Sorry for being a bit harsh, but every time I fix an IDE bug or make the IDE faster, I’m flooded with mails (and comments) asking for my assistance in fixing RTL, VCL, IDE and compiler bugs. Some even ask for helping them with their current problems. No, I don’t work for Embarcadero, to who you should send all your bug fix requests. And beside my Internet life I have a read life and a real job. Fixing Delphi bugs and improving its performance is one of my hobbies. But that doesn’t mean that I will fix everybody’s pet bug.
I fix the bugs that affect myself at home or at work. And I can’t fix all bugs that I find. Some aren’t (from my point of view) as easy to fix as others. And because it is my spare time, I decide if I want to fix a bug.
Your pet peeves and mine overlap, so I really appreciate all of your effort.
Thanks.
No worries about being a bit harsh. This just needs to be said.
Thanks for your efforts.
No problems ! Sometimes things must be told the hard way 🙂
Anyway, thank you for all you did !
Harsh? not at all. My suggestion, consider the requests fan mail rather than a burden and file them accordingly.
I have written several free tools for the general populace that inevitably lead to a zillion emails flooding in with requests, but I keep my sanity with the belief that every request means somebody likes/loves my product enough to want to make it better. Your case is quite unusual but still a point worth considering.
I wish I had your problems, Cameron. Right now I think I have a grand total of three people I ever hear anything from on my personal projects…
Maybe those projects have become too personal ?
I agree with Cameron. Your words are not harsh at all, just the facts. And I think Cameron has a good suggestion. Just do what 37Signals does with feature requests: ignore them and/or say no until frequency of a request makes it “stick” in your mind. Then still say no, unless you think it is worth implementing.
thanks for all your work
Just keep up the good work. Really impressed by the quality of what you produce having in mind the way you actually do those fixes.
Andy
one word only: THANKS!!!!!
I guess that’s what it means to be popular. And want it or not, you deserve the superstar status with your work on Delphi.
Wait till you get the paparazzi on your back… :-p
Seriously, your tools are the first things I install on a new Delphi installation, followed by GExperts and the rest. So, big thanks for making my life easier everyday.
+1. Other day I was talking here with some colleagues about Nick Hodges let go and some asked me “who??”. The same guys know about “Andreas, that german guru that fix EMBT bugs”! So I guess that it is just the price of the fame. 🙂
Best regards and thanks!
Your Tools and Fixes are the first things I install right after Installation of Delphi. Without these Tools, my Delphi feels really naked 🙂
It’s time to thank you for your unbelievable work in your spare time to contribute such Fixes and Tools to make a really good Product even better… I wish Embarcadero would have a lot such genius Fellows to make Delphi the Nr. 1 in the Programming Market…
Really good work, I appreciate that and I hope you could separate between everyones bug fix requests and good Comments for your work. Please contribute your good work to the Delphi Community, your work is way more loved you can imagine. As Francois says, you are the really Superstar in the Community. You are the Delphi Speed-Hunter !
First to say: thank’s for sharing your bug fixes. I never sent you a email nor asked for fixes in comments. If you bother to reply the emails, offer people asking for fixes consulting services. Who knows, maybe your next million comes from doing this. 😀
Andy,
Your efforts are much appreciated. Pity people don’t realise that they are getting something great for a very good price namely *free*. Not to mention that for some of us still stuck supporting Delphi 6 that your IDE fixes have made things a lot more pleasant seeing as though CodeGear / Embacadero have long since forgotten us. 🙂
Basically you’ve got a reputation for fixing problems Embarcadero doesn’t even admit exists let alone seem to have a clue how to fix. That people beseach you to fix the bugs that bedevil them is something of a compliment.
It is, however, also a sign that your best efforts are just as closed as those of Embarcadero. No one else can help with the work you have started.
I know, you have mentioned in past that you somehow got burned in a previous open source adventure (although the details are unclear to me), and you have no interest in it.
However when you mix all the details together, you are likely to continue to get people requesting bugs in the hopes that they also bother you and that you might fix them. In this case, you might be suffering from your success.
Don’t worry about it.
I’m always appreciate for your efforts.
Hello Andy, just spam the e-mails that are not fix-related and your done with it! Don’t get mad, get even 😉
Send bugs to Embarcadero? Use qc.Embarcadero.com
A never ending Story of closed source Software. ;/
Our central heating boiler has just packed up, I don’t suppose you could possibly….? – nah!
Andy, your efforts are much appreciated by me and many others. And now you’ve achieved immortality in a Verity Stob article as well! http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/05/verity_stob_stack_overflow/page2.html
Sometimes it is good or necessary to make things clear :-).
Personally I’m also interested in the technical details of your fixes, because I like to learn from it and be able to make my own fixes too.
You’ve said before, you do not want to make it open source (which I can understand). But this way you are the only (?) one (able to) making these fixes. So some kind of knowledge sharing would be good for every one, because more people can make these fixes.
However, making these fixes should NOT be necessary, but be done by Embarcadero!
Yes, I’m also interested in the details, however it’s OK to get the compiled fix also 😉
You need a good understanding of Delphi/C++Builder generated assembler code (what isn’t that hard because those compiler can’t generate code that is optimized for CPU’s after Pentium Pro). You need a hex editor like HxD, you need a (self written) tool to extract the method names and relative virtual addresses (rva) from the jdbg files. You need Delphi/C++Builder’s debugger and the F12 key (disabled by default in Vista and 7).
And a lot of time, ideas and luck to find what you are looking for.
Stop Whining………
😉
Why can’t we whine, Tim? :p
PS, I really hope that Aussie ironic humor translates
There is something that bugs me, in Delphi 2010 if you go to Help->About Embarcadero Delphi you get the About form, now if you keep “ALT” key down and type “TEAM” you will get a list of people that works/ed on Delphi IDE and/or compiler, if you look closely you will see Andreas Hausladen, but you Andy said “No, I don’t work for Embarcadero, to who you should send all your bug fix requests.” — now I don’t understand 😛
P.S. I know your giving your fixes for free, however I don’t understand this…
Here’s a link http://yfrog.com/fyaltteamp
On this list is also Chad Hower (Indy Components). So not everybody on this list works for Embt.
Interesting… I understand exactly nothing now… 😛
Hi Andy, don’t care out of your scope, you are doing good things. Thanks for all you did.
Just wanted to add my voice n’ say thanks for a great product.
Stu.
Dear Andy, this is 1st time I have ever commented on your site/blog and I want to commend you for your great work and express my most deepest appreciation for all that you do for your “users.”
Since I am the technical expert/geek at my office I can somewhat relate to your feelings. I was being constantly bombarded with “Hey, can you help with this, or that, or how do you do this, or that…” It became very disruptive to my work and when I write software I prefer not to be interrupted because IT IS complex work.
At any rate, after I asked nicely – many times, in person and via email. I finally told the “vampires” that I am not their personal “Google!” And it is very, very difficult to concentrate on my work when you are asking me how do something in Outlook or Word, for example. So, now they only come to me with the difficult, relevant problems they have.
Sometimes is just has to be said – no matter how harsh is may seem (which I don’t think you are being harsh at all).
But, with your visibility and the anonymousness nature of the Internet, I can only imagine how it is for you.
But, one thing, I have alway thought you worked for “Delphi.” Hahah!!! How else could anyone know as much as you do about the Delphi compilers. Maybe, you ARE that good…
-Rob
To cut the long story short… THANKS!
My thanks to you as well.
One question remains. If DDevExtensions fails to load with XE Update 1, how about IDE Fix Pack?
DDevExtensions doesn’t fail to load. It loads but the copy protection seems to check the machine code of the running process. And my hooks aren’t the “original” code.
IDE Fix Pack works with Delphi XE Update 1.