Components: install: reinstall: and again.

The problems with installation of third party components begin when the premises of Delphi are forgotten, or when too much help is offered. TMS Software offers an amazing collection of stuff. They are not the only component set I bought but they are the biggest.

Components have 2 parts. Design time, and runtime. The design time stuff usually works flawlessly, but somehow runtimes are more problematic. The library has to find the path to the runtimes, but the design time stuff is managed by the compiler. As soon as people have options, the fun starts. Adding Microsoft benevolent dictatorship to the mix with ever changing rules about what can be installed where and the proverbial dog's breakfast ensues.

Delphi XE2 is cross platform, multiple compilers with multiple targets. It is also multi-lingual with a lot of stuff in several languages, not just english.

Is that a challenge to keep straight? You bet it is.

Evening three of the installation has me gasping for breath. There are so many things to install and configure.

I started out putting stuff on the network drive. Turns out that is a no-no.

Uninstall number two happened when I tried to use the setup.exe that came with programs. Some stuff breaks when it is not installed in the default location.

Uninstall number three happened when I read the directions for manual installation wrong, and just ended up with the runtimes some how. Still not sure what went wrong there.

But forth time lucky. Now I just have the specialized packages for CE and the web stuff to go.

I got a bit upset for nothing when I found that TMS Unicode was 32 bit only. Then I realized that I probably dont need them because CE2 has it already. Oh well, if I dont use them it is simple to uninstall.

The process continues. TMS Instrumentation Workshop looks so cool. The components are sweet too. Smooth animations are something I want to play with.