Régys Borges da SilveiraBooks
Software Engineering
Your system does not need a rewrite to deserve a future.
Delphi Vivo
How to modernize existing systems without rewriting everything
Restore your ability to evolve Delphi systems through small, verifiable, and reversible changes.
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This book is currently available in Brazilian Portuguese.
About the book
A complete view of the book.
Delphi Alive presents a path between standing still and rewriting everything. Starting with the problems found in systems that sustain real operations, the book shows how to diagnose dependencies, restore builds, protect behavior, and create the conditions for changes to become small, verifiable, and reversible again.
The journey covers compiler upgrades, VCL, FireDAC, Firebird, DUnitX, separation of responsibilities, APIs, CI/CD, observability, security, and rollback. Instead of pursuing a distant ideal architecture, it teaches progressive modernization that preserves value and continuity while the codebase regains its ability to evolve.
The challenge
Does this situation sound familiar?
Delphi systems support entire operations, yet each change becomes more expensive. Old versions, abandoned components, fragile builds, and scattered rules turn evolution into a risk.
The book’s approach
A path from intention to practice.
Modernize progressively: understand the legacy, protect behavior, and regain the ability to change without interrupting the product in pursuit of an ideal architecture.
“Between standing still and rewriting everything, there is another path.”
By the end of the book, you will be able to:
✓Diagnose risks and blocking dependencies
✓Create reproducible builds
✓Protect behavior with DUnitX
✓Move rules out of Forms and DataModules
✓Introduce boundaries and APIs deliberately
✓Structure CI/CD, rollback, and observability
Questions that guide the reading
Answers begin with the right questions.
Questions explored through context, criteria, and examples.
What should be modernized first without interrupting the product?
How can tests be introduced into code that was not designed for testing?
When should an API be extracted—and when is the simpler solution better?
Inside the book
A structured journey that helps you move forward.
Concepts and applications presented in a coherent sequence.
Legacy diagnosis
Map value, dependencies, fragilities, and risks before deciding what to change.
Delphi 13 and VCL
Update compiler and interface while preserving behavior and delivery capability.
FireDAC and Firebird
Restore data access through controlled connections, transactions, and migrations.
Testing and refactoring
Create test seams and extract rules gradually without paralyzing the product.
CI/CD and observability
Automate builds, delivery, telemetry, and safe rollback.
Security and AI
Reduce the attack surface and use AI to support understanding, never replace verification.
What makes this book different
Depth to understand. Clarity to keep moving forward.
Incremental modernization instead of a full rewrite
Small, verifiable, and reversible changes
Delphi 13, VCL, FireDAC, and Firebird in real scenarios
Build, testing, observability, and rollback treated together
Who this book is for
Knowledge that becomes action.
Teams responsible for business-critical Delphi systems will find a direct approach connected to concrete problems.
✓ Maintainers of Delphi systems✓ Product teams✓ Architects and technical leaders✓ Companies with legacy systems
Before you begin
What you need to benefit from the book
✓Experience maintaining or evolving software
✓Examples use Delphi, while the modernization reasoning applies to other legacy systems
An informed choice
This may not be the right book if…
—Readers looking to justify a rewrite without diagnosis
—Readers expecting one modernization recipe for every legacy system
Book readers
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How to modernize existing systems without rewriting everything
Print edition ISBN: 978-65-02-31858-4Keep reading
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