Teach Yourself Borland C++ in 14 Days - portal

C++Builder Extensions to C++
compile your code. If, however, you want to use the RAD aspect of
C++Builder, you will have to accept the extensions C++Builder makes
to C++. In the long run I’m confident you will find the extensions
something you can easily live with.
Language Extensions: The Great Debate
Back in 1994 or so Borland began working on a RAD tool that they codenamed Delphi. Once
it was decided that the component model architecture was the best way to implement RAD,
it was then necessary to settle on the programming language that would be the heart of the
system. At that time Borland was the only compiler vendor mass marketing a Pascal compiler.
They were known as the company that produced the best Pascal tools. If you were a Pascal
programmer, you probably used Borland’s TurboPascal in one flavor or another. Borland
more or less “owned” Pascal. While Borland didn’t own the Pascal language in a legal sense,
they no doubt felt that because of their position in the Pascal world, they could take
considerable liberties in implementing new language features and enhancements. In addition,
there was no Pascal standards committee to deal with. So Borland created Delphi.
Before Delphi came into being, Borland had already been modifying the Pascal language in
positive ways. For instance, Borland had already extended Pascal by creating a new language
called ObjectPascal. It could be said that ObjectPascal is to Pascal what C++ is to C.
ObjectPascal added classes to Pascal, thereby hurling Pascal into the world of object-oriented
programming languages. When Delphi came along, it was easy enough to add new keywords
and new language behavior to deal with the component model. Keywords such as published
and property were added, as were others. This allowed Borland to fully implement the power
of the component model. By modifying the Pascal language to suit the component model,
Borland was able to do RAD right. In essence, the ObjectPascal language was modified as
needed when design issues came up during the development of the then-unknown product
called Delphi. The result is a language that works seamlessly with the PME model (the
component model).
While modifying Pascal could be considered a bold step for Borland, it was not without
precedent. Previously Microsoft had taken the BASIC language and modified it to produce
a new language called Visual Basic. This new language was nearly unrecognizable when
compared to the BASIC language that served as its base. While it could be said that Microsoft
took a risk in modifying BASIC to create Visual Basic, Microsoft is after all Microsoft, and
they could afford to take the risk. The BASIC language was not being used to any great degree
and so there was little or no hue and cry when Microsoft came out with Visual Basic (there
was hue and cry, but it was not of the negative type). Borland took more of a risk in modifying
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