Alexandre, a 54-year-old math teacher from France, has had a lifelong relationship with computers that began when he was just 11 years old. His first experience with programming was on a Sinclair ZX81, which had a modest 1KB of memory. Despite its limitations, this small amount of memory felt like a vast expanse of possibility, especially when he discovered Basic. This moment marked the beginning of a lifelong passion for programming.

As Alexandre grew older, his love for technology deepened. He moved on to other machines like the Oric Atmos and Atari 1040 ST, spending hours programming in GFA Basic. Later, as a student at university, he learned formal languages like Cobol, Fortran, and Pascal, which gave him a strong foundation in computer science. Although his formal education focused on these languages, Alexandre was always eager to learn more on his own. Over the years, he became fluent in C, C++, Java, Perl, and Python, constantly satisfying his “learning bulimia” — an insatiable hunger for knowledge.

During his journey, Alexandre also spent a lot of time with Turbo Assembler and Turbo Pascal from Borland. He recalls the moment he first encountered Delphi with version 2, and though he still has the box and CD, he unfortunately lost the accompanying documentation and the poster of the VCL class hierarchy.

Despite his deep passion for programming, Alexandre’s primary profession is teaching mathematics. However, about three years ago, he embarked on a personal project that would connect his teaching career with his love for programming. His wife needed a robust planning tool for her job, so Alexandre decided to create one in Delphi. Rather than reinvent the wheel, he turned to TMS Software’s tools, purchasing the TMS FNC UI Pack, and later, the TMS FNC Chart.

What he discovered were a set of well-designed and highly functional components that made his development work significantly easier. For example, the TMS FNC Planner was exactly what he needed. Its level of detail and the flexibility it offers through customizable events were key to building the scheduling features he required. Additionally, he started using the TMS FNC Core components, including TTMSFNCPopup, which allowed him to create clean and functional user interfaces.

Here are some of the ways Alexandre has used TMS Software components in his project:

The TMS FNC Chart has been instrumental for visualizing data in his application. It provides an interactive way to display reports and scheduling information, ensuring the data is presented in a professional manner.

The TMS FNC Grid is essential for displaying tabular data. Alexandre appreciates the flexibility of this grid, which allows him to customize it for specific needs such as sorting and filtering.

For task management and project tracking, the TMS FNC Kanban Board has been a great addition. This component allows for a visual organization of tasks, making it easy to manage workflows.

The TMS FNC Planner is at the core of his scheduling solution. It offers intuitive functionality and powerful customization, making it the perfect tool to manage appointments, events, and tasks.

By combining the TMS FNC Planner with the TMS FNC Grid, Alexandre created an integrated view of scheduled events and tabular data, enhancing both usability and visual appeal.

The TMS FNC Popup component allows Alexandre to display dynamic content in pop-up windows, offering users additional information without cluttering the main interface.

Although the project is still in its beta phase, Alexandre is hopeful that it will one day be commercialized. It’s a niche program tailored to individuals working within the French education system. While the future success of the project remains uncertain, the process of designing and developing it has been deeply fulfilling. Alexandre continues to have countless ideas for future features, and the hardest part is knowing when to stop.

In addition to the TMS components, Alexandre has also purchased TMS FlexCel, though he has yet to fully implement it. He plans to use it to create PDF outputs for printing within his application. For some screens, he relies on the HTML Component Library.

For iconography, he chose the Axialis Office Pro 2019 collection, which provides an elegant and cohesive set of icons that match the overall design of the project. Additionally, for debugging, he utilizes EurekaLog, which has been incredibly helpful in identifying and resolving some of the more challenging bugs.

The journey of creating this project has been a rewarding one for Alexandre. Even though the project is personal, the TMS Software components have played an essential role in helping him bring his vision to life. Whether or not the program will be successful commercially, the joy of designing and developing it continues to drive him forward.

For anyone considering Delphi development, Alexandre highly recommends the TMS FNC components. They have been instrumental in building a project that he is proud of and excited to continue developing.