Home Blogs David MillingtonHello from the new C++ Product Manager

Hello from the new C++ Product Manager

Posted by David Millington on Monday, 20 June 2016 in Programming

I'm David Millington, and I recently joined Embarcadero as the C++ Product Manager. I'm very pleased to announce this and say hi to the community.

A quick bio: I have a long history with C++Builder, and used it for almost a decade working on scientific software before starting a consulting company, Parnassus, a few years ago, where I worked with both C++ Builder and Delphi. If you follow the RAD Studio developer community closely you may have heard of some IDE plugins I write, which are particularly well-known in the Delphi community. I'm a coder at heart, having worked on everything from software for autonomous underwater vehicles to 3D visualisation to multithreading large data flows, and I also have a particular interest in good UI design and clear, usable software.

As well as C++Builder, I'll be looking after some other areas, including the IDE user experience.

As you probably know, Idera acquired Embarcadero late last year. They've recognised that C++Builder has perhaps lagged behind Delphi a little or been viewed as the second product, and hiring a product manager specifically for it is part of a process of investment in the product, recognising its importance and value as a first-class member of the RAD Studio family. I'm very much looking forward to working with the excellent C++ team (seriously: having spent the past couple of weeks with them, they are world-class, incredible developers, and it is a humbling experience being part of the team) and seeing where we can take C++Builder.

Right now, I'm attending the C++ working group meeting in Oulu, representing Embarcadero.

I'm very open to hearing feedback about the product or its future, and you're welcome to contact me at {firstname} {dot} {lastname} at embarcadero.com. I'm also particularly interested in growing the network of C++ MVPs. MVPs are nominated by you, and so if you have a suggestion for a great member of the C++Builder community, please drop us a line.

I'm very glad to be here, and looking forward to the future!

About David Millington

Gold User, No rank,

C++ Product Manager, looking after C++Builder as well as the IDE.

Comments

Lena I2199 Thursday, 4 August 2016

Bad news:
http://community.embarcadero.com/article/news/16418-product-roadmap-august-2016
No service for Android in C++ Builder.
David Millington Friday, 5 August 2016

Hi Lena - we haven't put every since feature on the roadmap, but you're right, we should have mentioned this. I know it's important, we're looking into it.
Lena I2199 Friday, 5 August 2016

>I know it's important, we're looking into it.

Thank you very much!
Ilya S Monday, 27 June 2016

Certainly good news! Moreover in such turbulent times.
Hopefully C++ Builder could go on to newest LLVM version and compile for Linux really soon now.
I would vote for redesigning of TChart Editor to make it more convenient and much less settings level nesting.
David Millington Monday, 27 June 2016

Hi Ilya! Thanks for your feedback. I can't make promises, of course, but I am aware of the current Clang (etc) version...

As far as TChart's editor, is there a QP for that? Feel free to link it here and I'll have a look.
Ilya S Tuesday, 28 June 2016

Hi David! That's great to hear that LLVM in Builder (and hopefully many other things, especially IDE) will evolve.
Unfortunately not much that you can do with a TChart Editor as it is a 3rd-party component. I've posted my opinion in G+ thread https://plus.google.com/100868868256320560517/posts/HshQ5C1KaR7 in Steema Software community. If you think that additional QP will be of value, I can summarise my wishes to that component.
David Millington Tuesday, 28 June 2016

I think that since it's a third party, giving them feedback is the best option, no need to create a QP.
Lena I2199 Sunday, 26 June 2016

Good news!
P.S.
Did someone write an application for Android in C++ Builder with a number of lines of code is greater than 400? When lines of code become a lot C++ Builder crash and it is not possible to continue to work.
Show an example of the application for Android created in C++ Builder. Is there a world of application for Android created in С++ Builder and when Android Service applications will be in C++ Builder?
Thanks.
David Millington Monday, 27 June 2016

Hi Lena - yes, Android applications should definitely be able to be longer than 400 lines And I know several exist which are much bigger than that. What exactly crashes - the IDE, compiler, linker? Can you contact support, please? They should be able to help find the cause.

Android services - on my 'to investigate' list - of course no promises, but I'm aware they would be useful, and you're not the only one to have asked me about them.
Lena I2199 Tuesday, 28 June 2016

>What exactly crashes - the IDE, compiler, linker?
IDE C++ freeze and crash. The same in C++ Builder XE6-XE7-Berlin. This problem only in big Android projects.

>And I know several exist which are much bigger than that.
I have not found any serious application created for Android in C++ Builder.

>Android services - on my 'to investigate' list
Thank you very much!
David Millington Wednesday, 29 June 2016

> IDE C++ freeze and crash. The same in C++ Builder XE6-XE7-Berlin. This problem only in big Android projects.

If you haven't contacted Support about this, please do. They may be able to help, or if not they'll be able to pass on information internally for us to investigate and use to fix the problem.
Larry Hengen Thursday, 23 June 2016

I am glad to see someone with a passion for better user experiences has been added to the EMBT. The IDE needs a lot of cleanup and tweaking to make it even as good as, and as stable as D7. Each release seems to be a trade off of one debilitating bug for another. Hopefully you can champion the users as it seems no one at EMBT eats their own dog food on a large enough scale to be useful.
David Millington Monday, 27 June 2016

I definitely want to work on the IDE user experience, although in my experience the IDE is actually very stable in recent releases so my focus is more on features, look and feel, etc than stability. If there are bugs, can you send me the QP report numbers, please? I'll look into them. Best is probably by email, firstname dot lastname at embarcadero. That goes for features, too - if there are things you think the IDE is missing (and I have my own list!) I'd be very interested in your views and input, so please feel free to email me with suggestions.
Vancalar Thursday, 23 June 2016

Well at last something is going on,
The "one day free" Berlin Starter offer was really nice, but real problem is that it should be free forever for everyone. How would You expect experienced programmers would buy Idera products if there's no simple way to become one ? If i was fresh graduate and had to pay over 300$ for starter version of software i'd probably just did as everyone else - use free Visual studio although RAD studio is light years ahead with ease of use and productivity. Well i do understand that thinking "that" ahead as for many years to come is not really good attitude in corporations, but either You "catch up" with the rest giving basic versions of Rad studio for free, or C++ Builder / delphi will remain niche product for oldboys. Just check job boards: there are SOME offers for delphi devs, but i didn't see any for C++ builder developers, i mean in UK, Ireland and Poland . Everybody's using Microsoft tools becouse the'y re free and well documented. Don't let C++ Builder die off slowly.
Cheers.
David Millington Monday, 27 June 2016

I can't address your points in detail until we have a public roadmap, but I can say I understand and this is something I will be looking into.
Vancalar Saturday, 30 July 2016

Well well well , this free C++ BUilder version with webinar is great idea, give them also very limited android development ( like no Google Play) and We'd have bunch of kids trying it out and eventually buying licences in the long term. Keep going Mr Millington!
Roger Cigol Thursday, 23 June 2016

C++ Builder is NOT a second rate product. However us C++ users have noticed that new features tend to come out in Delphi first and then follow, some times agonisingly later, in C++. For example we are still waiting for a working set of refactoring tools for C++. It would be great if you could make this time delay small (or better still zero).
David Millington Monday, 27 June 2016

Agreed; one focus of mine is to ensure C++ is visibly in sync with Delphi. There are times when development priorities might be different, though - they are different languages used by different audiences.
Mike Versteeg Tuesday, 21 June 2016

Awesome news!
Phillip W483 Monday, 20 June 2016

Sweet
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