Yet Another Code Site

Microsoft's Developer Network
Lots of information on using the entire Windows API. Searchable database of documents, code samples, and free tools.  Free basic enrollment. For a fairly complete example of using Rich Edit controls in straight C/C++ (no MFC), look for the REITP sample code.  Of course, this site is the final authority on all native Windows controls.

Borland.com
Borland's Developer Support Site
Borland's BCB Additional Sites
The Borland web site does not have much, if anything, specifically about Rich Edit controls.  In fact, from my experience, I must conclude that Borland is almost as clueless about Rich Edit controls as I am.  However, the site is the authoritative source for BCB information, patches, updates, FAQs, and links to other BCB developer sites.

Borland's VCL Newsgroup
Borland's Windows API Newsgroup
List Of All Borland Newsgroups
Borland's newsgroup discussion forums are typically very helpful.  Many "experts" regularly monitor the posts and answer questions where they can.  The above two forums are the best places to post questions about Rich Edit controls.  However, there are numerous other forums that cover everything from the IDE to Delphi.  I suggest that you add the server (forums.inprise.com) to your newsgroup reader and select the forums that most interest you.
(If you have never participated in a newsgroup, you might want to read my Advice For New Newsgroup Users.)

DejaNews
Bad news:  DejaNews folded.  Good news:  Google took over the DejaNews archives (see below).  Bad news:  Google does not make the newsgroups archives clearly searchable.

Open Directory Project's C++ Builder Category
Lists several sites – hopefully the list will grow.  Anyway, they gave me a "cool site" award, so they clearly have good taste, right?  (Note:  The Open Directory Project was previously known as NewHoo.)

Google
Another search site that appears to be useful for programmers.  For example, search for "rich edit" or "richedit" and you will find 390+ relevant links.  Change the search to "borland and (richedit or "rich edit")" and you will find less than 80 relevant sites.  I suggest that you try the latter first....
Note:  DejaNews gave up recording all newsgroup posts.  Google.com has taken over the newsgroup history that DejaNews previously recorded.  Unless Google.com also caves, you should be able to search old newsgroup posts there.

Teoma
If you think that Google is a great search engine, you should check out Teoma.  In my experience, this search site returns results that are at least as good as Google.  Of course, "your mileage may vary," but I suggest that you give it a try.

MER Systems
This site has a full database of Borland/Inprise newsgroup/forum messages with a good search engine.  Recommended.

Borland C+ programming web rings
Web rings are simply sites with a common interest that link to each other in a way that allows you to move from site to site in an organized fashion.  These particular web rings contain sites that concentrate on Borland C++ Builder.

The Bits - The C++ Builder Information & Tutorials Site
An excellent C++ Builder site.  Tutorials, components, columns, and more.  Well organized with many free components that include source code.  If someone has solved the problem, there is a good chance that The Bits will have it.

The Developer's Corner Journal
A good site for Borland information.  Magazine format with columns on the Windows GUI, network development, object design, product reviews, and more.  See the Tips, Tricks, and Tidbits column for the  RxLib English Help Files.

Bytamin-C
Borland C++ Builder site.  Components, articles, tips and tricks, and a message board (free).  This is a home site for the Visual Assembler Project, an endeavor whose goal is to make Assembler a Rapid Application Development (RAD) environment.

FraserSoft
Home of GenHelp.  GenHelp generates a help file from Delphi and C++ Builder source.  You then need add descriptions for each of the properties, methods, and events in the appropriate GenHelp windows.  With a couple of clicks, you can generate a help file that looks and feels like the Borland help.  If you later modify your source code, simply re-import the changed files and key the additional help information.  Writing help files is a pain, but this tool has saved me considerable effort and time....  Pete has also posted an English version of the RxLib help files.  Be sure to thank him if you find them useful.

BCBDEV.COM
Harold Howe's (of Borland TeamB fame) site.  FAQs, IDE tips, links to other BCB sites.

The RxLib Component Library
RxLib is an exceptional kit of tools.  Complete with Delphi Pascal source code (and installation instructions for BCB), it is freeware from a very talented set of programmers in Russia.  This is a definite must-have library. I will not say it is "complete" – but only because no library is ever complete.  On the other hand, if there ever was a free set of tools that came close, this is it.  The only real short-coming – and it is only a problem if you do not speak Russian – is that there are no English help files available from the authors.  An English translation is available at The Developer's Corner Journal and on Pete Fraser's FraserSoft site (see the links above).  Version 2.60+ of the RX Component Library contains the TRxRichEdit component, which supports Rich Edit 2.0.

Torry's Delphi Pages
If you are looking for a Delphi/Pascal solution or you simply want a RichEdit 2.0 component that you can install and use, you might want to look at TRichEdit98 on this site.  Although I have not used it, the code appears to be well-designed and claims to implement all of the RichEdit 2.0 features that I cover on this site – maybe more – including OLE support, character and paragraph formatting, and even extended URL support beyond what the native RichEdit 2.0 control provides.  Look for TRichEdit98 on the "Edits, Memos #2" page.  The current version as of 01-05-99, is v1.32, includes Delphi source code, and is freeware.  Let me know what you learn about it.  And, if your experiences are positive, do not forget to thank the authors.

The Delphi Super Page
This site has tons of components, many with source code.  Although primarily a Delphi site, there are separate sections for Borland C++ Builder code.  Further, the site is incredibly well organized.  I consider this a "must-see" site....

DelphiZine.com
This site is the home of, or at least associated with, the Delphi Informant Magazine.  There are good articles complete with Delphi source code that explain using the VCL, automating Outlook, and even some articles that delve into the Windows API.  Given the C++ Builder's common VCL heritage, this site is worth a look.

Info-ZIP
Info-ZIP's purpose is to provide free, portable, high-quality versions of the Zip and UnZip compression-archiving utilities that are compatible with the DOS-based PKZIP by Phil Katz .  Info-Zip is now hosted at www.freesoftware.combut is currently difficult to find.  For now, the above link works.

Simtel.Net
Free source code for Windows programs, GNUish tools (MS-DOS versions of GNU tools – largely inactive, I think, but the old source continues to be very useful), DJGPP (the free C++ GPP compiler ported to the MS-DOS platform), and lots of other stuff.

The CodeGuru Site/MFC Programmer's Sourcebook
Tons of source code and information on difficult Windows programming topics.  Granted, the code is in WinAPI or MFC, but sometimes you have to go slumming.  If you are willing to work a little, this is an excellent and very complete source.

Wotsit's Format
This site has file format information for just about everything under the sun.  The index lists: Graphics files, movies/animations, archive files, binaries, spreadsheet/database, font files, game files, text files/documents, Internet related, sound and music, Windows files, GIS formats, comms formats, printer formats, hardware formats, miscellaneous, and game programming.  I could not find the kitchen sink, but I would wager that it is in there somewhere.

The Graphics File Format Page
Want information about a graphics file format?  This is another good site; however, the main page appears to have been neglected since 1997.  Given that I am editing this in 2001, this would not be my first choice unless I was looking for a pre-1998 format.

John Maddock's Home Page
Dr. John has been kind enough to make his regular expression library, Regex++, available for free.  It is fully compatible with BCB and incredibly easy to use.  He has posted other goodies, too.

While I admire Dr. John's work and believe that it is a superior effort, some of the BCB libraries based on his code and referenced on his site are not free.  If you are looking for a free solution or do not want to develop your own libraries, you may want to see the free PCRE code (next entry below) and updated BCB/PCRE code available on this site (main page Code Samples section) for a possibly less complete, but abosolutely free, solution.

Perl-Compatible Regular Expression Library (PCRE)
Borland C++ Builder versions 4.0 and 5.0 come with a regular expression library based on an earlier version of this tool (PCRE 2.x).  Both versions include the source code for the library albeit well-hidden (look in the [bcbroot]\Source\RTL\source\pcre folder) and the help files include some incomplete information (search the index for "Perl-compatible regular expressions").  I have posted a PCRE 3.4 port on the main page of this site – see the Code Samples section and look for "Upgrading the BCB regular expression library to PCRE 3.4 ."

Washington University
A large FTP site with Windows-specific archives, Unix, graphics, and other source code.

ScramDisk Home Page
This site is run anonymously and has source code for a number of well-known encryption algorithms.  More interesting is the ScramDisk program which allows you to create encrypted disk volumes.  I have not tested it yet so I suggest exercising extreme caution.  However, the ScramDisk source code is available on the site, so take a look.

BCB and Delphi Freeware Zip Components Page
A source for ZipBuilder and ZipMaster freeware (PKZIP-format file-compression source code).  The site also contains links to other useful PKZIP-compatible file compression tool sites.

Hutch's home page
Whoever said that Windows killed assembler programming was clearly wrong.  This site provides assembler coding techniques, programs, and tutorials.  If you are interested in programming at the bare metal – and really understanding what both the software and hardware do at the machine level – this could quickly become one of your favorite sites.

Iczelion's Win32 Assembly HomePage
Here is another assembler site, but do not go here if you are not really interested in assembler code – this site may provide answers to more questions than you ever thought to ask.  As Alice said, it gets "curiouser and curiouser" and you may find yourself overwhelmed or completely distracted.  On the other hand, there is no programming problem that these guys cannot overcome.
This site has tutorials; examples; assembler macros; links to freeware assemblers and other related sites; and an entry point to the x86 Assembly Language Webring.  Mirror sites:  Mirror #1 (fast) and Mirror #2 (slow).

SmartFTP
Looking for Rich Edit 2.0 or 3.0 DLLs?  You can download Rich Edit 3.0 here. 
Frankly, I have tried -- unsuccessfully -- to determine whether this site is authorized to distribute the Microsoft RE DLLs.  However, the site has made the code available for so long that I must conclude that either it is authorized or that Microsoft does not care enough to search for RE copyright violations.  On the other hand, maybe Microsoft will shut this site down tomorrow -- so depend on this site at your own risk.

SysInternals
This site specializes in advanced utilities, technical information, and source code related to Windows 9x, Windows Me, and Windows NT/2000 internals.  Source code is available for many unusual tasks.

FreeVCS
This is a free Version Control System (VCS) worth looking at.  Before you get too excited, there are a couple of caviats....
First, FreeVCS is not open source.  In fact, the site FAQs state that source code is not available at any price.  Second, while FreeVCS can be integrated into the Delphi IDE, the BCB IDE integration is, at this writing, merely a promise.  That said, you can use the FreeVCS outside of the BCB IDE.  Despite these warnings, I think this is worthy of a few hours of review.

StarOffice/OpenOffice
StarOffice is now Open Source!
StarOffice is a full-featured Microsoft Office compatible suite of applications which runs on a variety of platforms (Windows, Unix, and Solaris; Macintosh support coming soon).  By "full-featured," I mean that it includes everything that you would expect from an office suite:  A word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, image editor, database program, and macro language.  See the press release and the http://www.openoffice.org/ site for more info.  For the current free version of StarOffice 6.0 (beta), see the Sun Microsystems link in the Vendor Sites section below.

SourceForge
SourceForge is a free service to Open Source developers offering easy access to the best in version control, mailing lists, bug tracking, message boards/forums, task management, site hosting, permanent file archival, full backups, and total web-based administration.  If you are looking for open source solutions, this appears to be a truly worthwhile starting point.

AbiSource
This site is the home of AbiWord, an open source GUI editor similar to the Rich Edit control for Unix and Windows (BEOS and Macintosh ports are underway).  It uses XML for the native document format and can read and write files in RTF, HTML, and other formats.  It even includes a spell-checker.

Scintilla
Scintilla is another GUI editor with free source for Windows and Unix.  It includes source code editing features such as syntax highlighting and auto-indent.  The site also has links to other editor source code sites.

SynEdit
SynEdit is a 32-bit syntax highlighting edit control, not based on native Windows controls.  Predefined highlighters are included for C++, Fortran, Java/JavaScript/JScript, Pascal, Visual Basic/Visual Basic Script/VBScript, HTML, MS-DOS Batch scripts, Perl, TCL/Tk, AWK Scripts, SQL, x86 Assembler, Delphi/C++Builder Form definitions, INI Files, Python, and more.  If none of these fit your needs, you can define your own list of keywords.  RTF and HTML exporters are included.

The GNU Project
Home to (you guessed it) the GNU project – free source code for just about every Unix utility that exists.  If you need MS-DOS versions of LEX or YACS (compiler development tools), check out FLEX or Bison.  If you want source code for a program editor, look at GNU EMACS.

PCRE (Perl-Compatible Regular Expression Library)
Recent versions of the Borland Delphi and C++ Builder VCL include a Regular Expression search library.  As best I can determine, these BCB versions are based upon the PCRE 2.x library.  A PCRE 3.4 port for BCB5 is available on the main page of this site – look for the TTaeRegExp class.

OWL NExt
This site appears to be dedicated to creating an open source version of the BC++ OWL class library and making it portable to non-Borland compilers.  Personally, I think that OWL was a better class library than the current BCB Delphi-bound VCL so, if you are not already tied to the VCL or Borland compilers, this class library worth a look.

Borland's InterBase
Even Borland has jumped into the open source movement, throwing its once-strategic database product, InterBase, into the ring.  Do not kid yourself – this is no toy database.  This product was once positioned to compete with Oracle and Sybase, albeit a bit too late.  It is now in its 6 ^th version and comes with a local database server (for development without a dedicated server), supports SQL and large binary field objects (BLOBs) for storing images and other arbitrary binary data, has support tools for managing the servers and tables, and, possibly most importantly, includes complete technical documentation.  And since C++ Builder ships with native VCL InterBase components for accessing and managing the data (InterBase Express), this is definitely worth looking into.  Want portability?  Linux and Solaris code is already posted for free download.  Check it out.

WC3 (The World Wide Web Consortium)
This site has been around since 1994 with a goal of promoting common protocols and standards.  You might want to check out Amaya which is a complete web browsing and authoring environment.  The site notes that it comes equipped with a WYSIWYG style of interface, similar to that of the most popular commercial browsers.  Also, the HTML Converters page links to various file converters including some that convert HTML to/from RTF (see the Word Processor filters etc link to go directly to the page that contains RTF/HTML converters). 

LiNUX.COM
LiNUX.COM's mission is to enrich the Linux community by providing a centralized place for individuals of all experience levels to learn (and teach) the power and virtues of the Linux Operating System.  Since a simple search for "edit" on this site generates zero hits, this site is not recommended.

The Linux Home Page
If you are interested in Linux, this is a good site.

GExperts Home Site
GExperts is an extensive set of add-in tools for the Borland Delphi and C++ Builder IDEs.  This set of "experts" includes a better GREP search utility, a message dialog source code generator, a tool for backing up the current project to a ZIP file, an option to export syntax-coded text to a file, add keyboard shortcuts to comment/uncomment a block of code, and much more.  While I think that you really should try this code, a couple warnings are in order:

• While this is an "open source" project, some of the code depends upon licensed code (such as VCLZip).  I found that you cannot modify the source without licensing code from others.
• Much of the code works only with Delphi sources.  For example, the backup utility recognizes only Delphi files by default; I wanted to add BCB files to the default but ceased my efforts to add support for BCB file types after finding that a license for VCLZip was required in order to recompile the project.

In summary, I think that BCB programmers should look at this tool.  However, until it is entirely free code, we will be forced to live with a Delphi-centric implementation.

Wei Dai's Site
This site has C/C++ source code for encryption algorithms (Crypto++).  The site states that "one purpose of Crypto++ is to act as a repository of public domain (not copyrighted) source code...."   (I suggest that you grab all of the free crypto code that you can before the US government once again classifies cryptography as a munition.)

Majix
MAJIX is an open source Java RTF to HTML/XML converter.  I have not yet spent much time with it (hey, I just found it), but IBM has information about it, so it must be good, right?

HTML Goodies
Joe Burns wrote the book HTML Goodies, one of the early, technically relevant texts on HTML.  His site continues to have some of the best explanations of HTML as well as useful scripts.

Programming Windows, Charles Petzold
The Borland VCL is a great tool and will be all that you need 90% of the time.  This book is for the other 10%.  If you are new to the Windows environment or want to understand the Windows API, I am convinced that this book is required reading.

Borland C++ Builder 4 Unleashed, Kent Reisdorph, et al
This 1200+ page tome includes chapters on Rich Edit controls, templates, threads, database, COM/OLE/ActiveX, ActiveForms, graphics, and more.  Kent does an excellent job of explaining the basics of printing with Rich Edit controls and provides a slick Rich Edit style sheet class.

Applied Cryptography, Bruce Schneier
This is the introduction to cryptography by which all others are measured.  In-depth discussions on all of the major algorithms and protocols.  C source code is included.  Free monthly e-mail newsletter on cryptography issues.  Highly recommended.

Compiler Design In C, Allen I. Holub
An accessible book on compiler theory and design, it walks the reader through the development of compiler development tools similar to LEX and YACC.  Each of the tools is presented with complete C code examples preceded by a section on compiler, lexical analysis, or parser theory.  This is not an easy read, but, for C/C++ programmers interested in compiler development, this is a unique and useful source.

C/C++ Users Journal
If you are looking for a magazine that targets standard C/C++, this is a good choice.  Lots of source code, questions and answers on standards, columns on STL, and more.

Dr. Dobb's Journal
This magazine is heavy on source code, covers many programming languages, and demonstrates solving many interesting programming problems.  Dr. Dobb's Journal has been around for many, many years because of its high-quality articles.  You can probably pick a copy up at your local bookstore.

Developer's Information Library
The Developer's Information Library (DIL) is a CD collection of some of the best technical information about Borland products assembled by the UK Inprise/Borland User Group (UK/BUG).  The CD includes tips taken from newsgroups and excellent sites (including, ahem, this one); freeware, shareware, and evaluation versions of programs; the latest Borland software patches; a collection of several thousand image files; and "antique software" (need a copy of Turbo C 1.01 or 2.01 or Turbo Pascal 3.02 or 5.5? -- it is on the CD).  Of course, you can search through the database by keyword and filter by category (BDE, C++, CBuilder, CORBA, Delphi, Java, etc.).

To be fair, much -- if not all -- of the content is available on the Internet.  However, the DIL CD assembles some of the best information in an easy-to-use format.  For more information, click the above link and select "DIL CD" from the navigation bar on the UK/BUG home page.

Sun Microsystems
Sun recently bought StarOffice, a full-featured Microsoft Office clone which runs on a variety of platforms (Windows, Unix, and Solaris; Macintosh support coming soon).  By "full-featured," I mean that it includes everything that you would expect from an office suite:  A word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, image editor, database program, and macro language.  And they are still giving it away.  Scott McNealy may beat Bill Gates yet....

StarOffice v6.0 (beta) is now available.   This is 80MB+ of seriously good application software.  Even better, Sun now provides a software development kit.  Check it out!

StarOffice is now Open Source!   See the Open Source Efforts section above.

Castlewood Systems, Inc.
Another vendor site, but this is phenomenal!  This company manufactures a removable drive that is fast, reliable (in my experience), and, best of all, affordable.  This product, called an Orb Drive, stores 5.7GB of data.  Compared to a Jaz drive, it is larger, faster, and much, much cheaper to feed.  And the prices keep coming down.....

See the Castlewood site or check out my Orb vs Jaz comparison.

Novell DeveloperNet
Novell's developer support site.  NetWare C/C++, Delphi, and ActiveX SDK libraries and components.  Registration is free.
Frankly, Novell has made more than a few strategic mistakes.  However, do not be misled by statistics and pundits' opinions – Novell is well-entrenched in larger companies, at least in file- and print-server functions.  Novell now makes the development tools free and even provides Delphi versions of the tools that BCB programmers can use.  Perhaps I am biased, but I think Novell has better tools and is well-positioned to take back the ground lost to Microsoft in recent times.  On the other hand, Linux may rightfully overtake them both.....

Component Software
Need a free version control system (VCS) for personal use?  Well, I did.  As best I remember, this is not a new version control product.  I recall checking this product out several years ago.  Back then, it was not well-integrated into the Windows programming environment.  Today it much more complete and, thankfully, there is a free personal edition available for download..  For what it is worth, I *think* that the product is based upon the free Unix RCS (Revision Control System) with added support for the Windows programming environment.  Anyway, I suggest that you give it a try -- so far, I have been impressed....

Woll2Woll Software
This company produces a variety of products and they were kind enough to let me review InfoPower.  InfoPower is their database product which works with BCB and Delphi.  The version that I reviewed contains a full range of database tools and classes, including a Rich Edit 2.0 field editor.  If you are working with databases that need Rich Edit support, I suggest that you evaluate this product.

toolsfactory
BCB4 and BCB5 ship with a "lite" version of Class Explorer.  As of May 15, 2000, Class Explorer Pro is available free for non-commercial use.  If you are a non-commercial enterprise, you definitely need to get this upgrade.  You might also want to review their new Doc-O-Matic help-generation tool.  Of course, you should also check out Pete Fraser's GenHelp tool if you need to create help files for BCB source code.

Lobstersoft
If you are a shareware programmer, a commercial tool provider, or even a freeware programmer, you should look at the Software Administration Kit (SAK) on this site.  The SAK makes it easy to keep track of users, registration codes, product release dates, sales statistics, and bug reports.  You can even send customized messages to your users using the macro and e-mail facilities built into this program.

Logictran
If you need to convert RTF text to HTML or XML, you might want to check out this site.  In my limited tests, the tool translated my RTF files to virtually identical HTML.  The converter is highly configurable, so you should be able to tweak it to generate exactly what you want, need, or expect.  I was primarily interested in adding the ability to translate RTF to HTML from within my programs.  However, Logictran supplies stand-alone programs to convert files so, if you simply need to translate files, you can do so without writing any code.

Frankly, I found the RTF converter to be a bit challenging to use at first -- there were no BCB interfaces or samples.  Worse, the documentation was directed largely at Visual Basic programmers.  (If you have never tried to port VB OLE code to another language, be warned that it is harder than it sounds.)  Logictran's support was excellent and we quickly resolved the problems; you can now find BCB sample code and documentation on the Logictran site.

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