Delphi language bridges

So far, we have seen how to access cross-platform implementations of services including sensors, address books, maps, and other features we have covered so far in this chapter. All of them come out of the box with Delphi. Luckily, Delphi comes with the source code, so it is possible to inspect how Delphi itself is accessing the underlying mobile APIs on Android and iOS. All supported operating systems are different and there are different ways of accessing their raw APIs.

The Delphi language offers “bridges” to call native platforms APIs on all supported platforms, although the technique varies for each target operating system. While in most cases, this is not required, it’s important to know that unlike other cross-platform development tools that offer only a subset of the underlying platform features, with Delphi you have the full power of the device and the entire API available to you. Only, programming for the API takes a bit more...