Do-it-yourself with DataSnap
WebBroker is good for a basic level HTTP server functionality, but the more complex the system you want to build, the more you look into complete Delphi multi-tier frameworks such as DataSnap (covered in this section) or RAD Server (covered in the next chapter). They provide a lot more high-level functionality than you can find in WebBroker. However, notice that the higher-level multi-tier solutions are available only in the Enterprise and Architect versions of Delphi, not in the Professional and Community Editions.
The DataSnap framework has been part of Delphi since its early days and has evolved over that time. Delphi 3 introduced the MIDAS technology to make it easy to build client/server database applications. In Delphi 6, this technology has been renamed to DataSnap, and in Delphi 2009, it has been completely rewritten. In this new architecture, remote methods published by a DataSnap server looked like database-stored procedures that a typical...