David E. Cornelius is the author of Fearless Cross-Platform Development with Delphi, we got the chance to sit down with him and find out more about his experience of writing with Packt.
Q: What is/are your specialist tech area(s)?
David: Software development for Windows, Web, and Mobile using Delphi
Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?
David: Packt contacted me to ask if I wanted to write the book; I structured it to be a book that would have liked to have before writing this book!
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
David: I researched blogs, forums, wikis, and other Delphi books all throughout the writing of this book.
Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?
David: Some of the challenges I faced were in finding information on how to use some of the techniques I wanted to write about that were new to me. I also had trouble getting Bluetooth to work on some devices and learning how to establish certificates for deploying to app stores.
Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
David: The Delphi programming techniques I shared are fairly mature but still getting better with every release. As technology continues to evolve, Delphi will also continue to grow and support new devices and paradigms to meet the needs of today’s developers.
Q. Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
David: This book lifts the reader gently from the confines of Windows development and presents multiple ways to work with other platforms with usable examples that tie in with each other. Too often, books have many small, isolated examples that make it hard to relate to a big picture. I spent extra time building a complete app that spans multiple chapters.
Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?
David: There are many things you need to know when building software for multiple platforms and this book will help you understand them and upgrade your Delphi programming experience to work in today’s diverse technological arena.
Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?
David: Never stop learning! Change happens, learn to love it and embrace it!
Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?
David: “Coding in Delphi and Beyond” – https://corneliusconcepts.tech
Q. Can you share any blogs, websites, and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
David: The three most important web spaces for Delphi programmers are: 1) The Delphi DocWiki: http://docwiki.embarcadero.com, 2) Embarcadero’s blog: https://blogs.embarcadero.com, and 3) The International Delphi Community, Delphi-PRAXiS: https://en.delphipraxis.net
Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?
David: The editors at Packt have been wonderful to work with, guiding me through the process of writing my first book, and patiently waiting for my submissions. I would highly recommend them and would be glad to work with them again in the future.
Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?
David: I participate in so many tech groups it’s hard to keep up! To name a few: Delphi-PRAXis, Facebook Delphi Developers Group, a Discord chat group, Reddit, and check StackOverflow once in a while. I also belong to a local computer consultant organization (occa.org) and I’m the coordinator for the local Delphi user group (odug.org)
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
David: I follow some key people on Twitter and LinkedIn and when there’s something interesting I’ll follow links and read about it. But that’s not really a “tech journal” is it? I think Wired magazine has been my favorite for a long time, it’s the only magazine I actually pay money for a subscription but I also follow articles from The Verge, PCWorld, BleepingComputer, TechRepublic, ZDNet, TechCrunch, and The Onion.
Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?
David: I started by looking at other books and thinking about what kind of book would help me. Some books are reference books where you can pick and choose chapters to read when you need to learn something specific. Mine is more of a learning process, each chapter builds on previous ones. This helped me advance through the topics toward more difficult subject matter without the need to re-explain techniques. I would often work on client projects during the day and write in the evenings and weekends.
Q. What is the one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?
David: First, you must be interested and passionate about your writing. When explaining technical concepts, use an intense curiosity to figure out how things work. As you explore, listen to yourself asking questions, then write about those questions and their answers.
You can find David’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here
