Installing

This section describes how to install EhLib in RAD Studio 12.

Prerequisites

• RAD Studio 12 installed.
• Administrative privileges for installation.
• Optional: Borland Database Engine (BDE) for EhLibBDEDataDrivers or FMXLinux for Linux support.
• The EhLib archive downloaded and unpacked to a directory (referred to as <EhLib Archive>).

Unpacking EhLib archive

After unpacking the EhLib archive to <EhLib Archive>, you will find the following folders:

Folder	Description
Common	Source files for all Delphi/C++ Builder versions
DataDrivers	Components for third-party data access (inherited from TDataDriverEh)
DataService	Objects for data sorting in various dataset types
Demos	Demonstration projects
Hlp	Help files and documentation
Installer	Contains EhLibInstaller.exe
Lazarus	Instructions, demos, and source files for Lazarus IDE
RADSpecific	Files for specific RAD Studio versions, including packages
ZipProviders	Source files for ZIP files (version 2) using FWZip in Delphi XE or earlier

Installing packages

Automatic installing

Run EhLibInstaller.exe located in the Installer folder of the archive. Ensure you have administrative privileges, as the installer creates folders, copies files, compiles packages, and registers them in the IDE. Refer to the installer’s documentation for additional options or troubleshooting.

Manual installing

This section explains manual installation using RAD Studio 12 as an example.

Removing a previous version of the library

Before installing this version of the library, you need to remove packages and references from the previous version.

In the Component > Install Packages menu, find and remove (using the Remove button) all packages containing the EhLib substring.

These are typically packages such as:

EhLib 11.1 Components
EhLib 11.1 DataDrivers for ADO
EhLib 11.1 DataDrivers for DBX
EhLib 11.1 DataDrivers for IBX

In the C:\Users\Public\Documents\Embarcadero\Studio\23.0\Bpl folder, delete all packages that contain the EhLib substring

Typically, these will be packages with names like:

DclEhLib290.bpl
DclEhLibADODataDrivers290.bpl
DclEhLibDBXDataDrivers290.bpl
DclEhLibIBXDataDrivers290.bpl
EhLib290.bpl
EhLibADODataDrivers290.bpl
EhLibDBXDataDrivers290.bpl
EhLibIBXDataDrivers290.bpl
Win64\EhLib290.bpl
Win64\EhLibADODataDrivers290.bpl
Win64\EhLibDBXDataDrivers290.bpl
Win64\EhLibIBXDataDrivers290.bpl

For RAD Studio 2009 – RAD Studio XE5, package files are located in the C:\Users\Public\Documents\RAD Studio\XX.0\Bpl folder.

In the C:\Users\Public\Documents\Embarcadero\Studio\23.0\Dcp folder, delete all files that contain the EhLib substring.

Typically, these will be packages with names like:

DclEhLib290.bpi
DclEhLib290.dcp
DclEhLib290.lib
DclEhLibADODataDrivers290.bpi
DclEhLibADODataDrivers290.dcp
DclEhLibADODataDrivers290.lib
DclEhLibDBXDataDrivers290.bpi
DclEhLibDBXDataDrivers290.dcp
DclEhLibDBXDataDrivers290.lib
DclEhLibIBXDataDrivers290.bpi
DclEhLibIBXDataDrivers290.dcp
DclEhLibIBXDataDrivers290.lib
EhLib290.bpi
EhLib290.dcp
EhLib290.lib
EhLibADODataDrivers290.bpi
EhLibADODataDrivers290.dcp
EhLibADODataDrivers290.lib
EhLibDBXDataDrivers290.bpi
EhLibDBXDataDrivers290.dcp
EhLibDBXDataDrivers290.lib
EhLibIBXDataDrivers290.bpi
EhLibIBXDataDrivers290.dcp
EhLibIBXDataDrivers290.lib
Win64\EhLib290.a
Win64\EhLib290.bpi
Win64\EhLib290.dcp
Win64\EhLibADODataDrivers290.a
Win64\EhLibADODataDrivers290.bpi
Win64\EhLibADODataDrivers290.dcp
Win64\EhLibDBXDataDrivers290.a
Win64\EhLibDBXDataDrivers290.bpi
Win64\EhLibDBXDataDrivers290.dcp
Win64\EhLibIBXDataDrivers290.a
Win64\EhLibIBXDataDrivers290.bpi
Win64\EhLibIBXDataDrivers290.dcp

In Tools > Options > Language > Delphi > Library, for each platform (Windows 32-bit and Windows 64-bit), perform the following:

In the Library Path section, delete the lines containing a reference to the folder that contained the modules (dcu files) of the EhLib library.

This is typically a reference to folders like:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\23.0\Components\EhLib\Lib\Win32\Release
C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\23.0\Components\EhLib\Lib\Win64\Release

In the Browsing path section, delete the lines containing a reference to the folder that contained the EhLib library source code.

Typically, this is a reference to C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\23.0\Components\EhLib\Lib

If you have a version of the library without source codes, then the data may not contain the specified line.

In the Debug DCU path section, remove the lines containing a reference to the folder that contained the debug version of the EhLib library modules.

Typically, these are references to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\23.0\Components\EhLib\Lib\Win32\Debug
C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\23.0\Components\EhLib\Lib\Win64\Debug

Installing a new version

This section describes installing the library with source code.

Create a folder to store the library’s source files, compiled binaries, and demo projects. We recommend creating a Components folder in C:\Users\Public\Documents\Embarcadero\Studio\23.0 (or your RAD Studio installation directory) and a subfolder EhLib within it. This results in the base directory <EhLib BaseDir> at:

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Embarcadero\Studio\23.0\Components\EhLib

Create a subfolder Src in the specified folder.

Copy the contents of the <EhLib Archive>\RADSpecific\RADStudioXE12 folder to the <EhLib BaseDir>\Src folder.

Copy the contents of the <EhLib Archive>\Common folder to the <EhLib BaseDir>\Src folder.

Copy the <EhLib Archive>\Demos folder to the <EhLib BaseDir> folder

In the IDE, open the file <EhLib BaseDir>\Src\EhLibProjGroup290.groupproj

In the project toolbar, select Release Configuration and Win32 Platform.

Compile all projects for the selected Configuration/Platform combination.

Compile all projects for the following Configuration/Platform combination:

Debug\Win32
Release\Win64
Debug\Win64

Packages that start with the abbreviation Dcl* are Design-Time packages used only in the RAD Studio IDE and must be compiled in Release\Windows 32-bit mode only.

These are Design-Time packages that only work in Win32 mode under RAD Studio (x32).

If you plan to develop for other platforms, then compile Release+Debug configurations of the EhLibRtl and EhLibFmx packages for the selected platforms.

Before compiling for platforms other than Windows 32-bit or Windows 64-bit, the RAD Studio IDE must create a Software Development Kit (SDK) for the desired platform.

SDKs are created in the RAD Studio IDE section – Tools – Options – Deployment – SDK Manager.

The EhLibRtl and EhLibFmx packages support the following platforms: Windows 32-bit, Windows 64-bit, Android 64-bit, Linux 64-bit, macOS 64-bit.

To compile the EhLibFmx package for Linux 64-bit, install the FMXLinux package via the RAD Studio GetIt Package Manager.

To compile the EhLibBDEDataDrivers package, you must install the BDE (Borland DataBase Engine) base package.

After compiling the packages, you need to install the Design-Time packages in the IDE:

Select the package DclEhLibFmx, DclEhLibRtl, DclEhLibVcl, DclEhLibADODataDrivers, DclEhLibBDEDataDrivers, DclEhLibDBXDataDrivers, DclEhLibIBXDataDrivers and select Install in the context menu.

The DclEhLibRtl package is a basic package. Its installation is mandatory for the library to work. Other packages can be installed as needed.

It is necessary to specify the paths to the compiled binaries in the Library settings:

Open the section Tools – Options – Language – Delphi – Library – Select Platform (Windows 32-bit)
In the Library path line, add the following paths:

• <EhLib BaseDir>\Lib\Win32\Release
• <EhLib BaseDir>\Src\Incl

The <EhLib BaseDir>\Src\Incl folder contains library source files that are not compiled into packages. They will be compiled into binaries when the project is compiled.

In the Browsing path line, add the following paths:

<EhLib BaseDir>\Src\Data
<EhLib BaseDir>\Src\Fmx
<EhLib BaseDir>\Src\Rtl
<EhLib BaseDir>\Src\Vcl

In the Debug DCU path line, add the following paths:
<EhLib BaseDir>\Lib\Win32\Debug

Similar changes must be made for all platforms for which you plan to develop.

To check the correct operation of the installed library, open, compile and run the following Library Demo Projects.

• <EhLib BaseDir>\Demos\Vcl\Project1.dproj
• <EhLib BaseDir>\Demos\Fmx\EhLib.Fmx.MainDemo.dproj

Multi-platform compilation capabilities in different library editions

Multiplatform compilation is supported in EhLibRtl and EhLibFmx packages for Win32, Win64, Android64, iOS64, OSX64, Linux64 platforms.

Multiplatform compilation is available in EhLib Professional (Source Included) edition for RAD Studio 11 and RAD Studio 12.

Multiplatform compilation is also available in the EhLib Evaluation edition for RAD Studio 12 for Win32, Win64, Android64, OSX64, Linux64 platforms.

Troubleshooting

• Missing SDKs: Ensure SDKs for non-Windows platforms are configured in Tools > Options > Deployment > SDK Manager.
• Compilation Errors: Verify that all dependencies (e.g., BDE for EhLibBDEDataDrivers, FMXLinux for Linux 64-bit) are installed.
• Path Issues: If paths differ from those listed, check your RAD Studio installation directory or consult the RAD Studio documentation.

Uninstalling EhLib Packages from the IDE

Use EhLibInstaller.exe in the Installer folder to uninstall EhLib packages from the RAD Studio IDE. Alternatively, manually remove packages and references as described in the "Removing a Previous Version" section.