delphi-compiler-versions

Canonical Delphi compiler version mapping based on official VER### symbols.

This repository defines the authoritative data model used by Continuous Delphi tooling to resolve, normalize, and compare Delphi compiler versions.

TL;DR

Quick start - download

Most users only need these ready-to-download generated artifacts:

• DELPHI_COMPILER_VERSIONS.inc
• DelphiCompilerVersions.pas

You can download these manually in Releases

For scripted updates use curl:

curl -L -O https://github.com/continuous-delphi/delphi-compiler-versions/releases/download/v1.1.0/DELPHI_COMPILER_VERSIONS.inc

or PowerShell:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/continuous-delphi/delphi-compiler-versions/releases/download/v1.1.0/DELPHI_COMPILER_VERSIONS.inc" -OutFile "DELPHI_COMPILER_VERSIONS.inc"

Quick start - submodule

For projects using Git, submodule integration is the recommended approach as updates are a single command and the generated files are always available without downloading manually.

git submodule add https://github.com/continuous-delphi/delphi-compiler-versions \
  vendor/delphi-compiler-versions

Then add the desired files from vendor/delphi-compiler-versions/generated to your project. (Typically the DELPHI_COMPILER_VERSIONS.inc file) The tooling and tests found in the rest of the repository can be ignored.

To update to a new version of the generated files:

git submodule update --remote vendor/delphi-compiler-versions

---

Project Scope

• Dataset covers Delphi versions 2 and above (starts at VER90)
• Excludes C++Builder and .NET-only entries
• Includes registry metadata required for toolchain discovery
• Includes supported Build Systems and Target Platforms per version

This repository is data-first. The JSON file under data/ is the single source of truth. All Continuous Delphi generated code and downstream tooling derive from that dataset.

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Repository Structure

    data/
      delphi-compiler-versions.json          # current dataset (Delphi 2+)

    generated/                               # Files generated from delphi-compiler-versions.json
      DELPHI_COMPILER_VERSIONS.inc           # for: {$IFDEF CD_DELPHI_FLORENCE_OR_LATER}
      DelphiCompilerVersions.pas             # for: TDelphiPlatform, DelphiVersions array...
      PlatformSupport.md                     # visual platform support matrix

    schemas/
      delphi-compiler-versions.schema.json   # JSON Schema for the dataset

    tools/
      generate-delphi-compiler-versions-inc.ps1
      generate-delphi-compiler-versions-pas.ps1
      generate-platform-support-md.ps1
      tag-release.ps1

    tests/
      pwsh/

    .github/workflows/release.yml           # automated releases

• The generated include file and source file are generated and never manually edited.
• Tests enforce deterministic output and drift protection.
• GitHub Action workflow enforces passing tests, regenerates artifacts, and populates release notes from CHANGELOG.md

Canonical schema $id:

  https://continuous-delphi.github.io/delphi-compiler-versions/schemas/delphi-compiler-versions.schema.json

GitHub Pages is enabled on the repository to serve the schema file.

Dataset

The dataset file contains two independent version fields:

• schemaVersion -- identifies the schema contract the dataset conforms to.
• dataVersion -- tracks the dataset contents under semantic versioning.

Data Model

Primary file:

data/delphi-compiler-versions.json

Top-level fields

• schemaVersion -- schema contract version (e.g. "1.0.0")
• dataVersion -- dataset content version (e.g. "1.0.0")
• meta -- metadata object; see below
• versions -- ordered array of version entries

meta fields

• generatedUtcDate -- UTC date the file was last updated (YYYY-MM-DD)
• scope -- inclusion/exclusion rules (informational)
• registryResolutionNotes -- guidance on hive-agnostic registry discovery
• platformNotes -- policy notes for supportedPlatforms interpretation

versionEntry fields

• verDefine -- canonical VER### symbol (primary identifier)
• compilerVersion -- string preserving the exact CompilerVersion value (e.g. "37.0")
• productName -- commonly used product name
• packageVersion -- package version identifier (nullable)
• regKeyRelativePath -- relative registry key path beneath HKCU or HKLM (nullable)
• supportedBuildSystems -- build systems supported by this version family; see below
• supportedPlatforms -- target platforms supported by this version family; see below
• aliases -- additional commonly used identifiers that resolve to this entry
• notes -- clarifications, historical remarks, or sub-version platform introductions

Install paths are intentionally excluded from the specification. Tooling should resolve installation directories via the registry RootDir value.

supportedBuildSystems

An array of one or more of the following values:

Value	Meaning
DCC	Direct command-line compiler invocation via dcc32.exe / dcc64.exe
MSBuild	.dproj-based builds via MSBuild (introduced in Delphi 2007)

Entries prior to Delphi 2007 (VER180 and earlier) support DCC only. Delphi 2007 (VER185) and later support both.

supportedPlatforms

An array of platform identifiers representing the union of all platforms supported across all point releases within the version family. Where a platform was introduced in a sub-version point release (rather than the initial release of the version family), this is noted in the entry's notes array.

Valid platform values: Win32, Win64, macOS32, macOS64, macOSARM64, Linux64, iOS, iOSSimulator, Android32, Android64.

---

Include File

The generated file:

generated/DELPHI_COMPILER_VERSIONS.inc

provides Delphi projects with standardized compiler version and capability defines derived directly from the canonical dataset.

It emits:

• CD_DELPHI_<MarketingName> tokens
• CD_DELPHI_<Version>_OR_LATER convenience tokens
• CD_DELPHI_COMPILER_VERSION_<major> tokens
• CD_DELPHI_PACKAGE_VERSION_<value> tokens
• CD_DELPHI_SUPPORTS_MSBUILD
• CD_DELPHI_SUPPORTS_PLATFORM_<Platform> tokens

This include file is:

• Canonical
• Data-driven
• MIT-licensed
• Deterministically generated
• Protected by automated tests

---

Pascal Unit

The generated file:

generated/DelphiCompilerVersions.pas

provides Delphi projects with a strongly-typed Pascal unit derived directly from the canonical dataset. It is compatible with Delphi 2 and all later versions.

It provides:

• TDelphiPlatform enumeration with suffix-named members (e.g. Win32Target, Win64Target, MacOS32Target)
• TDelphiBuildSystem enumeration with suffix-named members (e.g. DCCSystem, MSBuildSystem)
• TDelphiVersion record with fields for all dataset properties, including an AliasesCsv field for alias resolution
• PDelphiVersion pointer type
• DelphiVersions typed constant array, sorted chronologically
• CD_SCHEMA_VERSION and CD_DATA_VERSION string constants
• GetLatestDelphiVersion -- returns the most recent entry in the array
• CurrentDelphiCompilerVersion and IsCurrentDelphiCompilerVersionKnown -- vars populated at unit initialization via {$IFDEF VERxxx} chains; IsCurrentDelphiCompilerVersionKnown is False if the compiler is not recognized in the dataset
• TryGetDelphiVersionByVerDefine, TryGetDelphiVersionByProductName, TryGetDelphiVersionByAlias -- lookup functions

The generated unit is intentionally written using a conservative subset of Object Pascal:

• var parameters are used instead of out
• Exit is used without a return value expression
• uses items leverage $IFDEF UNICODE for implementing unit scoped names
• functionality is exposed through simple procedures and functions rather than static classes.

These choices are deliberate to be able to use this unit from Delphi 2+

This Pascal unit is:

• Canonical
• Data-driven
• MIT-licensed
• Deterministically generated
• Protected by automated tests

---

Generators

tools/generate-delphi-compiler-versions-inc.ps1
tools/generate-delphi-compiler-versions-pas.ps1

Each generator transforms the canonical dataset into its respective generated artifact. Both share the same properties:

• Deterministic output
• Fully reproducible from JSON
• Safe to run in CI
• No manual editing of the generated files required

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Automated Protection

The test suite ensures:

• Correct token emission (.inc) and correct Pascal output (.pas)
• Historical compatibility is preserved (including VER180/VER185)
• Capability ranges are computed correctly
• CRLF line endings on all generated files
• ASCII-only content (UTF-8 encoding without BOM)
• Golden-file tests for both artifacts to prevent drift

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Purpose

This specification ensures that:

• Toolchain discovery is deterministic
• CI build machines can be validated reliably
• Compiler capabilities can be reasoned about programmatically
• Alias resolution is centralized
• Version detection logic is consistent across all tools

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Maturity

This repository is currently incubator. It will graduate to stable once:

• The schema is considered frozen at 1.x
• CI validation is in place
• At least one downstream tool consumes the dataset
• No breaking schema changes are anticipated

Until graduation, breaking changes may occur.

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Part of Continuous Delphi

This repository follows the Continuous Delphi organization taxonomy. See cd-meta-org for navigation and governance.

• docs/org-taxonomy.md -- naming and tagging conventions
• docs/versioning-policy.md -- release and versioning rules
• docs/repo-lifecycle.md -- lifecycle states and graduation criteria