From experience, what is the best general purpose tree list for Delphi: Virtual Treeview or Devexpress ExpressQuantumTreeList ? I'm currently using the Virtual Treeview, which is fine for my needs but I'm starting a new project and would like to make sure I opt for the best long-term updated and bug-free component.
Any thought or switch experience are welcome. Thanks!
This is one of those that really can go either way. Virtual Treeview is open sourced, and well maintained by the community. DevExpress is a commercial product and is also well maintained. Both provide simuliar user experiences however the programming experiences are very different.
Since there is no telling what the future will hold, my personal preference would be to stick with what you know best. The time you save now will help you finish your project sooner. That being said, any choice you make in a component library has the risk of not being around in the long term, so if you are purchasing the component insist on full source even if it costs a little extra.
I would agree with skamradt. The DevExpress components are very good (if you buy them, you will also het all their custom edits (text, checkboxes, etc). However there is always a learning curve!
I'd vote for Virtual TreeView aswell. Very fast and FREE. Devexpress will probably need yearly subscriptions for new versions, and the component in name is not the easiest one to work with. Go Go Soft-gems! :D
Some time ago I used Virtual Treeview extensively. Now days I use DevExpress because I want my application to look uniform. There is no speed penalty involved and all their editors are supported. My advice would be to use DevExpress only if you have a lot of their controls like Quantum Pack or VCL Subscription, and not to buy just that control exclusively.