Migrate from uniGUI to sgcHTML

uniGUI by FMSoft is a commercial Delphi web framework with a large visual palette and a design-time experience close to native VCL development, and many teams have shipped serious applications with it. Teams usually start looking at sgcHTML when they want lighter pages built on plain Bootstrap 5 markup instead of a bundled JavaScript application framework, when per-session component state in server RAM becomes a capacity planning topic, or when they want WebSocket realtime and a .NET option from the same component set. sgcHTML keeps you in Object Pascal and RAD Studio while changing how the pages are produced.

ARCHITECTURE

What Changes Architecturally

The two frameworks solve the browser-UI problem in different ways. Here is the factual difference, then what the sgcHTML model gives you.

In uniGUI, applications are built in the RAD Studio form designer with DB-aware controls and rendered in the browser through a bundled Sencha Ext JS layer. Sessions are stateful: each user holds full component state in server RAM, so busy applications need memory planning and session management. sgcHTML takes a different route: your Delphi (or C++ Builder or C#) code renders standard Bootstrap 5 HTML on the server, the browser stays interactive through htmx, and each request is stateless unless you choose to keep state.

Bootstrap 5 plus htmx on the client

No bundled third-party JavaScript application framework. The client side is Bootstrap 5 plus htmx (~14 KB), so pages are lighter and load fast on any device.

Plain HTML you control

The output is standard server-rendered HTML you can inspect in the browser and restyle with any Bootstrap 5 theme, with light and dark theming built in, instead of an Ext JS look.

Stateless by default

No full component state per session in server RAM by default. You decide what session data to keep, which simplifies capacity planning and restarts.

Realtime and reach built in

WebSocket push comes from the same component set through the sgcHTMX engine, and the same Tsgc* API is available in Delphi, C++ Builder and a pure managed .NET implementation.

CONCEPT MAPPING

uniGUI Concepts and Their sgcHTML Equivalents

The building blocks map cleanly. This is the translation table your team will use screen by screen.

uniGUI concept	sgcHTML equivalent
uniForm / uniFrame	sgcHTML page and panel composition built from node components
DB-aware grids and edits	Data-aware TsgcHTMLComponent_Grid / TsgcHTMLComponent_Form bound straight to a TDataSet
Ext JS client layer	Bootstrap 5 markup plus htmx (~14 KB)
Ajax events	htmx fragment routes returning component HTML
Session manager and per-user RAM state	Stateless rendering plus the session data you choose to keep
Ext theming	Any Bootstrap 5 theme, with light and dark theming built in
uniGUI Server / HyperServer deployment	Single sgcWebSockets server binary, or a WebBroker, DataSnap or RAD Server host
Polling and push extensions	sgcHTMX WebSocket broadcast of HTML fragments (hx-swap-oob)

WHAT YOU KEEP

The Migration Changes Less Than You Think

Moving to sgcHTML replaces the UI layer, not your investment.

Your code base and IDE

You stay in RAD Studio with Delphi or C++ Builder. sgcHTML components are native classes compiled into your server binary, with full source code included.

Your data modules

Your TDataSet logic, queries and business rules carry over unchanged. 28 of the 93 components are data-aware and bind straight to a TDataSet or DataSource.

Your deployment habits

You keep shipping a single self-contained executable or service, with no external runtime to install alongside it.

Your team's skills

You write Object Pascal or C#; sgcHTML writes the HTML, CSS and JavaScript. No JavaScript is required from the developer.

MIGRATION PATH

A Pragmatic Migration Path

You do not have to migrate everything at once. Four steps that teams follow in practice.

Inventory the screens

List every uniForm and uniFrame, the datasets behind it, and which screens need live data. This inventory drives the whole plan.

Map screens to components

Match each screen to sgcHTML components using the concept table above and the component gallery: grids, forms, charts, dashboards and more.

Rebuild page by page

Both servers can run side by side behind the same reverse proxy, since sgcHTML serves standard HTTP. Move one screen at a time and keep the rest on uniGUI until it is ready.

Wire interactions and push

Add htmx interactions for partial updates, and WebSocket push through the sgcHTMX engine wherever the application needs live data.

MIGRATION SERVICE

We Help You Migrate

You do not have to do this alone. Tell us about your uniGUI application, the screens, the data behind them and the realtime behaviour you need, and the eSeGeCe team helps you plan the migration: a component mapping, a realistic sequence and an effort estimate.

If you prefer, we rebuild the application for you through sgcCustomization HTML: one-time packages from €149, where our team builds the complete web application from a written description and delivers a project you compile, deploy and evolve.

Request migration assistance sgcCustomization HTML

To be fair: staying on uniGUI is a reasonable choice when a deep RAD form-designer experience and a desktop-like interface matter more than stateless scaling, and when the number of concurrent users is bounded and planned for. If you want the full picture before deciding, read our neutral side-by-side matrix with sources, where every claim links to each vendor's own documentation.

SEE IT RUNNING