Possible to embed WinForms into a VCL Delphi application?

3
votes

We have a VCL Delphi 2005 application, and would like to use DevExpress's XtraReports components, which is for .NET. Is it possible to use it without converting the VCL Delphi application?

Perhaps by converting the components as COM objects, or creating a WinForms application, and somehow embed the form into a VCL form?

Doesn't sound too easy, but just want to know what possible solutions are available.

3
winformsdelphi
You should not; An reporting engine benefits allot from tight integration into your Delphi environment. There are multiple, very competent, native report generators for Delphi, including Fast Report. If you absolutely need to use XtraReports you might as well convert your application to full .NET code: You'd be paying the price for The Framework anyway, you might as well use it. – Cosmin Prund
Dev.Express has a very good reporting engine nativally written in Delphi, why don't you use this ? – Edelcom
@Edelcom, can you please provide a link to Delphi's reporting engine? I see they have a Printing component, but don't see a reporting one. – Robo
Sorry, I did mean the Printing component, which is very soffisticated - anything you can display in a Dev.Express (and Delphi) component, get's printed , you can set all page elements, headers, footers, page layout and so on ... I myself use components and code I developed myself using html as report language and the HtmlViewer, do I stopped using all the different report components many years ago. Amazing what you can do with html. – Edelcom

3 Answers

5
votes

Robo, you can use the RemObjects Hydra 3.0 components, to integrate Delphi and .Net technologies using plugins.

7
votes

Yes, its possible. You need to host the CLR from your Delphi app to do it.

There are some examples on MSDN on how to do this (the examples are using C++ though, so you would need to translate)

Or you could use the Jedi jclClrHost unit from the JEDI site. (see this question for some details)

0
votes

This is a bad idea. Yes you can do this. No you should not.

First look at Developer Express "Express Printing System", and Fast Reports. The first is a document/component print solution, the best one out there, and the latter is the best database reporting component set out there, which also handles non-database (code-based) reporting/printing with great flexibility and style.

I have first-hand experience using Express Printing System to print spreadsheet documents that are based on Developer Express Spreadsheet component, and the combination is very powerful, and easy to use. Both Developer Express and Fast Reports have very active development, and good technical support.