Can you recommend any good books/websites for learning Delphi?

[color Red] Books [/color]

'Delphi In Easy Steps' by Brendan Murphy
A very simple and easy-to-read introductory book for the total novice to Delphi. It includes the following chapters:

- Getting Started
- Using Components
- Creating Forms
- Basic Programming Skills
- Using Database Tables
- Writing Reports
- Advanced Database Use
- Querying Database Tables
- Great Extras
- Data-Aware Components
- Common Errors
- Tips for Experts
- Distributing Your Application
- Building a Database Application

This book allows you to learn and familiarise yourself with Delphi, particularly with the visual components and serves as a good introduction to databases.

Price: ú9.99 (as at 21/11/2002)

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'Essential Pascal' by Marco Cantu
'Essential Pascal' brings you up-to-speed on pretty much all you need to know about Pascal (the language which Delphi is built on). If you've never programmed in Pascal then this is the book for you. This is a comprehensive, technical guide so it is helpful (although not essential) to have had some previous programming experience. Source code is provided for the examples used in the book.

It covers:

- Pascal History
- Coding in Pascal
- Types, Variables and Constants
- User-Defined Data Types
- Statements
- Procedures and Functions
- Handling Strings
- Memory and Dynamic Arrays
- Windows Programming
- Variants
- Programs and Units
- Files in the Pascal Language

Price: FREE (as at 21/11/2002)! You can download or view Essential Pascal (and source code for the examples) on the following website: http://www.marcocantu.com

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'Essential Delphi' by Marco Cantu
A very thorough introduction to Delphi that is still under construction. That's why there's only 6 chapters (as at 21/11/2002) - more are planned.

Includes:
- A Form is a Window
- Highlights of the Delphi Environment
- The Object Repository and the Delphi Wizards
- A Tour of the Basic Components
- Creating and Handling Menus
- Multimedia Fun

Price: FREE (as at 21/11/2002)! You can download Essential Delphi (and source code for the examples) on the following website: http://www.marcocantu.com

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'Mastering Delphi 6' by Marco Cantu
For those of you who are fairly competent in Delphi, this is an excellent and technically comprehensive book. Although it's an expensive book, it covers pretty much everything! There are 23 chapters (over 1000 pages) divided into the following 4 sections:

- Foundations
- Visual Programming
- Database Programming
- Beyond Delphi: Connecting with the World

'Mastering Delphi 6' also includes a companion CD (with around 300 source code examples) on which 'Essential Pascal' and 'Essential SQL' e-books can be found. So you do get quite a bit for your money!! ;-)

Price: ú44.99 (as at 21/11/2002)

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[color Red] Websites [/color]

Obviously Tek-Tips is the best resource ever!
But apart from that, the following websites are recommended:

- http://www.delphibasics.co.uk (very user-friendly with good examples)
- http://delphi.about.com
- http://www.marocantu.com

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As a final note, I'd just like to confirm that I am not in any way related, employed by or connected with any of the above authors. There are probably many other very good books and other Delphi resources which I haven't read or used.