Creating a Splash Screen in Delphi Applications

Creating a Splash Screen in Delphi Applications The most basic splash screen is just an image, or more precisely, a form with an image, that appears in the center of the screen when the application is loading. Splash screens are hidden when the application is ready to be used. Below is more information on the different types of splash screens you may see, and why theyre useful, as well as steps for creating your own Delphi splash screen for your application. What Are Splash Screens Used For? There are several types of splash screens. The most common are start-up splash screens - the ones you see when an application is loading. These usually display the applications name, author, version, copyright, ​an image, or some type of icon, that uniquely identifies it. If you are a shareware developer, you could use splash screens to remind users to register the program. These may pop up when the program first launches, to tell the user that they can register if they want special features or to get email updates for new releases. Some applications use splash screens to notify the user of the progress of a time-consuming process. If you look carefully, some really large programs use this type of splash screen when the program is loading background processes and dependencies.  The last thing you want is for your users  to think that your program is dead  if some database task is performing.   Creating a Splash Screen Lets see how to create a simple start-up splash screen in a few steps: Add a new form to your project.Select New Form from the File menu in the Delphi IDE.Change the Name Property of the Form to something like SplashScreen.Change these Properties: BorderStyle to bsNone, Position to poScreenCenter.Customize your splash screen by adding components like  labels, images, panels, etc.You could first add one TPanel component (Align: alClient)  and play around with BevelInner, BevelOuter, BevelWidth, BorderStyle, and BorderWidth properties to produce some eye-candy effects.Select Project from the Options menu and move the Form from the Auto-create listbox to Available Forms.Well create a form on the fly and then display it before the application is actually opened.Select Project Source from the View menu.You can also do this through  Project View Source.Add the following code after the begin statement of the Project Source code (the .DPR file): Application.Initialize; //this line exists! SplashScreen : TSplashScreen.Create(nil) ; SplashScreen.Show; SplashScreen.Update; After the final Application.Create() and before the  Application.Run statement, add: SplashScreen.Hide; SplashScreen.Free; Thats it!  Now you can run the application. In this example, depending on the speed of your computer, you will barely see your new splash screen, but if you have more than one form in your project, the splash screen will certainly show up.For more information on making the splash screen stay a bit longer, read through the code in this Stack Overflow thread. Tip:  You can also make custom shaped Delphi forms.

Security, Privacy and Ethical Issues in Information Systems Essay

Security, Privacy and Ethical Issues in Information Systems - Essay Example Whenever a user travels the cyberspace, (s)he leaves his/her identity at almost every step of the way (Privacy Rights Clearing House, 2006). Whether one is signing up for internet service with Internet Service Provider (ISP), sending emails, browsing internet sites, or using a search engine to locate required information, the identity of the machine is being shared, and it can be misused by someone masquerading as someone else (Webliminal.com, 2007). There is a growing concern about the security of personal and private information over the internet and web-based applications; spy-ware, viruses, worms, trojans and information leakage through social engineering are all evils generated one way or the other by the internet. In addition, many businesses gather and store personal information of the potentially new and existing customers in their systems which give rise to privacy and information security issues. When anyone attempts to make a payment online using credit cards and other ins truments, the security and confidentiality of the transaction is perhaps, the biggest concern. As a result, the consumers' trust in the web-based applications has declined. ... Several techniques have been developed to ensure the security of private information over the internet and to mitigate the risk of personal information misuse. A formal security policy governs the management's ideology, direction and operating procedures towards ensuring security and privacy of information. Many organizations now employ encryption mechanism like Secure Socket Layer (SSL) for transmission security and Digital Certificates to ensure non-repudiation and third-party assurance in the form of digital certificate (Newmann, 2003). Several privacy laws and regulations have been developed to regain customers' trust in e-commerce systems and online information sharing. The most accepted standard for ensuring information security and privacy is the British Standard Institute (BSI) guidelines called ISO27001 Information Security Management Systems. This standard deals with the applying adequate controls to ensure confidentiality, availability, and integrity of information; and pr otection of legal, privacy and security rights of the customers. Other regulations include copyright infringement laws and related policies that address the issues of information theft. 1.4 Computer Ethics In addition to security and privacy laws and regulations, companies also adopt information ethical standards to strengthen their systems of internal controls. An ethical problem can be defined as the argument with regard to one's values, in selecting one of the two paths based on the pressure and demands of a situation (Charlesworth Sewry, 2002, p.163).  

Going to Extremes Case Application Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Going to Extremes Application - Case Study Example He illustrates the core values that define the culture of the employees in an organization. In Zappos, the organizational culture tends to be more than the written values. This is evident in the complex web of human interactions created by the company. The company employs the use of a social web, to link the employees with one another and to enhance the interaction of employees with the customers. The company also evaluates its health, by questioning the employees as to whether the company has a higher purpose than the profits. The employees are also questioned if their role has meaning to the company, and if they enjoy working in that environment. The company believes that, with the right culture and the right values, a company is likely to obtain the best performance from the employees. The corporate values possessed by this organization include; commitment to excellence, commitment to innovation, promoting the organization’s culture, proper training of the employees, increased profits, enhanced human interactions, defining the purpose of the company other than the profits, enhanced cooperation among the workers, increased efficiency and quality. Commitment to excellence as a corporate value ensures the employees understand their role in the organization to enhance the success of the organization. This ensures the employees are not only trained on technical skills, but also other skills necessary for a company to succeed in business. Commitment to innovation ensures the employees always know what is required of them in terms of any new technology that is to be employed in the organization. The organizational culture in Zappos is more than the written values. The culture tends to be extremely high through the complex web of human interactions created by the company. The use of a social web, to link the employees with one another and to enhance the interaction of employees with customers is also a culture that

We Were Soldiers Once and Young Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

We Were Soldiers Once and Young - Essay Example The following observation by the author indicates how the soldiers, many of them young and a few war veterans, stood by the â€Å"7 Army Values of "Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage" Moore argues in the prologue, â€Å"We were the children of the 1950s and we went where we were sent because we loved out country.†(xviii) This sums up all the qualities that are expected of an American soldier. The story of the book from Chapter I, â€Å"Heat of the Battle’ to Chapter 26, â€Å"Reflections and Perceptions,† provides the vivid accounts of what must have transpired at the battle front and in the minds of those who died and the mute witness were their mutilated bodies. Those who survived provided the vital information about the historic days of war. November 14, 1965 was the fateful day. Four hundred and fifty men of Harold Moore’s battalion engaged the Vietnamese regulars in a helicopter assault on a landing Zone in the Ia Drang Valley of South Vietnam’s Central Highlands. America was trying out new tactics and weapons since World War II. The troops were far outnumbered, with more than two thousand enemy soldiers who challenged men under Moore’s command. Brutal firefights followed until November 16 and the enemy was repulsed. Counter attack by the North Vietnamese was fast. Next day another American battalion was attacked, taking the American army by surprise. They held the battlefield, but suffered heavy casualties. Casualties on either side were heavy. Two hundred and thirty-four Americans were killed in the battle of Ia Drang. Each death was an extraordinary example of heroism and describing one such martyrdom of a soldier Moore writes, â€Å" We discovered in that depressing, hellish place, where death was our constant companion, that we loved each other, we killed for each other, we died for each other.†(6) Narrating one specific incident he sums up, â€Å"Just

Security issues pertaining the Immigration from North Africa to EU Research Paper

Security issues pertaining the Immigration from North Africa to EU countries - Research Paper Example Indeed, Ayuman Zohry asserts that, â€Å"the Mediterranean Sea marks one of the sharpest demographic and economic divides currently to be found on the world map† (Zohry p.3). The observation of the author is that, to the north, occupied by European nations, lies countries who characteristically have low demographic growth and levels or standards of living are actually high (Zohry p.3). Ironically, just down the south which now is heavily occupied by Maghreb nations, things are totally different; demographic growth is one of the highest in the world, their economies small and inefficient as compared to that of north, and life expectancy as compared to the north is low (Zohry p.3). Immigration to Europe by Maghrebians is contributed both by push and pull factors. For example, Europe is experiencing low presence of productive age bracket, as more citizens get old. As a result, most of the countries have reformed their immigration policies to attract immigrants to fill up job positions (Zohry p.4). On the other hand, rising levels of unemployment and poverty among the Maghreb countries is forcing the citizens to take all risks in order to escape to Europe where the prospects of having better lives are high (Zohry p.4). As immigration to the north remain purely an economic understanding, numerous evidences now point out that the presence of Maghreb citizens in Europe can no longer be solely attached to economic needs, but rather, they are becoming a source of increasing insecurity issues in the region. What needs to be remembered is that Maghrebians originating from a dominantly Arabic region where Islam religion and culture dominates that their integration into European world with purely different social and cultural orientation is not always easy. Moreover, economic hopes prior to immigration may not materialize, while survival opportunities may be harsh as a result of the new environment, thus the only option to survive may be to enter

Different ways of looking at health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Different ways of looking at health - Essay Example â€Å"Health promoters need to be clear that what they do involves certain values and principles about what is ‘good health’ and health promotion† (Naidoo and Wills, 2000, p.130). Advances are likely to come from laboratory science that will not only assist the medical science professionals develop better drugs but also they will help them get deeper knowledge regarding working of the human body. The medical model of health emphasizes on diagnosing the diseases present in the human body and providing effective treatment to the person in order to eradicate the identified diseases. Medical model is mainly concerned with the effective treatment of diseases through medical science. Medical model promotes use of surgeries and drugs for the treatment of diseases. However, use of drugs by a medical professional is not considered good. â€Å"Multiple physical health, emotional, and interpersonal problems are associated with illicit drug use† (Leonard, 2009, p.2). Authority is the core element of the medical model. Doctors should not negatively use this element for providing instant treatment to the patients. Drug use should never be recommended as a permanent treatment for anyone. â€Å"A drug may be legal or illegal, harmful or helpful, such as those substances used in medical therapy† (Isralowitz, 2004, p.2). There exist some other drugs such as Amphetamines, Cocaine, and Marijuana, which are strictly prohibited in most of the countries including USA. Governments should put a ban on such pharmacists who hand over the drugs to the patients without receiving a prescription or a drug order from a licensed doctor. â€Å"A drug order is a medication order written to a pharmacist by a legal prescriber† (Durgin and Hanan, 2005, p.112). The medical professionals should never recommend such drugs to the patients that can adversely affect their health after providing them little benefits. Advancements in the field of medicine should

Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Politics - Essay Example In the article by Nicholas Kristof (2010) â€Å"Poverty and the Pill† it is shown that African women do not even think that they are able not to get pregnant all the time. Those desperate women looking on us from the website scare off American or European women, which can make their own choice whether to give birth to their children or not. There is an option of financing of this continent and make childbirth control possible there, but this decision in Africa depends not only on a woman, but also on her husband, which does not want to prevent his children from coming into this world. An incredible rate of poverty makes these women suffer from a constant process of child producing. Therefore, it is possible to stop poverty in Africa and there is no need to make it grow even more intensely in case of a constant process of childbirth giving by the African women. Video lecture Therefore, in order to deal with poverty there is a need to make numerous attempts globally and find rea l heroes, which are able to deal with poverty. Jacqueline Novogratz is one of those strong-willed persons, enabled to deal with poverty, to open their hearts and to help weaker people to live a normal life. It is worth remembering that poverty is involuntarily living under conditions, when there is a lack of resources, which are necessary for our daily lives, such as food, shelter and clothes. Jacqueline Novogratz tells her story about a different capitalism and she lived in Africa in order to see what poverty is from within. She learned very important lessons from staying with people from Africa. Firstly, it is worth remembering that â€Å"Dignity is more important for the human spirit than wealth†. She builds up her policy of charity on very important principles, such as tolerance, patience and understanding. Every human being wants to be heard by another human being. Mutual understanding and listening depends on a special attention to every human being on the Earth. Novogr atz is not framed by social status of Africans, she is beyond this context and she underlines that relations among humans should be based on humane attitudes among different members of the global society. This is a powerful woman, who realizes the necessity of providing people not with charity, but with a real support, to create a team spirit among them and to enable them to become successful businesswomen. Therefore, Novogratz implements a practical approach to solving the problems of poverty. The second lesson, she claims, is that â€Å"Traditional charity and aid alone will not solve the problems of poverty† and the third lesson outlines that â€Å"The markets alone will not solve the problem of poverty†. Novogratz makes an emphasis on the personal contact with poor people, on readiness to listen to the needs of those people and be able to treat them patiently and with a great tolerance. Donation and philanthropy should be united at the micro level. Moreover, she ma naged to develop Acumen fund, investing in profit and non-profit organizations. South Asian and East Africa gains many benefits from having an opportunity to build their own businesses and have an ability to become independent individuals. Management and strategic support from Acumen fund is available for poor people from Africa and Asia. It is really hard to find those entrepreneurs, which are open to commitment to a personal success and their services. There is a need for a strong belief