I've tried out PortablApps some time earlier, but only briefly, and did not look into the infrastructure aspects. Are you saying that developers who create portable apps need to use Delphi in order to be part of your platform? And if so, why is that?
The main platform's menu is written in Delphi. The tools to package apps (both the AppNamePortable.exe launcher and the installer they are then packaged in) are written using NSIS. Developers packaging most apps can do so just by filling in INI files without writing a single line of code. The utilities include NSIS itself, auto-generate the code needed for the installers and launchers, and automatically compile them.
Have you evaluated any other languages apart from Pascal/Lazarus? If Windows XP+ support is the driving feature and you would consider a modern language then please take a look at Nim[1], it features some Delphi/Pascal-isms so you and your team may find it familiar.
I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about it.
One of the main reasons we settled on Delphi originally is that it was a relatively easy to learn RAD setup for GUI apps with a solid IDE to work in. Nim seems to be command-line, kernel, and server-focused.
I updated my original post to indicate that it's the platform's menu. We refer to the platform meaning the menu, app store/updater, and backup/restore features. Things like the app launcher to make things portable, installer to package, etc are separate from the platform but part of the PortableApps.com ecosystem.
