Delphi in a Nutshell

Name

ShortString Type

Syntax

type ShortString;
type Name = string[Constant];

Description

A ShortString is a counted string with a maximum length of 255 characters. You can declare a short string with the ShortString type or with the string keyword and a maximum length. The maximum length must be a constant expression in the range to 255. If you use the $H or $LongStrings compiler directive, you can change a plain use of the string keyword to mean ShortString instead of the default AnsiString.

Delphi stores a short string as a character array with a reserved byte to store the string’s length. If you take the address of a short string, Delphi returns a pointer to the length byte.

Tips and Tricks

• As with all strings in Delphi, string indices start at 1, but you can also refer to element of a short string, which returns the length, as a Char. Instead of referring to the zeroth element, though, you should use the Length function and SetLength procedure to get or set the string’s length.

• Most strings in new Delphi programs use the more convenient AnsiString type, but short strings are useful for reading and writing data. See the File keyword for an example.

See Also

AnsiString Type, File Keyword, Length Function, SetLength Procedure, SetString Procedure, String Keyword, WideString Type, $H Compiler Directive, $LongStrings Compiler Directive