Some programmers prefer not to rely on the freeware and shareware components, but instead buy packaged components from various vendors, often choosing the native Delphi components over the generic OCX ones. Still others take advantage of Delphi's ActiveX support and use some of the variety of ActiveX controls available in the Visual Basic add-on market. But whatever form the component takes, and whether for sale or for free, third-party VCL components have played a significant role in the success of the Delphi programming language. If you're not part of the Delphi community, you might wonder how Delphi's components differ from others. The Delphi components market has a few distinctive features.
Delphi components are easy to write, so there are many available.
They invariably want them to include the source code, as it helps them use the components with the next version of Delphi before an official upgrade to the component is available. They want something that resembles, as closely as possible, the approach of the native components provided by Borland. Delphi components, like others, have been distributed in many ways. There are also totally free components, including open source projects. The great components debate Such a variety of distribution methods is great for the Delphi community, but sometimes leads to disagreements among proponents of the various models, many of whom make their living in the components business.