> I don't think you can make a serious AV app with either Delphi
Why not ? It has all capabilities of C++ for system hook/API , with no real loss of performance, but when the user interface is concerned, it has all kinds of advantages - and it's easy to embed ASM into Delphi code when needed. The usual way is to start coding all in Delphi, then with performance tool you identify the key functions that need to be transformed in ASM and you just add the ASM version of these functions.
15 years back I remember defending Turbo Pascal against C for system programming with the very same arguments on each side. The truth was that nothing could have a better balance between speed of programming+maintenance , application performance, and user experience than Pascal/Delphi + ASM . But you would need both knowledge, where only C/C++ knowledge would often beat pure Delphi in raw performance.
Anyway, those difference only appears when you are a top programmer in the language you use, bad architecture, unoptimized algo can lead to painfully slow software even in C/C++.
It really depends on your level of system programming and knowledge of Pascal/Delphi compiler (what will be generated when using such and such code structure).
C# is a definite no-go for system tools.
