
                         Borland Delphi
           Visual Component Library (VCL) Source Code
           Copyright (c) 1995, Borland International.
                      All rights reserved.
           ==========================================

This product comprises the Object Pascal source code for the
Delphi Visual Component Library (VCL), the powerful collection of
components accessible on Delphi's Component Palette. This source
code is provide to facilitate debugging and for educational
purposes to assist developers in building their own custom
components.

This product is provided solely for use by licensed, registered
users of Borland's Delphi product. Use of this product is
governed by Borland's No-nonsense License Statement/Limited
Warranty and Additional License Terms for Development Products,
which accompany Delphi.


TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================

1. Visual Component Library source code support policy
2. Installing the Visual Component Library (VCL) source code
3. Help on VCL units
4. Using VCL source code for debugging
5. Modifying VCL Source Code
6. Translated resource files


1. Visual Component Library Source Code Support Policy
======================================================

IMPORTANT: Borland Technical Support will not answer questions or
provide any assistance relating to this product.  This product is
provided "as is."

If you find a genuine problem with the source code, please post a
written description in our Delphi forum on CompuServe.  (Type GO
DELPHI on the CompuServe bulletin board system for instant access
to the Borland forums.)


2. Installing the Visual Component Library (VCL) Source Code
============================================================

The Visual Component Library source code installation program,
INSTALL.EXE, sets up the VCL source code on your system. To
install from Drive A, for example, place the distribution disk in
Drive A and from the DOS prompt type:

  A:INSTALL

Note that the source code to TABS.DCU and TABNOTBK.DCU (TTabSet
and TTabbedNotebook components) is not provided as part of this
release but may be requested from Borland's Corporate Affairs
Department. Licensed users of this product may FAX a request to
Karen Rogers at (408) 431-4171.


3. Help On VCL Units
====================

The Delphi Help system contains extensive information about the
units that make up VCL. To see a list of all VCL units, search
for the Units topic in the Search dialog box of the Help system,
and choose Units from the list of displayed topics. Alternately,
you can choose the Object Pascal Language topic from the Help
Contents screen, select the Language Reference topic, and then
choose Units.

From the Code Editor of Delphi, you can display context-sensitive
Help on any published, public, or protected identifier in the
unit by placing your cursor on an identifier and pressing F1.


4. Using VCL source code for debugging
======================================

By including the VCL source code in your Library Path, you will
be able to step into VCL source code while debugging your Delphi
components and programs:

  1.  Select Options|Environment
  2.  Select the Library page
  3.  Add the path to the VCL Source in the Library Path box in
      front of any path that is already there. For example, if
      you used the default paths suggested by SETUP, then
      specify:

        C:\DELPHI\SOURCE\VCL;C:\DELPHI\LIB

  4.  Press OK


5. Modifying VCL Source Code
============================

You can safely modify any code or declarations in the
implementation or initialization sections of a VCL unit. Once you
make your changes, simply recompile your Delphi project and the
VCL unit you changed will be automatically recompiled and linked
into your project (along with any other units that use the
modified unit). The Delphi Compiled Unit (.DCU) is placed in the
same directory as its corresponding .PAS file (in
\DELPHI\SOURCE\VCL if you used the default paths).

Select Options|Rebuild Library to relink the Delphi Component
Library (COMPLIB.DCL) and have your changes take effect in the
design-time environment.

IMPORTANT: We strongly recommend that you refrain from making ANY
changes to the interface section of any VCL unit. All units
produced by Delphi rely on the interface sections provided in the
shipping version of Delphi. Any interface changes you make to
your own copy of VCL will make it impossible for you to rebuild
COMPLIB.DCL or even utilize a Delphi unit provided by a 3rd party
company (unless you also have access to their source code). In
addition, you will be unable to provide units of your own
creation to other Delphi users (again, unless you also provide
source code).

If you do make changes to the interface section of any VCL unit,
you must have the source code to all units which directly or
indirectly use that unit or you'll be unable to rebuild
COMPLIB.DCL or even compile your own projects (the compiler will
report a "unit version mismatch" error).


6. Translated resource files
============================

The Delphi Run-time and Visual Component libraries link in string
resources that contain error messages and other string literals.
These resources are stored in .RES files in the
\DELPHI\SOURCE\VCL and \DELPHI\SOURCE\RTL\SYS directories
(assuming you used SETUP's default paths).

French, German and English language copies of these .RES files
are provided in the FR, GE and EN subdirectories under
\DELPHI\SOURCE\VCL and \DELPHI\SOURCE\RTL\SYS.

Here's how to produce a French language version of a Delphi
application:

  rem RTL
  cd \delphi\source\rtl\sys\fr
  copy *.res \delphi\lib

  rem VCL
  cd \delphi\source\vcl\fr
  copy *.res ..
  rem Load Delphi and select Options|Rebuild Library to
  rem link the French resource files into COMPLIB.DCL

The above steps assume you've already inserted \DELPHI\SOURCE\VCL
into your Library Path as described in section (4) above. If not,
then simply copy the .RES files from the FR directories into
\DELPHI\LIB.

=================================================================
