ERP systems are the heartland of Delphi development: customers, orders, invoices, stock levels, production runs. The business logic already lives in Object Pascal. The database is wired up. The reports run. What is often missing is a browser-accessible dashboard that management can open on a tablet without installing anything. This post shows how to build exactly that with sgcHTML, working from a realistic scenario: a sales ERP with live revenue figures, an invoice grid, a delivery Kanban board and real-time push when new orders arrive.
All of the code compiles in Delphi 10.4 Sydney and later. The finished result is a single .exe that serves the dashboard on port 8080, with Bootstrap 5 styling, a responsive layout and WebSocket live updates, and no JavaScript files to deploy alongside the binary.
Setting up the server
sgcHTML wraps a TsgcWSHTTPServer from sgcWebSockets. Drop TsgcHTMLEngine_Server on the data module alongside the HTTP server and wire them together. The engine intercepts static-asset requests (Bootstrap CSS/JS, Chart.js, htmx) automatically; everything else goes to your OnCommandGet handler.
uses
sgcWebSocket_Server, sgcHTML_Engine_Server,
sgcHTML_Template_Bootstrap, sgcHTML_Page;
type
TERP_Server = class(TDataModule)
HTTPServer: TsgcWSHTTPServer;
HTMLEngine: TsgcHTMLEngine_Server;
private
procedure HandleGet(AContext: TIdContext;
AReq: TIdHTTPRequestInfo; AResp: TIdHTTPResponseInfo);
public
procedure Start(aPort: Integer);
end;
procedure TERP_Server.Start(aPort: Integer);
begin
HTTPServer.Port := aPort;
HTMLEngine.Server := HTTPServer;
HTTPServer.OnCommandGet := HandleGet;
HTTPServer.Active := True;
end;
procedure TERP_Server.HandleGet(AContext: TIdContext;
AReq: TIdHTTPRequestInfo; AResp: TIdHTTPResponseInfo);
begin
if AReq.Document = '/' then
ServeDashboard(AResp)
else if AReq.Document = '/invoices' then
ServeInvoices(AResp)
else if AReq.Document = '/kanban' then
ServeKanban(AResp)
else
AResp.ResponseNo := 404;
end;KPI stat cards
The top row of the dashboard shows four KPI cards: total revenue, open invoices, overdue count and on-time delivery rate. TsgcHTMLComponent_StatCard handles the entire visual: background gradient, title, large value, trend arrow and optional footer label.
uses
sgcHTML_Component_StatCard;
procedure TERP_Server.BuildKPIRow(aPage: TsgcHTMLPage; aDB: TFDConnection);
function MakeCard(aPage: TsgcHTMLPage; const aTitle, aValue: string;
aColor: TsgcHTMLStatColor; aTrend: TsgcHTMLStatTrend;
const aTrendValue, aFooter: string; aOrder: Integer): TsgcHTMLComponent_StatCard;
begin
Result := TsgcHTMLComponent_StatCard.Create(nil);
Result.PageBuilder := aPage.PageBuilder;
Result.Section := 'kpi';
Result.SectionOrder := aOrder;
Result.ColumnWidth := cw3;
Result.Title := aTitle;
Result.Value := aValue;
Result.Color := aColor;
Result.Trend := aTrend;
Result.TrendValue := aTrendValue;
Result.FooterText := aFooter;
Result.Gradient := sgBlueViolet;
end;
var
oQ: TFDQuery;
begin
oQ := TFDQuery.Create(nil);
try
oQ.Connection := aDB;
oQ.SQL.Text := 'SELECT SUM(total) FROM invoices WHERE YEAR(issued)=YEAR(NOW())';
oQ.Open;
MakeCard(aPage, 'YTD Revenue', FormatCurr('$#,##0', oQ.Fields[0].AsFloat),
scPrimary, stUp, '+14%', 'vs last year', 1);
oQ.Close;
oQ.SQL.Text := 'SELECT COUNT(*) FROM invoices WHERE status=''open''';
oQ.Open;
MakeCard(aPage, 'Open Invoices', oQ.Fields[0].AsString,
scInfo, stNeutral, '', 'awaiting payment', 2);
oQ.Close;
oQ.SQL.Text := 'SELECT COUNT(*) FROM invoices WHERE status=''overdue''';
oQ.Open;
MakeCard(aPage, 'Overdue', oQ.Fields[0].AsString,
scDanger, stDown, '-3', 'vs last month', 3);
oQ.Close;
oQ.SQL.Text := 'SELECT ROUND(100.0*SUM(on_time)/COUNT(*),1) FROM deliveries';
oQ.Open;
MakeCard(aPage, 'On-Time Delivery', oQ.Fields[0].AsString + '%',
scSuccess, stUp, '+2pp', 'last 30 days', 4);
oQ.Close;
finally
oQ.Free;
end;
end;Revenue trend chart
The revenue chart spans the second row. TsgcHTMLComponent_Chart accepts label arrays and datasets with border and fill colours. LoadFromDataSet maps a query result to chart data with a single call: pass the dataset, the label field (month name), and one or more value fields (revenue, cost).
uses
sgcHTML_Component_Chart;
procedure TERP_Server.BuildRevenueChart(aPage: TsgcHTMLPage; aDB: TFDConnection);
var
oChart: TsgcHTMLComponent_Chart;
oQ: TFDQuery;
begin
oChart := TsgcHTMLComponent_Chart.Create(nil);
oChart.PageBuilder := aPage.PageBuilder;
oChart.Section := 'charts';
oChart.SectionTitle := 'Revenue';
oChart.SectionOrder := 1;
oChart.ColumnWidth := cw8;
oChart.ChartType := ctBar;
oChart.Title := 'Monthly Revenue vs Cost (last 12 months)';
oChart.ShowLegend := True;
oChart.Stacked := False;
oChart.Responsive := True;
oQ := TFDQuery.Create(nil);
try
oQ.Connection := aDB;
oQ.SQL.Text :=
'SELECT DATE_FORMAT(issued,''%b'') AS month, ' +
' SUM(total) AS revenue, ' +
' SUM(cost) AS cost ' +
'FROM invoices ' +
'WHERE issued >= DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 12 MONTH) ' +
'GROUP BY YEAR(issued), MONTH(issued) ' +
'ORDER BY YEAR(issued), MONTH(issued)';
oQ.Open;
// One call maps the query to labels + two datasets
oChart.LoadFromDataSet(oQ, 'month', ['revenue', 'cost']);
finally
oQ.Free;
end;
end;Paginated invoice table
TsgcHTMLComponent_DataTable composes a TsgcHTMLComponent_Grid and a TsgcHTMLComponent_Pagination into one widget with a built-in search box, a row-count label, an optional export button and configurable page sizes. LoadFromDataSet reads column names and types automatically; you can override header labels and column widths afterwards through Grid.Columns.
uses
sgcHTML_Component_DataTable;
procedure TERP_Server.BuildInvoiceTable(aPage: TsgcHTMLPage; aDB: TFDConnection);
var
oTable: TsgcHTMLComponent_DataTable;
oQ: TFDQuery;
begin
oTable := TsgcHTMLComponent_DataTable.Create(nil);
oTable.PageBuilder := aPage.PageBuilder;
oTable.Section := 'invoices';
oTable.SectionTitle := 'Invoices';
oTable.SectionOrder := 1;
oTable.ColumnWidth := cw12;
oTable.Title := 'Recent Invoices';
oTable.ShowSearch := True;
oTable.ShowExport := True;
oTable.ShowPageSize := True;
oTable.PageSizes := '10,25,50';
oQ := TFDQuery.Create(nil);
try
oQ.Connection := aDB;
oQ.SQL.Text :=
'SELECT number, customer, issued, due, total, status ' +
'FROM invoices ' +
'ORDER BY issued DESC ' +
'LIMIT 200';
oQ.Open;
oTable.LoadFromDataSet(oQ, 20);
finally
oQ.Free;
end;
end;Kanban board for order fulfilment
TsgcHTMLComponent_KanbanBoard represents a multi-column drag-friendly board. Each column holds a collection of cards; each card carries a title, an optional description, an assignee, a tag and a colour. In an ERP context the columns map naturally to order states: Received, Picking, Packed, Shipped.
uses
sgcHTML_Component_KanbanBoard;
procedure TERP_Server.BuildKanban(aPage: TsgcHTMLPage; aDB: TFDConnection);
var
oBoard: TsgcHTMLComponent_KanbanBoard;
oCol: TsgcHTMLKanbanColumn;
oQ: TFDQuery;
vStatus: string;
begin
oBoard := TsgcHTMLComponent_KanbanBoard.Create(nil);
oBoard.PageBuilder := aPage.PageBuilder;
oBoard.Section := 'kanban';
oBoard.SectionTitle := 'Order Fulfilment';
oBoard.SectionOrder := 1;
oBoard.ColumnWidth := cw12;
// Create the four columns
for vStatus in ['Received', 'Picking', 'Packed', 'Shipped'] do
begin
oCol := oBoard.Columns.Add;
oCol.Title := vStatus;
oCol.Color := hcLight;
end;
oQ := TFDQuery.Create(nil);
try
oQ.Connection := aDB;
oQ.SQL.Text :=
'SELECT order_no, customer, qty_total, assigned_to, status ' +
'FROM orders ' +
'WHERE status IN (''Received'',''Picking'',''Packed'',''Shipped'') ' +
'ORDER BY created DESC LIMIT 100';
oQ.Open;
while not oQ.Eof do
begin
// Find the column whose title matches the order status
oCol := oBoard.Columns.FindByTitle(oQ.FieldByName('status').AsString);
if Assigned(oCol) then
oCol.AddCard(
oQ.FieldByName('order_no').AsString,
oQ.FieldByName('customer').AsString + ' — ' +
oQ.FieldByName('qty_total').AsString + ' items',
hcLight,
oQ.FieldByName('assigned_to').AsString
);
oQ.Next;
end;
finally
oQ.Free;
end;
end;Assembling the full page
The four sections are assembled by a single ServeDashboard procedure that creates a page, calls each builder, wraps the result in a Bootstrap template and writes it to the response:
procedure TERP_Server.ServeDashboard(AResp: TIdHTTPResponseInfo);
var
oPage: TsgcHTMLPage;
oTemplate: TsgcHTMLTemplate_Bootstrap;
begin
oPage := TsgcHTMLPage.Create(nil);
oTemplate := TsgcHTMLTemplate_Bootstrap.Create(nil);
try
BuildKPIRow(oPage, FDB);
BuildRevenueChart(oPage, FDB);
BuildInvoiceTable(oPage, FDB);
BuildKanban(oPage, FDB);
oTemplate.Title := 'ERP Dashboard';
oTemplate.Page := oPage;
oTemplate.DarkMode := False;
oTemplate.BodyClass := 'bg-light';
AResp.ContentType := 'text/html; charset=utf-8';
AResp.ContentText := oTemplate.GetHTML;
AResp.ResponseNo := 200;
finally
oPage.Free;
oTemplate.Free;
end;
end;Live updates over WebSocket
The dashboard would be static without live data. sgcHTML sits on top of sgcWebSockets, so pushing a fragment update when a new order is placed is a single broadcast call. On the client side the stat card carries an id attribute and the htmx WebSocket extension replaces its content when a message arrives.
// Called from the order-processing thread when a new order is saved
procedure TERP_Server.OnNewOrderSaved(aOrder: TERPOrder);
var
oCard: TsgcHTMLComponent_StatCard;
begin
// Rebuild the "Open Invoices" KPI card with the updated count
oCard := TsgcHTMLComponent_StatCard.Create(nil);
try
oCard.CardID := 'kpi-open-invoices';
oCard.Title := 'Open Invoices';
oCard.Value := IntToStr(FDB.OpenInvoiceCount);
oCard.Color := scInfo;
oCard.Trend := stUp;
// Broadcast the new card HTML to all connected dashboard clients
HTTPServer.Broadcast(oCard.HTML, '/dashboard');
finally
oCard.Free;
end;
end;The fragment replaces the matching card in the browser immediately, without a page reload and without the user having to click anything. Each connected client sees the update within milliseconds.
What you get at the end
The complete example is a single Delphi unit and a data module. Compile and run: a browser-accessible ERP dashboard appears on the configured port with four KPI cards, a 12-month revenue-vs-cost bar chart, a searchable and paginated invoice table and a multi-column Kanban board for order fulfilment. When new orders are placed the KPI cards update in real time across every connected browser tab. The total amount of front-end code you wrote: zero lines.
The same pattern works for any Delphi business application: inventory management, production scheduling, HR systems, fleet tracking. If the data is in a TDataSet, it can be on a live web dashboard in a morning.
Download the sgcHTML free trial from esegece.com/products/sgchtml/download and browse the included ERP demo, Admin Console, Live Monitor and Customer Portal applications for a complete working example.
Questions? Get in touch. You will get a reply from the people who wrote the code.