Rinse Features

Support for Delphi data types

Use real data types, such as
- String, Integer, Char, Boolean, Double, TDateTime, Currency, etc.
- Sets
- Enumerations
- Sub-Ranges
- Records
- Interfaces
- Static Arrays
- Dynamic Arrays
- Open Arrays
- Variants
- Smart Records (combining the best features of interfaces, records, and datasets)
- Smart Lists (automatically generated type-safe lists)
- Smart Iterators (automatically generated type-safe itertators)
Support for all four parameter-passing modes: by value, const, var, out.
Full support for distributed exception handling.
Define remote methods using any Delphi calling convention.
Define remote interfaces with overloaded methods.
A network of objects is transmitted intact.
String transmission is optimized to send a given string or object only once.
In short, applications are designed with interfaces that have ideal parameter types.

Define interfaces in .rinse files, which use Delphi syntax.
There are no binary .tlb files, making dependencies easy to determine, and simplifying deployment (no registry requirements).
The Rinse tool translates .rinse files into .pas units.
The Rinse tool is a command-line program and an IDE add-on for automatic translation.
Refer to data types defined in external .pas units.
Build applications with reusable .rinse files.
Rinse can automatically generate an implementation class for a data interface.
Rinse can automatically generate container interfaces and implementations.

Compile the Rinse Runtime Library (implemented in Delphi) into the client and server applications.
Optionally compile the server directly into the client, to debug the entire application as a single process.
Rinse can be extended to support new network protocols.

TCP / HTTP can automatically launch server via Houston service (comes with Rinse).
Automatic reconnect upon server/network failure, and automatic retry of failed request.
Using stateful services, the client application will be notified when connected to a new server object (due to server/network failure or service timeout). Client application can automatically re-login and re-submit the previous request.
Client applications can easily implement fail-over and load balancing policies.
Rinse offers centralized control over remote connections, making it easy to disconnect and/or re-connect to a different server.
QueryInterface is remotable.
Full type information in each request (via a checksum), ensuring client and server use same version of interfaces etc.

Remotable interfaces may be used directly by the following different kinds of consumers:
- 2-tier applications
- 3-tier clients
- 3-tier servers
- and web applications
Rinse applications can easily use VDB connection pooling.
Full DataSnap (formerly MIDAS) support, including design-time.
Server objects are loosely coupled via Rinse context.
The context object manages transactional resources, such as databases.
A server object may support multiple remote interfaces.
A server object may use Delphi’s delegation feature to re-use existing implementations of other remote interfaces.
A client may access the other interfaces implemented by a remote object using QueryInterface or the as operator.