reflects the past and regrettably but not the future. I stated in my original statement that updates are currently frozen for active VCL subscribers. Actually, as perennial VCL subscribers we expect regular bug fixes, hotfixes and of course "new" features.

You can think what you want about RAD Studio, Delphi and the VCL, but the fact is that after years of back and forth between Borland, Inprise, Codegear and now for a long time by Embarcadero the development is going on continuously. Of course the user base may be smaller, but there are other comparable component manufacturers who have managed to create a single code base (e. g. FNC etc.) for VCL and FMX at the same time. And thus have the flexibility to run on many cross-platforms (Windows, Android, iOS, Rasperry, Linux and more) as well.

All in all, it is very sad as a long time customer (I would like to say almost since the beginning of DevExpress) that the tree and its branch of VCL is no longer maintained, but rather pruned if not dying out in the area of DevExpress development planning. (Please forgive the bad metaphor).

The potential for VCL and FMX is huge and certainly brings in quite a bit of revenue from years of VCL subscriptions. Just compared to current performance, the profit is probably higher for DevExpress. Even though there are very likely fewer VCL subscribers. But the price compared to the current service has dropped a lot. Maybe the development team became even smaller or just currently non-existent.

Also some fellow sufferers in the comments may be right with their speculation that there is a connection with the current European situation and the current development progress of DevExpress in the VCL area. Especially if you currently look at the no longer monthly updates.

Open communication would certainly be beneficial here on the part of DevExpress. Therefore, once again great praise to you, that you take on the whole topic yourself through your contact and historical execution.

It would be nice if you could also tell us why there is currently such a bottleneck in bugfixes, hotfixes and new features. Maybe an open survey to all would be useful, so that you would find back on the right course?

Ray, we would also like to exchange ideas directly to overcome the hurdle of the current VCL problems. It would be very unfortunate if DevExpress takes a negative path in the area of VCL and FMX, because as you have already described, this is also an important part of the history of DevExpress.

Thank you for your attention and especially honesty!

Hi Ray,
First of all I would like to thank you for what you offered all these years.
I may have a suggestion.
I think that you cost to little to software companies that release products to a lot of users.
I think you should find a model and have a run time fee based on the end users.
Some companies do this, like crystal reports .

With the 20 years VCL development I think you deserve this.

Best Regards,
Manolis

5-10€ per end user per year and you will get millions.

Hello,

I am not a customer who is interested in FMX today, but if I understand, since in the past you have the wrong strategy with CLX now you don't develop new functions on Delphi? (this is not nice for us customers … but I can't even comment not knowing how important the market is to you).
What worries me a lot is the VLC component … in the last years there have been really slutty news (and there are many functions to do compared to the .NET component)
The new Chart is not complete and is still in BETA.
Requests for changes, sometimes even "simple" are (and not always processed) are implemented after years and we never know if they are accepted and how they are scheduled.
You do not have a roadmap after more than a month from the request.
Honestly, even the VCL part seems to be abandoned / kept to a minimum with few resources.
This is why my company (which has been renewing DevExpress for years) has started a replacement plan (today we have already start to replace the Maps(OpenLayers with EdgeBrowser) / Chart(TMS) / FlowChart(Cambridge flowchart with EdgeBrowser) (never any new function and improvement or fulfillment of a request).
Honestly, I'm sorry since I'm a fan of your work, but the slowness, lack of clarity or total lack of changes forced us to look for alternatives.
we also decided to replace the grid in the future (some colleagues have started testing with other libraries but it will be a longer job)

I continue to hope for your strategy change that will lead us to abandon these replacements and remain "happy customers of DevExpress"

best regards

@Manolis Perrakis

A pricing strategy based on end users is no longer appropriate. Especially with an annual update pricing strategy at a component developer, it must remain royalty free in the end. Anything else would be a step backwards.

@Alessandro Mancini

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you wholeheartedly. See also my detailed reasons above. The kind of lack of communication and minimal updates/features based on yearly costs has become a crisis for the future of VCL/FMX at DevExpress.

It's a real mockery that today I just received an email for the latest updates of the DevExpress Subscription of .NET and Co.

Ray, what can you do together here to get new momentum purely?

@MrDeveloper
I remember a phrase from Ray arguing to a developer that he makes money from Devexpress.
This is the real world.
I think Devexpress must realize how many millions of users use their components, see the competition and calculate a fee.
The development has costs. The companies find ways to earn money from their effort and hard job.
They are companies with thousands of users that have yearly fees and they use Devexpress Grids and other components.
Companies that have millions of Euro profits that cannot produce their own grids and are relying in Devexpress.

And the investment needed to abandon Devexpress components cannot be calculated.
The developers are decreasing because large companies take their place.
Therefore tying to get money only from the developers and especially VCL ones in this case will lead to the 'death' of the VCL development.

I think Devexpress should change their market strategy, make a survey, protect parts of their code and change their pricing policy along with offering new enchanchments and components like Dashboard and other new stuff.

Guys i think you missing the point …

Devexpress developers spent a lot (A LOT) of time for this FMX Grid.
This FMX Grid time cost from VCL Development.

I've renewed back due a 2 year absent because i believe and deserve it. (Yes i whine too but …)
So far our market is Windows and we should focus on that. FMX has it's own
problems and until Embarcadero fixes them it should put it aside.

As i see it cross platform eventually will go through wasm anyways. (wasm is the future web)

I guess VCL team now is focused on new features as long with DirectX support for all it's components.
Yes they have much more clients .NET so they have much more DevExpress developers to code but let's
face it's reality! (.NET developers vs Delphi Developers volume) If you don't like it learn C#!

IOW, we lost 2 year of new VCL stuff due FMX! stop whining and be a little patient :)
I hope they'll announce the new roadmap soon!

btw, @Ray sometimes what you think is not what market wants that's why i insisted a lot of times for a feature "Poll" for roadmap. Governance is the solution. IOW what our customers want (by voting) not DevExpress.

Thank you

Please provide us a clear statement what is a status of VCL components. If DevExpress plans to provide support and new features in future. And in what extent. I'm still waiting for hotfix for serious bug that was marked as fixed 3 weeks ago. In past it takes only few days. I postponed new release of our project for that. I need to know if I should still wait. If it take another day or month or…
If problem is caused by war, ok, I can understand that. But still need to know what to expect.

I agree with Charalampos, focus on VCL. There are several improvements to be implemented to try become close .net features

Kinda, sorta off topic but I noticed recently that the CrossVCL site has been updated to show that work is being done to get DevExpress controls working.

It's about time that DevEx told us what is going on!