Developing Multi-Device Applications

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You can use RAD Studio on the Win32 platform to develop multi-device applications that run on other platforms.

Supported Platforms

RAD Studio supports multi-device application development for the following platforms:

  • 32-bit Windows
  • 64-bit Windows
  • macOS 64-bit (Intel)
  • macOS 64-bit (ARM)
  • 64-bit iOS Device
  • 32-bit Android
  • 64-bit Android
  • 64-bit Linux (only for console applications unless you use FmxLinux from GetIt)


All the platforms are supported by Delphi, while C++Builder supports 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, 64-bit iOS and 32-bit Android.

Supported Frameworks and Libraries

RAD Studio supports three major libraries and several platforms. The following table lists the target platforms supported by the libraries in RAD Studio:

The following table summarizes the platform support by the various libraries in RAD Studio:

   Library\Platform         Win32             Win64 (Delphi and C++)              macOS 64-bit (Intel) and macOS 64-bit (ARM)         iOS Device         Android         Linux    

FMX

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Supported only by FmxLinux from GetIt

RTL

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

VCL

Yes

Yes

Not supported

Not supported

Not supported

Not supported

Note: The table above is a high-level representation of library support for platforms. Some exceptions exist in RTL and VCL support for specific platforms.

Technical Advice

Advice on Android development

Android devices can be connected directly and are considerably faster than using the Android emulator.

Advice on macOS and iOS development

In most countries, developing for iOS and macOS requires Apple hardware to code sign native applications. This is due to EULA restrictions on the macOS that require it to run on Apple hardware. It’s not uncommon for a team of developers to share an Apple device and use VNC access or to rent a Mac in the cloud.

If developing from a laptop, many developers get a MacBook Pro and run a virtual machine for Windows (e.g., VMWare Fusion or Parallels). It is then possible to install a PA Server on the Mac and run a fast local connection to enable access to the iOS Simulator, to run and test iOS and macOS builds, and code sign applications on the Apple hardware.

Types of Multi-Device Applications You Can Create

  • Mobile apps that run on iOS and Android devices
  • FireMonkey (macOS 64-bit (Intel), macOS 64-bit (ARM), Win64 -- native Win32 is also supported)
  • VCL Forms (Delphi and C++ Win64)
  • DataSnap clients (macOS 64-bit (Intel), macOS 64-bit (ARM), Win64 -- native Win32 is also supported)
  • DataSnap servers (Windows, Linux)
  • DataSnap connectors (iOS Free Pascal, iOS Objective C, Blackberry Java, Android Java, Windows Phone 7 C#Silverlight)
  • Console applications
  • 64-bit Windows applications are considered cross-platform because the RAD Studio IDE is a 32-bit Windows application

Developing a Multi-Device Application

The basic development cycle for a multi-device application is as follows:

  1. Configure your development system and RAD Studio to support the target platform.
  2. In the IDE, create and configure a multi-device project:
    1. Add the target platform that you want.
    2. Activate the target platform.
    3. Configure the target platform with a connection profile and an SDK if needed.
      Note: If you use a connection profile, you can test the connection on the Connection Profile Manager page.
  3. Compile and build as usual.
  4. Debug using the integrated multi-device debugger.
    Keep in mind that running a multi-device application requires the IDE to deploy the application.
  5. Deploy your multi-device application.

Multi-Device Topics

See Also

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