2. What the Converter Is, and What It Is Not
| Converter Behavior | What It Means in Practice |
|---|---|
| Automates most of the migration work | The converter handles the majority of syntax, form, mapping, and startup translation work automatically. |
| Works as a migration system, not a blind text replacer | It uses parsing, mapping, and rewrite logic rather than relying only on global text substitution. |
| Aims for buildable and reviewable output | The goal is not merely changed text; the goal is a project that can be opened, built, and exercised in Delphi. |
| Leaves a small review tail | A converted application can still need font, layout, or minor behavioral review after the automated pass. |
| Does not replace software testing | A successful conversion still needs compile, runtime, and user validation to confirm the result is correct. |
A useful way to think about the converter is this: it is a serious productivity accelerator, not a promise that every converted application is instantly production-ready without verification. In practice, it can bring the vast majority of a migration under control and make the remaining issues understandable.
The current generic baseline is broader than the earlier public-review drafts. It now includes safer FMX form emission, broader standard-control coverage for items such as TMaskEdit, TStaticText, TFlowPanel, TGridPanel, TCheckListBox, TRichEdit, TDrawGrid, TDBCtrlGrid, TFileSaveDialog, and TLinkLabel, and direct numeric-control handling for TNumberBox and converted TSpinBox workflows. It also adds generated compatibility paths for TRadioGroup and TFontDialog, along with more honest blocking-issue reporting when the converter knows the output is not yet trustworthy.
The live Component Map, Property Map, and Event Map pages are now backed by the same current mapper knowledge used during conversion. That makes them the best quick-reference view of what the current v7.0 Atlas build knows about standard component, property, and event coverage. Version 7.0 Atlas also supports optional JSON mapping packs that make third-party component handling visible and auditable before a conversion run.