How to Attach Notes to TreeView Branches in Delphi

Here's my latest video on programming a collapsible outliner using Delphi. In this one, I associate text notes with the branches (nodes) of a TreeView.

To watch this series of videos from the start, go to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZHx5heVfgEtHeS6O2ePOkr3f-agvPxi6

Delphi is 25! And Now I Have a Book…

I’ve been programming in Delphi for over 25 years. What? Can that really be true? It doesn’t seem that long but Delphi’s just had its 25th birthday so it really must be. It was launched in 1995 and I was using the pre-release beta some months before that. I wrote the review of Delphi for PC Plus Magazine and for more than ten years after that I wrote the monthly Delphi programming columns for the same magazine.

Delphi was the successor to Borland’s hugely successful DOS-based Turbo Pascal and its less successful Windows Pascal (even I can hardly remember that – I think it was called ‘Borland Pascal With Objects’ or something equally unmemorable). At the time, Delphi was, in my view, far the best visual (drag-and-drop, design-and-code) environment for Windows. Its only real competition was Microsoft’s Visual Basic. The trouble is that no matter how visual you make Basic, it’s still Basic. Whereas Delphi used a very nice version of Pascal that had a reasonably modular unit-based system, good Object Orientation and also had low-level features for anyone who might be missing C.

This is the latest in a series of little programming books. Other titles include:

• The Little Book Of C
• The Little Book Of C#
• The Little Book Of Ruby
• The Little Book Of Pointers
• The Little Book Of Recursion
• The Little Book Of Adventure Game Programming

Anyway, Delphi is still going strong. It’s owned by Embarcadero these days and you can get a free copy from their web site. To celebrate Delphi’s 25th birthday, I’ve just released a book for new or intermediate Delphi programmers. It’s called The Little Book Of Delphi and it’s available in paperback or as a Kindle eBook from Amazon.

The Little Book Of Delphi covers:

• Fundamentals of Delphi
• The Object Pascal language 
• Object Orientation
• Variables, Types, Constants
• Operators and Tests
• for loops and while loops
• Procedures and Functions 
• Parameters and Arguments
• Arrays and Lists
• String Operations
• Case Statements
• User-defined Types
• Constructors and Methods
• Creating and Freeing Objects
• Inheritance and Encapsulation
• Virtual and Overridden Methods
• File-handling
• Text files and Binary files
• Streaming and Serialization
• Errors and Exceptions
• ...and much more

Here are the links:
Amazon (US)
Paperback: https://amzn.to/37ZJqHF
eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0854D12GJ

Amazon (UK)
Paperback: https://amzn.to/392AJxm
eBook: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0854D12GJ

Ruby Instances and Instance Variables

What the heck is an 'instance' and why does it have its own variables? My latest YouTube video for Ruby programmers explains all...

Program a Collapsible Outliner in Delphi with Object Pascal

Collapsible Outliners are fantastically useful things. And they aren’t all that difficult to program. I have a short free course on YouTube that shows you how to create an outliner using the free Delphi Community Edition from Embarcadero and the Object Pascal language.

This free course shows you how to add branches and sub-branches to an outline and even how to drag and drop branches from one place (one ‘node’) to another in the outline ‘tree’. Later in the series I’ll show how to add formatted notes to branches so that you can create a brainstorming tool. This is a fun and useful project and a great way to learn to program in Delphi.

Delphi, incidentally is 25 years old this week. How time flies! I was one of the beta-testers for Delphi 1 and for over ten years I wrote the Delphi programming column for ‘PC Plus’ magazine in the UK. Object Pascal is a really nice language and Delphi is an excellent Windows-based IDE.

Incidentally, even if you aren’t interested in Delphi, bear in mind that I have lots more free programming lessons on YouTube. At the moment, I’m releasing one new video every week on topics ranging from Ruby programming to writing an adventure game in Java.

These free courses can all be found in my playlists here: https://www.youtube.com/user/BitwiseCourses/playlists

To make sure you never miss another video, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/BitwiseCourses?sub_confirmation=1

Learn To Program C, Pointers and Recursion

I’m pleased to announce that Bitwise Courses is now partnered with Bitwise Books! We’ve been working away at this for most of the last year. Our aim is to publish a range of tightly-focused programming books that explain just what you really need to know without any padding.

The series is called The Little Book Of… and our first three titles are:

The Little Book Of C Programming
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

The Little Book Of Pointers
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

The Little Book Of Recursion
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

In addition, we have created a series of free programming guides called A Really Simple Guide To… These include A Really Simple Guide To Object Orientation, C IDEs and Pointers. To can get the guides delivered straight to your inbox (no purchase necessary) from the Bitwise Books site.

We’ll be announcing more Really Simple Guides and Little Books Of (various programming topics) soon.

Constructors in C#

Before you can use an object you have to create it. That is what this video from my C# course explains...



My course ‘Learn C# Programming (in ten easy steps)’ was first created in 2012 but now, in 2017, it has been completely remade. Every single video has been re-done and no less than 86 new video lessons have been added. What’s more, students can also download the entire version 1 of the course (almost 4 more hours of video) as an added bonus. This is what the course contains:

• 117 video lessons
• 7 hours, 7 minutes of video
• 32 sample projects
• 10 quizzes
• 89-pages of pdf documentation
• PLUS: The entire version 1 course as a free download!

The regular price for this course is $145. But use the link below to sign up for just $35 (valid only until the end of 2017, so don’t wait!)

https://www.udemy.com/learn-c-sharp-programming-in-ten-easy-steps/?couponCode=35DOLLARDEAL

Pointers and addresses in C

What exactly is a pointer anyway? And how does it relate to an address?

The video below is taken from my online course, Advanced C Programming: Pointers. Save 63% by clicking this link to subscribe to the course for just $35 (regular price is $95): https://www.udemy.com/advanced-c-programming-pointers/?couponCode=CPOINTERS2017

Pointers and arrays in C

This is an extract from my advanced c course on pointers...

Pointers for C Programming - new course

Get this $95 course for just $15.

Pointers. In C, there is just no getting away from them. Understanding and being able to use pointers correctly (and safely) – well, it’s the difference between a professional programmer and an amateur. But pointers are really difficult to use. Aren’t they?

The fact of the matter is, they needn’t be. If you understand them. And that’s what my new course is all about. “Advanced C Programming: Pointers” explains pointers from the ground up. What exactly is a pointer variable and how does it work with addresses in memory? What is indirection? How can you avoid common pointer problems such as memory leaks and program crashes?

Topics covered include:

• Pointers and addresses
• Indirection and multiple indirection
• Pointers and arrays
• Pointers to structs
• Data-type alignment
• Generic pointers and casts
• Null pointers
• Memory allocation and reallocation
• Freeing memory safely
• Pointer arithmetic
• Singly and doubly linked lists
• Queues and stacks
• Pushing and popping
• Function pointers
• Deep and shallow copying
• Common pointer errors

…and much more

NOTE: This is not a course for beginners. It is aimed at programmers who already have a good working knowledge of C programming and who need to take the next step in mastering C by gaining a deep understanding of pointers. (If you are a beginner, you should sign up to my C Beginners Course first).

Course contents:

• 58 Lectures
• Over 3.5 hours of video instruction
• Downloadable source code of all examples
• Quizzes and course notes
• Lifetime access

----------------------------------------------------
Advanced C Programming: Pointers
Regular Price: $95
Sign up today for just $15
https://www.udemy.com/advanced-c-programming-pointers/?couponCode=BWCPOINTERS
----------------------------------------------------
(Offer runs until end of May, 2017)

Learn Java - Special Offer - Save $120 Off Regular Price!

Java Programming – the Master Course is a multimedia course that teaches you Java from the ground up. With over 9 hours of video tuition, plus a an eBook and lots of ready-to-run source code, this is a premium course that normally costs $149. But this month I have a special offer that will get you the entire course for just $29!

Even if you are a complete beginner, this course will explain all the topics you need to know in order to become a proficient Java developer. It starts with the basics and moves on step-by-step to explain advanced topics such as generics, enumerated types, file-handling and streaming. You can follow the course on a Mac or on a PC. And all the software you need is free.


This is what you get with this course….

• 88 lectures and over 9.5 hours of content
• All the source code ready-to-run 
• A 125-page eBook, The Little Book Of Java
• 10 quizzes to test your understanding
• Lifetime access to the course

Java Programming - the Master Course is available on Udemy for $149. But, using this special link, you can get this complete Java course at a massive 81% discount.

CLICK THIS LINK to get lifetime access to this $149 course for just $29:
https://www.udemy.com/java-programming-the-master-course/?couponCode=BWJAVAOCT

Good programming!

​FREE C and C# Programming Tutorials

I recently published two quick-start guides to the C and C# (‘C-sharp’) languages on the Udemy Blog. If you are learning C or C# now or wonder whether you might want to learn them in the future, these simple guides give you a short and snappy overview of these two important programming languages.

They are online now. All you need to do is go over to the Udemy Blog to read them.

• C# Tutorial https://blog.udemy.com/c-tutorial-getting-started-with-c/
• C Tutorial https://blog.udemy.com/c-tutorial-learn-c-in-20-minutes/

Best wishes
Huw Collingbourne
(Bitwise Courses instructor)

C Programming, Top Ten Tips

I just published an article for C programmers over on the Udemy eLearning site. This gives ten programming tips as follows:

1. Function pointers
2. Variable-length argument lists
3. Bit-manipulation
4. Short-circuit operators
5. Ternary operators
6. Stacks (pushing and popping)
7. Fast data-copying 
8. Testing for header inclusion
9. Correct use of parentheses
10. Using arrays as addresses

Learn C Online

If you want to learn C programming you may also be interested in my course (8 hours of teaching plus all source code and an eBook). Hint: If you are quick and you click THIS LINK you can enrol on my course for a very big discount. But this deal ends at the end of June, so don't hang around!

Customize Netbeans - two simple tutorials

Netbeans is a great free, cross-platform IDE that supports a variety of programming languages. In my latest YouTube videos I show two handy ways of customising Netbeans.

How to add custom TODO tags in Netbeans


How to enable or disable comment formatting in Netbeans

For more hints and tips be sure to subscribe to the Bitwise Courses YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/BitwiseCourses

From pop stars to programming

How did I go from interviewing Duran Duran to programming in Ruby, C and C#? John Colley’s Online Learning Podcast explains all. This video gives a short extract from the interview that John did with me. Listen to the complete interview at the Online Learning podcast: http://jbdcolley.com/olp057

Free podcast about programming, Udemy and online learning

Pop stars, programming and big, furry dogs. How I went from interviewing Duran Duran to becomeing a top-selling programming teacher on Udemy. John Colley’s interview with me reveals all in the latest episode of his excellent Online Learning Podcast.

John has interviewed many of the top Udemy instructors, so if you want to learn more about their backgrounds, the subjects they teach and the strategies they have used to become successful online, this podcast is definitely worth subscribing to. John’s interview with me is here: http://jbdcolley.com/olp057

How to synchronize audio and video

Getting an audio track to sync with a separately-recorded video track isn't that hard to do. Our latest YouTube video explains the basics...     

Video Samurai - make pro videos on an amateur budget

The Video Samurai is the name of my latest YouTube playlist. This is a series of videos that will help you to make your own YouTube (or eLearning) videos without spending a fortune on hardware and software. The first two videos have just gone online. More to follow. To keep up to date with all my latest videos, be sure to Subscribe to the BitwiseCourses YouTube channel.

Lazarus and Free Pascal - for cross-platform programming

My latest YouTube video shows you how to get started with the free Lazarus IDE and the Free Pascal compiler. Follow along to design and run a simple form-based "Hello world" program in just a few minutes:


Lazarus is a neat visual programming system that makes it easy to create Object Pascal applications on Windows, OS X or Linux. This video is taken from my in-depth course Learn To Program Pascal and Delphi. If you don't need a complete course, however, you will find a few free videos on Lazarus and Delphi by browsing my YouTube Pascal programming playlist. There are lots more free programming videos on Ruby, C, C#, Java and more on the Bitwise Courses YouTube channel, so be sure to Subscribe!

Learn to program Java - free videos

My latest free videos on YouTube are all about Java programming. In common with my YouTube Ruby programming series, my Java videos are just 60 seconds long, so you get straight to the important stuff without having to endure any waffle. So far there are just two Java videos online but more are coming soon - so be sure to subscribe to the Bitwise Courses YouTube channel - and be the first to know whenever there is anything new.

Here are the first two Java videos...

Programming For Beginners - free videos

The Bitwise Courses YouTube channel now has an ever-growing course on Programming For Beginners (currently 13 videos with more due soon). This course explains the basics of programming - everything from functions and variables to arrays and dictionaries. If you are learning Ruby, you might also want to take a look at my series of one-minute hints and tips: Ruby Programming in 60 Seconds. And no matter what programming language you happen to be using, you should definitely try creating one of the most interesting and enjoyable types of computer program - an adventure game. And I have a short series of videos on that subject too. There are lots more videos coming online all the time, so make sure you never miss any and Subscribe To The Bitwise Courses YouTube Channel!

Anyway, here is the latest video in my Programming For Beginners course...