Readers Choice Awards 2004

To be honest, last year's awards were a lot more dramatic. Coming as they did after TurboPower Software (then a major player) decided to leave the Delphi arena, there were new winners to announce in many new categories; it was a genuine sea change. The opposite is true this time around; with no new big players entering or exiting the stage, this year's awards resemble last year's in many categories. Happily, there are enough new products and place changes to keep things interesting, so read on.

There are two modifications to the balloting this year. There's one new category: Best Build Tool. And sadly, there weren't enough books in the past year to justify a Best Book category. It's the first year without it. Until quite recently there was only one book that qualified: Advantage Database Server: The Official Guide by Cary Jensen and Loy Anderson (published by McGraw-Hill Osborne Media). Cary and Loy are well-known, world-class writers and the book has received sterling reviews in these pages and on Amazon.com. Once the balloting ended, we received our first copies of Delphi for .NET Developer's Guide, by Xavier Pacheco, et al. It's the latest installment of one of the most respected series in Delphi history, and is also receiving stellar reviews on Amazon.com. We'll be reviewing it soon in DI.

In contrast, there are more third-party tools than ever. There were 228 in 2002, and 299 in 2003. This year the count topped out at 339, so Delphi-related books seem to be the exception rather than the rule when it comes to Delphi-related products. So let's get to it...

Best Accounting Package

Trading places. This year's first- and second-place finishers are the mirror image of last year's, with BS/1 (from Davis Business Systems Ltd.) taking top honors with 25% of the vote, and ColumbuSoft's Accounting for Delphi taking runner-up with 21%.

Best Add-in

It's a rush. It was a closer finish, but Developer Express' CodeRush took first place for the sixth straight year with 27% of the vote (last year it took 36%). This year's runner-up brings us our first tie with Athlant (from Devrace) and TMS Plugin Framework (from TMS Software) each garnering 18%. Last year's runner-up, ModelMaker Code Explorer, drops to fourth place with 16%.

Best Build Tool

No competition. This is a brand new category, so no one knew what to expect. What happened was a blowout, with Atozed Software's FinalBuilder taking 79% of the vote. Quality Software Components came in a distant runner-up with 12% for their TC Builder.

Best Charting/Mapping Tool

Steemarolla (again). Steema Software's TeeChartPro dominates Best Charting/Mapping Tool again, with 45% of the vote - its seventh consecutive first-place finish! Runner-up is a tie between TMS Diagram Studio (from TMS Software) and EasyMap VCL (from microOLAP Technologies), each with 13%. Last year's runner-up, ExpressOrgChart Suite (from Developer Express), dropped to fourth place.

Best Communications Tool

New champ (again). Last year's winner, RemObjects SDK (from RemObjects Software) has to be happy with runner-up status this time around. Since then, Atozed Software has released a commercial edition of their popular open-source Indy product. It's called Indy Plus and it took first place with 36% of the vote.

Best Database Connectivity

Volatile connections. FIBPlus (from Devrace) moves up to first place to take the category easily with nearly a quarter of the votes (last year it finished second). Runner-up goes to newcomer Direct Access Components for MySQL (from microOLAP Technologies) with 12% of the votes.

Best Database Engine

Muscling in. This category has featured close competition between DBISAM Database System (Elevate Software) and Advantage Database Server (Extended Systems) for four years running. This year, DBISAM takes first place again, while Advantage ties for runner-up with new player, NexusDB (from Nexus Database Systems).

Best Database Tool

Pulling away. After last year's close finish, IB Expert (HK-Software) wins again, this time in convincing fashion with 25% of the votes. Woll2Woll's InfoPower takes runner-up (again) with 13%, edging out Developer Express' ExpressQuantumTreeList (again) with 11%.

Best Debugging Tool

Role reversal. Transposing last year's order, AutomatedQA's AQtime steps up to finish first with 25%, while Raize Software's CodeSite drops to runner-up status with 22% of your votes. Interestingly, newcomer EurekaLog (from Fabio Dell'Aria) finishes a respectable third with 17%.

Best Globalization Tool

Another switcharoo. This is getting kinda weird. First and second place swap out in this category as well, with TsiLang Components Suite (SiComponents) taking Best with 31%, and MULTILIZER VCL Edition (MULTILIZER) following closely with 29%. For the second year running, Localizer (Korzh.com) takes a close third with 24%.

Best Help-authoring Package

Help yourself to more. For the third year in a row, Help & Manual (EC Software) dominates this category - and with a higher percentage than ever (59% this year, 51% in 2003, 29% in 2002). HelpScribble (JGsoft) and last year's runner-up RoboHelp Office (Macromedia) tie for second this year with 12% apiece.

Best Imaging Tool

A new look. Things got tossed about a bit in this category, with last year's third-place product, ImageEn (HiComponents) taking Best with 29%. Meanwhile, last year's winners (it was a tie for first), ImageLib Corporate Suite (from SkyLine Tools) and LEADTOOLS Imaging Toolkit (LEAD Technologies), now tie for runner-up with 20% apiece.

Best Installation Package

Dominance. InstallShield places first again with an even wider margin than last year over runner-up Wise for Windows Installer. InstallShield won last year by 19%; this year the margin is 35%.

Best Library

Check this out. ExpressBars Suite (Developer Express) wins again with a convincing 34% of your votes. The big story in this category is that FastScript (FastReports) has come out of nowhere to take 19% and second place.

Best Modeling/CASE Tool

Nothing new here. ModelMaker, Rational Rose, and CDK (Developer Express) finished one, two, and three, just as they did last year, and by very nearly the same percentages.

Best Reporting Tool

Race to the swift. It's been a long time coming, but FastReport (FastReports) has finally taken first place (42%), from Digital Metaphors' ReportBuilder (33%).

Best Scheduling/Calendar

The same, just more so. This category is three years old, and has had the same winner and runner-up for all three years. TMS TPlanner/TDBPlanner (TMS Software) took first place with 72% (last year it was 63%), and Jazmine Calendar/PIM Widgets (Jazmine Components) took second place with 11% (down from last year's 17%).

Best Security Tool

All new lineup. This is the second year for this category, and it's proving to be volatile with a new cast of characters in first and second place. TMS Security System (TMS Software) wins with 36%. StreamSec Tools (StreamSec) and ICE License (Ionworx Technology) tie for runner-up with 15% apiece. Interestingly, none of these products made a ripple last year.

Best Team/Project Tool

Make room! Make room! Also in its second year, this category must suddenly make room for Borland's StarTeam (it wasn't commercially available as a standalone product last year). Even so, Team Coherence (Quality Software Components) managed a tie (at 34%) for first place. AQdevTeam (AutomatedQA) places third again with 19%, while last year's runner-up PVCS Professional (Merant) drops to fourth place.

Best Testing/QA Tool

Test results. AutomatedQA's TestComplete dominates the category with 71% of the votes (last year it was 60%), while Rational Robot (IBM Rational) has runner-up to itself with 16%. Last year Rational Robot shared runner-up with DevPartnerStudio (Compuware), which drops to third.

Best Training

They're back! After falling to third place last year, InfoCan is back on top with 28%. And after winning two years in a row, Jensen Data Systems slips to runner-up status with 23% of the vote. Dropping from the runner-up status they enjoyed last year, Falafel is still a player with third place and 16%.

Best Utility

Retied. This is a first. Just as they did last year, ASPack (from ASPack Software) and VMware Workstation (VMware) tied for first place - and with near identical percentages (each with 24% as compared to last year's 23%). Beyond Compare in third place is also an exact repetition of last year.

Best VCL Component

Victory Express. Your pick for Best VCL Component is ExpressQuantumGrid (Developer Express) for the fourth year running, with 40% of the votes (down slightly from last year's 43%), while TAdvStringGrid (TMS Software) repeats as runner-up in even more convincing fashion (besting last year's 16% by six percentage points).

Best VCL Component Set

Consolidation duo. Developer Express wins in this category too, with its ExpressQuantumPack, for the third year running, this time with 31% as opposed to the previous years' 28% and 22%, respectively. TMS Component Pack (TMS Software) firmed up its runner-up status with 26% (up from last year's 20%), while Raize Components (Raize Software) repeats its third-place finish.

Best Web Development Tool

Ditto that. No change in this category either, with last year's winner and runner-up repeating, and by nearly the same percentages. IntraWeb (Atozed Software) takes first easily with just 2 percentage points less than last year, while ExpressWeb Framework (Developer Express) takes runner-up by one additional point.

Best Web Host

Some change. Last year's winner, Defined Systems, must share first place this year with 1&1 Hosting (runner-up last year), each with 27% of the votes.

Product of the Year

Surprise! It's another repeat - and another tie. Product of the Year goes to Help & Manual (EC Software) for the second year in a row. This time however, it must share the honor with FastReport (FastReports). For history's sake, here are the winners and runners-up for POY since the award began in 1996:

1996 InfoPower, (unknown)

1997 InfoPower, Orpheus

1998 InfoPower, Apollo

1999 ReportBuilder, Orpheus

2000 ReportBuilder, Apollo

2001 ReportBuilder, Advantage Database Server

2002 ReportBuilder, Advantage Database Server

2003 Help & Manual, ExpressQuantumGrid

2004 FastReport and Help & Manual (tie for POY)

Company of the Year

No tie! Company of the Year goes to the organization with the most first-place finishes for the year, and that honor goes to Developer Express with four. And it wasn't a tie! It was fairly close however, with Atozed Software right behind with three first-place wins. And honorable mentions need to go to AutomatedQA and TMS Software with two first-place finishes apiece.

Until Next Year

As always, I would like to thank the multitude of Delphi third-party vendors who create the products that make Delphi development easier and more productive. And, thank you, gentle reader, for participating in the awards process.

Jerry Coffey is Editor-in-Chief of Delphi Informant Magazine. You can reach him at mailto:jcoffey@DelphiZine.com.

Contacting the Winners

Best Accounting Package

BS/1

Davis Business Systems Ltd.

Web Site: http://www.dbsonline.com

Best Add-in

CodeRush

Developer Express

Web Site: http://www.devexpress.com

Best Build Tool

FinalBuilder