Delphi in a Nutshell

Name

PAnsiChar Type

Syntax

type PAnsiChar = ^AnsiChar;

Description

The PAnsiChar type is a pointer to AnsiChar and with Delphi’s extended syntax, it can also be treated as an AnsiString or a pointer to an array of AnsiChar.

Tips and Tricks

• PAnsiChar is used most often as a parameter type for DLLs written in C or C++, such as the Windows API.

• You can treat a PAnsiChar pointer as a pointer to an array of AnsiChar. The array index is an Integer subrange, starting from zero. Delphi does not provide any bounds checking for the array. The convention is that the end of the string is denoted by the presence of the #0 character.

• Perform pointer arithmetic on a PAnsiChar pointer by adding and subtracting integers similar to the way the Inc and Dec procedures work.

• Delphi’s extended syntax is enabled by default. Use the $X or $ExtendedSyntax compiler directive to disable this feature and revert to behavior closer to standard Pascal.

See Also

AnsiChar Type, AnsiString Type, Array Keyword, Char Type, PChar Type, String Keyword, PWideChar Type, $ExtendedSyntax Compiler Directive, $X Compiler Directive