Deploy\share a Delphi application

0
votes

Probably a noob question so bear with me...

I need help to "release" my delphi application. It's a fully written Delphi application that uses an Access Database. I just need a way to create an exe file or anything of that sort so that I can put it on a usb and run it on another PC with connected, working database tables.

Any help is appreciated

2
ms-accessdelphirad
You need to deploy and install Access on computers without Access. Search for "Access Redistributable" components. – Victoria
FWIW, What you're trying to do is make a fully portable application / database combo. This is possible, but Access certainly isn't the best choice for portability. Each computer would require Access, as Victoria said. In fact, Microsoft themselves say for the Access Redistributable: "This download will install a set of components that can be used to facilitate transfer of data between 2010 Microsoft Office System files and non-Microsoft Office applications." Having to install anything is not the right route for portability. – Jerry Dodge
As @Jerry Dodge pointed out relying on third-party components present on the machine your application is running on is not optimal for portable applications. For scenarios like this you are more likely to invest time on creating an installer or software package that will contain everything needed. The typical Setup.exe that contains third-party components, can verify if they are present, and will otherwise install them. – nil
Do you not know how to copy a file to a USB drive? – David Heffernan
@Lex, consider to use Firebird or SQLite as a database to get better results in terms of portability. – Marcodor

2 Answers

2
votes

If you're asking what you need to deploy, then you can get away with just copying the executable and the .mdb file into any folder or onto a USB drive.

It's been a while since I've deployed an application with an Access database, but I believe that the database engine is still installed by default along with Windows, so you don't need to worry about any other prerequisites.

0
votes

Putting the Application on USB and run it from anywhere without running some installer means portable application.

This accordingly means you should consider and assure "portable" feature when you develop and compile it.

Some things to take into consideration:

  • Perform pre-requisites checks at the application start-up
  • If not all pre-req are installed, like Access Runtime, treat it accordingly or install it silently
  • Connect to the Access database after all checks in run-time
  • Keep all configuration files on USB if you need persistent settings across devices
  • Working with DBs on USB sticks, may affect performance due to its slowness

Beside portable, a regular application setup can be built using an installer like InnoSetup, with automatic installation of all dependencies. But this will deploy the application on running machine.