How Microsoft Strangled Delphi by Creating .NET: The Story of One Programmer and One Suitcase

Turbo Pascal: The Foundation of the Future

The story begins with Turbo Pascal, released in 1983 by Borland. Its developer was the Dane Anders Hejlsberg. It was a revolution:

• A compiler with an integrated development environment (IDE)
• Lightning-fast compilation
• Convenient Pascal language syntax

Turbo Pascal became a hit thanks to its speed and simplicity. It displaced the expensive and complex tools of major vendors.

The Golden Era of Delphi

In 1995, Borland released Delphi 1. It wasn't just a product — it was a development philosophy:

• RAD approach (Rapid Application Development)
• Object Pascal as an evolution of standard Pascal
• Visual interface design
• Integration with Windows API and databases

Delphi quickly won over both professionals and enthusiasts. It was used everywhere: from accounting software to industrial SCADA systems.

Poaching Hejlsberg: The Beginning of the End

In 1996, Microsoft poached Anders Hejlsberg. He initially worked on J++ (a Java analog for the Windows platform), then became the chief architect of a new language — C#.

"Delphi taught us how productive developers could be. We wanted to bring that to a broader, modern platform with C#." — Anders Hejlsberg

This is where the .NET era begins:

• C# absorbed the best features of Delphi and Java
• .NET became an attempt to create a universal platform for all languages under Windows
• The CLR (Common Language Runtime) was created — an analog of Sun's JVM

Why Did Microsoft Create .NET?

The historical context:

• Java, created by Sun Microsystems in 1995, was rapidly gaining popularity as a cross-platform language
• Microsoft felt threatened: Java could displace Windows applications
• Borland and Delphi were becoming popular as alternatives to the cumbersome MFC and WinAPI

Microsoft's response:

• Created .NET as its own VM platform
• Developed C# as the "proper" replacement for C++ and Delphi
• Invested millions in promoting Visual Studio and documentation

The slogan of that era: "Develop for the future. Develop with .NET."

How .NET Began Strangling Delphi

• In 2002, .NET Framework 1.0 and Visual Studio .NET were released
• WinForms and ASP.NET appeared — simple yet powerful tools
• Microsoft actively promoted .NET in the enterprise sector
• Free editions (Visual Studio Express), extensive documentation, and integration with Windows Server and Active Directory were offered

Key .NET Framework versions:

• .NET Framework 1.0 (2002) — platform launch, WinForms, ASP.NET, ADO.NET
• .NET Framework 1.1 (2003) — security improvements, mobile device support
• .NET Framework 2.0 (2005) — generics, ClickOnce, WinForms and ASP.NET improvements
• .NET Framework 3.0 (2006) — WPF, WCF, WF, CardSpace
• .NET Framework 3.5 (2007) — LINQ, C# 3.0 integration
• .NET Framework 4.0 (2010) — TPL, improved multithreading support
• .NET Framework 4.5 (2012) — async/await, improved HTTP and WebSocket handling
• .NET Framework 4.6-4.8 (2015-2019) — WPF refinements, performance improvements, new Windows standards support

After .NET Framework 4.8, Microsoft officially ended development of the classic platform. From then on — only support, only compatibility.

The suitcase that Microsoft lugged for two decades was no longer needed. It reached its station, its wheels creaked — and it was left on the platform of history. It fulfilled its mission: killed the competitor, absorbed its ideas, and moved on as if that had been the plan all along.

Delphi fell not from old age, but from a game it didn't want to play. And the suitcase? The suitcase still gathers dust in the basements of corporate data centers, a reminder that not all technologies die beautifully.

Borland couldn't compete in scale and resources:

• Financial difficulties, strategy changes
• Gradual retreat into a niche
• Developer exodus

The Fall of Borland and Delphi's Fate

• In the 2000s, Borland made a failed bet on ALM (Application Lifecycle Management)
• In 2006, Delphi was transferred to a new company, CodeGear
• In 2008, it was acquired by Embarcadero Technologies

Delphi lost its mass appeal but retained niche popularity:

• Support for Windows and mobile platforms (via FireMonkey)
• Strong positions in industrial automation, medicine, and banking
• An active community and regular releases

Personal Reflections

We didn't just lose a tool. We lost an entire development culture.

Delphi was human, understandable, productive. You could learn it in college and immediately write serious programs.

.NET is an industrial platform. Powerful, but impersonal.

The irony is that C# and .NET inherited a great deal from Delphi. In a sense, Delphi lives on inside them. But its spirit is no longer the same.

The Suitcase Microsoft Still Drags Around

• .NET Framework (1.0-4.8) continues to live in thousands of legacy applications
• It can't simply be thrown away: the dependency is too great
• Even in .NET 8, you can still feel the legacy of WinForms and the old API

The new .NET Core and .NET 5+ represent an attempt to start with a clean slate:

• MAUI, Blazor, ASP.NET Core, Roslyn
• Cross-platform support (Windows, Linux, macOS)
• Open source and community

But the suitcase is still with them. And it creaks on the turns.

We, the old programmers, don't forget. And the young ones should know: .NET didn't appear out of nowhere. It is a continuation — and at the same time an ending — of a story that began at Borland.