In article <✉forums.codegear.com>, Loren Szendre wrote:

> I think that many developers have projects that could never be 
> recompiled for another platform. 

I'm sure that's true, yes. You have to build for cross-platform from the 
start.

> We have taken advantage of the great specialization and benefits
> that a come from focusing on a single platform.

I don't know your products so I can't say how well that has worked for 
you, but I have seen very few applications in which the 'specialization' 
that came from focusing on a single platform brought anything I would 
describe as a 'benefit'. In most cases the result is just a non-standard 
GUI that -- because it is non-standard -- is harder for end users to 
learn.


I consider it a benefit of cross-platform development that the 
programmer is encouraged to concentrate on the business logic rather 
than being distracted by obscure GUI 'tricks'. Good cross-platform 
frameworks use native widgets on every platform and have the platform-
specific code necessary to make correct use of those widgets built in. 
There is rarely much need for further customization.


That's not to say that platform-specific customization of cross-platform 
frameworks isn't possible, just that it isn't necessary and that 
developers using such tools generally don't customize further without 
good reason.


Cheers,
 Daniel.