BoldForDelphi

March 29, 2026 · View on GitHub

Bold is a Model Driven Architecture (MDA) framework and Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tool for Delphi. It allows you to start with a UML model of your application and execute it with a sophisticated object-relational mapping layer, OCL query language, change synchronization, and IDE-integrated tools.

Use Cases

Bold for Delphi is best suited for:

Complex Domain Models - Applications with many interrelated business entities, inheritance hierarchies, and associations
Data-Intensive Business Applications - ERP, logistics, CRM, inventory management, financial software
Rich Query Requirements - OCL enables expressive queries like orders->select(status = 'Pending' and total > 1000)
Long-Lived Desktop Applications - Automatic UI updates when data changes via the subscription system
Rapid Prototyping - Define your model in UML, generate code, and have a working database-backed application quickly

Getting Started

Documentation - Full documentation including concepts, class reference, and FAQ.
Quick Start Guide - Step-by-step instructions to install Bold, build your first model, and run the MasterDetail example application.
Roadmap - Development plans, supported features, and future directions for Bold for Delphi.
Changelog - Version history and release notes.

Supported Delphi Versions

Delphi 13.0 Athens (packages/Delphi13/)
Delphi 12.3 Athens (packages/Delphi12.3/)
Delphi 12.1 CE Athens (packages/Delphi12.1_CE/)
Delphi 11.3 Alexandria (packages/Delphi11.3/)

Dependencies

Platform

Bold for Delphi is Windows only (Win32/Win64). It is not compatible with cross-platform targets (Linux, macOS, iOS, Android).

Runtime Dependencies

Bold for Delphi has no external runtime dependencies. All required functionality is included in the source.

Database Adapters

Adapter	Package	Notes
FireDAC	Built-in	Recommended. Included with Delphi
UniDAC	Optional	Requires UniDAC license. Set `UniDAC` environment variable

GUI Component Integrations

Integration	Package	Notes
DevExpress	dclBoldDevEx.dpk	Bold-aware DevExpress components. Requires DevExpress VCL license with full source code

Unit Test Dependencies

The unit test project requires these external frameworks (not needed for production use):

Dependency	Path	Purpose
DUnitX	`C:\Attracs\DUnitX\Source`	Unit testing framework
Delphi-Mocks	`C:\Attracs\Delphi-Mocks\Source`	Mocking framework for interface testing
DelphiCodeCoverage	`C:\Attracs\DelphiCodeCoverage\`	Code coverage reporting

Environment variables DUnitX and DelphiMocks are set automatically by run_coverage.ps1.

Unit Tests and Code Coverage

Unit tests are located in UnitTest/ and use the DUnitX framework. Code coverage is tracked on Codecov.io.

Current Statistics (as of 2026-03-29):

Tests: 2067 total (2065 passing, 2 ignored, 0 failed)
Code Coverage: 56.8% (32,412 / 57,151 lines covered)

Running Tests with Code Coverage

cd UnitTest
.\run_coverage.ps1

This builds the test project, runs all tests, generates a coverage report, and opens it in your browser.

Options:

-SkipBuild - Skip compilation, run coverage on existing executable
-OpenReport:$false - Don't open the report automatically
-Upload - Upload results to Codecov.io (requires CODECOV_TOKEN environment variable)

Prerequisites:

DelphiCodeCoverage installed at C:\Attracs\DelphiCodeCoverage\

Results are generated in UnitTest/coverage_report/. Open CodeCoverage_summary.html to view the local report.

Source Organization

Source/
├── BoldAwareGUI/          # GUI components and control packs
│   ├── BoldControls/      # Visual controls (Grid, Edit, ComboBox, etc.)
│   ├── BoldDevex/         # DevExpress integration (requires DevExpress license)
│   ├── ControlPacks/      # Renderer/follower pattern for UI binding
│   ├── Core/              # GUI base functionality
├── Common/                # Shared infrastructure
│   ├── Core/              # Base classes (BoldBase, BoldContainers, BoldDefs)
│   ├── Subscription/      # Observer pattern (BoldSubscription, BoldDeriver)
│   ├── Support/           # Utilities (BoldUtils, BoldGuard, BoldIndex)
│   ├── COM/               # COM infrastructure
│   ├── Logging/           # Log handling
│   └── IDE/               # Common IDE support
├── ObjectSpace/           # Object model runtime
│   ├── BORepresentation/  # Business object representation
│   ├── Core/              # BoldElements, BoldSystem
│   ├── Ocl/               # OCL parser and evaluator
│   ├── RTModel/           # Runtime type information
│   └── Undo/              # Undo/redo mechanism
├── Persistence/           # Database persistence
│   ├── Core/              # Persistence controllers and handles
│   ├── DB/                # Database persistence base
│   ├── FireDAC/           # FireDAC adapter (recommended)
│   ├── SOAP/              # SOAP persistence
│   └── Propagation/       # Change propagation
├── PMapper/               # Object-relational mapping
│   ├── SQL/               # SQL generation
│   ├── Default/           # Default mappers
│   └── DBEvolutor/        # Database schema evolution
├── Handles/               # Handle system for UI binding
├── MoldModel/             # Model representation and code generation
├── UMLModel/              # UML metamodel and editor
└── ValueSpace/            # Value interfaces and streaming

Key Packages

Package	Type	Description
dclBold.dpk	Design-time	Main Bold components package

Contributing

Report issues - Use GitHub Issues for bugs and feature requests
Submit PRs - Fork the repo and submit pull requests
Documentation - Help improve docs and examples
Testing - Report compatibility issues with different databases/Delphi versions
Spread the word - Blog posts, conference talks, social media

Have suggestions for the roadmap? Open an issue on GitHub or discuss on Discord.

Versioning

Version format: YY.MM.patch (e.g., 25.12.0)

Source	Purpose
dproj	Current version (shown in About dialog)
CHANGELOG.md	Version history
Git tags	Backup/release markers

Release workflow:

Move [Unreleased] items in CHANGELOG.md to new version section
Update version in dproj (Project > Options > Version Info)
Create git tag: git tag v25.12.1

Resources

Documentation: https://bero.github.io/BoldForDelphi/
GitHub: https://github.com/bero/BoldForDelphi
Issues: https://github.com/bero/BoldForDelphi/issues
Discord: https://discord.gg/C6frzsn
Wiki: https://delphi.fandom.com/wiki/Bold_for_Delphi
GitHub Wiki: https://github.com/bero/BoldForDelphi/wiki
Blog: http://boldfordelphi.blogspot.com/

License

MIT License - Source code made available by Embarcadero.

Original Version: 4.0.1.0 Bold for Delphi, Release 4.0 (2004-04-23)