Yes, you can. But native controls are not enough, as all the application architecture must be specific for the mentioned platforms. You can do this in Delphi with TurboCocoa.
TurboCocoa is a set of tools for Delphi developers, who can create applications with true native UI for iOS/macOS/Android with Embarcadero Delphi.
No, you can’t. TurboCocoa has no its own IDE and compiler, but it’s a great news! You can continue using your favorite Delphi IDE and Object Pascal coding style, as well as your non-visual legacy code (including DBMS components).
TurboCocoa is a very compact tool and includes IDE plugin and runtime units, which helps a developer to create projects of new type based on different application templates; It supports in-sync communications between platform tools on Windows side.
In short it looks as following:
So we have the native application for macOS/iOS or Android with UI, fully consisting of native controls. Moreover, the UI is completely built according to app platform architecture.
If you go without TurboCocoa in Delphi, you must use Platform FM. Platform FM reconstructs native look of UI, but on the base of its own internal logic and architecture. This application works as FM-application, using many UI mechanisms of the platform, rather than OS.
When you make your app with TurboCocoa, all the UI is built up in Xcode or Android Studio. macOS/iOS/Android treat that application as fully compliant.
It’s impossible to compare, taking into account TurboCocoa is an additional tool to Delphi. Embarcadero Delphi is an universal tool for multi-device development on the base of the same code. TurboCocoa helps Delphi developers create and build true native UI in applications for Mac OS and iOS in Delphi and with Object Pascal.
Delphi is a tool for rapid prototyping and developing. You use Delphi for many platforms on the base of the same code. You can do apps for both iOS, and Android.
If your customer needs truly authentic UI design and UX for iOS/Mac OS and Android, you can achieve this with TurboCocoa. It’s much cheaper and faster, than complete re-designing and re-building in Xcode with Objective-C or Android Studio with Java.
You can:
Xcode or Android Studio is used only for UI design. You needn’t to know Objective-C or Java. Run Delphi with TurboCocoa, then go to Xcode or Android Studio and design your UI. All the rest will be done in Delphi with ObjectPascal, and you can use any non-visual components, including data access components (FireDAC etc).
This is rather typical scenario, when first you plan your multi-device project. You customer might ask you to be 100% native in UX, after the prototyping or already after the piloting. Changing the UI with TurboCocoa is much simpler and cheaper, than total remaking the project in Xcode with Objective-C or Android Studio with Java.
If you’re a Delphi professional and RAD Studio is your favorite IDE, but you haven’t still tried your Object Pascal skills for mobile development… TurboCocoa lets you jump-start your iOS development, as well as for Mac OS. You can go from VCL controls directly to true native iOS and Mac OS controls and UI paradigm. TurboCocoa is apparently the best choice: well-balanced combination of classical methods of coding in Object Pascal, data access with your favorite Delphi libraries, and authentic techniques of Xcode use for UI design. Finally, you’ll build, debug and run the project in Delphi with all your experience.
The way you design interface in Xcode or Android Studio differs from what you do in Delphi. You subsequently design the interface in Xcode or Android Studio, and only then you code your logic with Object Pascal in Delphi. “Classical” Delphi developers will be easily accostomed to this way of thinking/doing. TurboCocoa is shipped with the set of examples, shedding light to this new area.
You will easily convert your Delphi FM projects into TurboCocoa projects, if you separate UI from business logic in code. This advice is universal for Delphi with VCL, and Xcode with Objective-C, and Visual Studio with C#. It’s absolutely effective. You can create a project with either VCL, or FM, then you can remake your project with TurboCocoa to purely native Mac OS/iOS/Android with minor changes, only some cosmetics with Xcode or Android Studio.
You can download it on www.turbococoa.com, only registration needed.
TurboCocoa supports few lastest Dephi releases. At the moment these are Delphi 10.3 Rio, Delphi 10.2 Tokyo and Delphi 10.1 Berlin. No older versions are supported, this limitation is caused by the progress of the last Delphi versions.