Delphi XE2: Why FireMonkey apps are HD?

7
votes

According to release notes of Delphi XE2. FireMonkey may create HD application. HD stands for High Definition. Why HD? Can't VCL application create HD apps as FireMonkey?

3
delphidelphi-xe2firemonkey
@David: In the File -> New menu, it is called "FireMonkey HD project". – Rudy Velthuis
I think it's a reference to iOS, the pre-iphone 4 devices have a lower resolution than the iphone4 and the ipad. The higher resolution is called HD in apple-speak. It's a hint that firemonkey allows you to write applications for the iOS 4+ and not just iOS 3. – Johan
The higher resolution display is actually called "Retina" in Apple speak. – Rudy Velthuis

3 Answers

15
votes

Here is the documentation on Firemonkey, from it you can see several features.

Compare normal TV to HD TV. Is like comparing the VCL to what Firemonkey can do. It's a Marketing term that I suspect will catch on as it, does highlight the power.

HD Applications refer many of the features of Firemonkey but the following stand out.

  • 2D Applications (VCL can do this)
  • 3D Applications (VCL can not do this)
  • Powerful Vector engine (VCL can not do this)
  • Leverages the GPU (Most of VCL does not do this)

The first paragraph of this above Doc page sums it up best.

FireMonkey leverages the graphics processing unit (GPU) in modern desktop and mobile devices to create visually engaging applications on multiple platforms, targeting the entire range from the personal to the enterprise

I Suspect more and more demo videos will appear over the next few weeks but the difference is significant when compared to the VCL.

13
votes

"HD" is really is just a marketing alias for "2D", because they wanted to convey something more than what the VCL provides.

And it does provide more, primarily because it is vector-based while the VCL is raster-based.

8
votes

All coordinates are in floating point precision while in the Standard VCL they are integer values. It perfectly makes sense: the definition is higher, so it's HD...as simple as that

In standard VCL app you can also have HD graphics but not without the use of a third-part graphic library such as Gdi+ or GLScene.