System Information Unit

Information Sheet

Contents

• Description
• Compatibility
• Demo Project
• Installation
• Update History
• License and Disclaimer
• About the Author

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Description

This unit contains a group of static classes and some global variables that provide information about the user's computer system and operating system. The static classes are:

• TPJComputerInfo – provides information about the host computer.
• TPJSystemFolders – gets the full path to certain system folders.
• TPJOSInfo – gives information about the operating system information including the platform, product name, product ID code, version and service packs.

In addition, the unit extends the information provided by the SysUtils unit's Win32xxx variables (such as Win32Platform) by defining further Win32xxx variables that store the extended operating system information available on later NT platform OSs.

Deprecated Code

The TPJSysInfo component and SIGetxxx functions provided in earlier versions of the unit are still available. They have been re-implemented to call methods of the above static classes. The component and functions have been made available for backward compatibility but are now deprecated and should not be used in new code.

Bugs

There was a bug in v2.0 that raised an exception when accessing TPJOSInfo.ProductName on Windows 2003. This was fixed in v2.0.1. Thanks to Guillermo Fazzolari for reporting and fixing this.

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Compatibility

This unit works with all editions of Delphi from 3 to 7. It should also work with the Delphi 2005 and later Win32 compilers but the unit has not been tested with them. The unit no longer compiles with Delphi 2.

Since the unit makes unmanaged calls to the Windows API the unit will not work with Delphi.net compilers.

The included demo project will not compile with Delphi 3.

The supplied help file is designed to integrate with the Delphi 3 to 7 IDEs. It will not integrate with Delphi 2005.

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Demo Project

A demo project is included in the download. The project contains a tab set where each tab displays the information from one of the classes, global variables, and the deprecated functions and component.

Since the demo exercises the deprecated code you will get "deprecated" warnings when building with Delphi 6 and later.

Note: the demo project does not compile with Delphi 3 since it uses overloaded methods.

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Installation

The System Information Unit and the demo program are supplied in a zip file. Before installing you need to extract all the files from the zip file, preserving the directory structure. The following files will be extracted:

• PJSysInfo.pas – source code of the static classes, global variables and deprecated functions and component.
• PJSysInfo.dcr – resource file containing the component's glyph.
• PJSysInfo.hlp – unit help file (integrates with Delphi 3..7 IDE).
• PJSysInfo.als – "a-keyword" file for integration with Delphi 6 or 7 OpenHelp system.
• ReadMe.htm – information sheet.
• ChangeLog.txt – unit's change log.
• Demo\SysInfoDemo.dpr – demo program project file.
• Demo\SysInfoDemo.res – demo program resource file (contains icon).
• Demo\SysInfoDemo.cfg – compiler config file for demo program.
• Demo\FmDemo.pas – demo program main form source code.
• Demo\FmDemo.dfm – demo program main form.

You can now proceed to install the unit using the emphasised files above. Installation methods vary between Delphi versions, so follow the instructions that apply to your version below. Note that $(DELPHI) represents the path where the appropriate version of Delphi was installed. Similarly $(BDS) refers to the installation path of a version of the Borland Development System.

• Installation with Delphi 2005 & 2006
• Installation with Delphi 3 to 7

Installation with Delphi 2005 & 2006

The unit must be installed into a Delphi Win32 design package. It is assumed that you will be installing into an existing package. You may decide to install into the "user" package: $(BDS)\Lib\dclusr.dpk.

1. Decide upon a suitable location into which to install the components. This may be a subdirectory of your Borland Studio Projects or $(BDS)\lib folders.
2. Copy PJSysInfo.pas and PJSysInfo.dcr to the chosen installation folder.
3. Start the Development System (selecting the Delphi Win32 personality if appropriate) then:
   • Open the required package. Select File | Open menu and choose a suitable package source file.
   • The package will now be displayed in the Project Manager with a .bpl extension. Right click the package's entry and select Add to display the Add dialog box. Enter the full path to PJSysInfo.pas in the Unit file name edit box (use the Browse button to navigate to the file). Click OK to add the component to the package.
   • Back in the Project Manager, check that all the added files appear under the package's Contains node. If so, right click the package's entry again and select Compile. If the resulting compilation succeeds a message should be displayed confirming that TPJSysInfo has been registered. The component should now appear in the "DelphiDabbler" section of the Tool Palette. (Note this will only appear when a form is selected in the designer).
   • If the component does not appear the package may not have been installed. Install it from the Project Manager by selecting the package's Install right click menu option.
   • Close the package project using the File | Close menu item. Accept any prompt that offers to save the package project.
4. If you wish you can now delete PJSysInfo.pas from the chosen installation folder.
5. The supplied help file cannot be integrated with the IDE's help system. However it can be used independently of the IDE, albeit with reduced functionality.
6. The demo programs can be loaded into Delphi and compiled and run as required.

Installation with Delphi 3 to 7

The components must be installed into a design package. It is assumed that you will be installing into an existing package. You may wish to use the "user" package named dclusr.dpk or dclusrXX.dpk (where XX is a version number). This package can be found in $(DELPHI)\Lib. Ensure that the chosen package "requires" designide.dcp.

1. Decide upon a suitable location into which to install the components. This may be a subdirectory of your $(DELPHI)\lib folder.
2. Copy PJSysInfo.pas and PJSysInfo.dcr to the chosen installation folder.
3. Start Delphi then:
   • Choose the Component | Install Component menu option to display the Install Component dialog box. Ensure the Into existing package tab is selected. Enter the full path to PJSysInfo.pas in the Unit file name edit box (use the adjacent Browse button to navigate to the file). Choose the required package from the Package description combo box, or by navigating to the package using Browse. Click OK to confirm your selections.
   • A confirmation dialog box may displayed, querying whether it is OK to rebuild and reinstall the package. Click Yes to proceed.
   • The package will now be built and a dialog box should be displayed stating that the TPJSysInfo component has been installed. Click OK to dismiss the dialog box.
   • The component will appear on the "DelphiDabbler" palette.
4. If you wish you can now delete PJSysInfo.pas from the chosen installation folder.
5. The provided help file can be integrated with the IDE's OpenHelp system. Delphi 6 and 7 also require the use of the supplied .als file. The simplest way to install help is to use my Component Help Installer Expert (v2.2.1 or later). If you prefer to install manually, this article explains the process.
6. The demo program can be loaded into Delphi and compiled and run as required.

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Update History

A complete change log is provided in a text file that is included in the download.

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License and Disclaimer

This source code is subject to the Mozilla Public License Version 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this source code except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/.

Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the License.

The Original Code is PJSysInfo (System Information Unit).

The Initial Developer of the Original Code is Peter Johnson (http://www.delphidabbler.com/).

Portions created by the Initial Developer are Copyright © 2001-2005 Peter Johnson. All Rights Reserved.

Contributor(s):

Guillermo Fazzolari (bug fix in v2.0.1)

All relevant trademarks are acknowledged.

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About the Author

I'm Peter Johnson – a hobbyist programmer living in Ceredigion in West Wales, UK, writing write mainly in Delphi. My programs are available for download from: http://www.delphidabbler.com/.

I can be contacted via the website.