How to compile OWL applications with C++ Builder OWLNext is a free upgrade for OWL, compatible with modern C++ compilers and operating systems. It is a C++ GUI framework for creating Windows applications, developed by Borland. OwlNext can be downloaded from Embarcadero Code Central here. They periodically release patches to the OWL and have a version of OWL that does work with many of the newer C++ Builders (BCB). OWLNextīut, support for OWL has been taken up by a user group named OWLNext. That is to say, the newer Borland C++ Builder (BCB) does not ship with the OWL and does not contain any wizards to create OWL projects. The current C++Builder IDEs do not have any native support for the OWL. In late 1999, Borland stopped selling Borland C++ and OWL. OWL was included on the Companion CD that shipped with C++Builder, but Borland ended maintenance and further development of the library. In 1997, Borland released C++Builder and deprecated Borland C++. OWLNext, an open-source project driven by the OWL user community, has continued the maintenance of OWL, ensuring that the library and applications that use it work with the latest version of Windows and modern C++ compilers. Its primary competitor was the Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC). OWL was introduced by Borland in 1991 and eventually deprecated in 1997 in favor of their Visual Component Library(VCL). The Object Windows Library (OWL) is a C++ object-oriented application framework designed to simplify desktop application development for Windows. Every once in a while, I get a request to help migrate Borland OWL applications to C++ Builder VCL applications.