Difference between revisions of "Character and string types"

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==== Reference ====
 
==== Reference ====
 
* [[doc:rtl/system/pwidechar.html|RTL PWideChar documentation]]
 
* [[doc:rtl/system/pwidechar.html|RTL PWideChar documentation]]
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 +
== String ==
 +
 +
The type '''string''' may refer to '''ShortString''' or '''AnsiString''', depending from the {$H} switch. If the switch is off ({$H-}) then any string declaration will define a '''ShortString'''. If it is on ({$H+}) '''string''' without length specifier will define an '''AnsiString''', otherwise a '''ShortString''' with specified length.
  
 
[[Category: FPC]]
 
[[Category: FPC]]
 
[[Category: RTL]]
 
[[Category: RTL]]
 
[[Category: Data types]]
 
[[Category: Data types]]

Revision as of 16:27, 28 December 2013

Free Pascal supports several types of characters and strings.

AnsiChar

A variable of type AnsiChar is exactly 1 byte in size, and contains one ASCII character.

a

Reference

WideChar

A variable of type WideChar is exactly 2 bytes in size, and contains one Unicode character in UTF-16 encoding.

a

Reference

PChar

A variable of type PChar is basically a pointer to a Char type, but allows additional operations. PChars can be used to access C-style null-terminated strings, e.g. in interaction with certain OS libraries or third-party software.

a b c #0
^

Reference

PWideChar

A variable of type PWideChar is a pointer to a WideChar variable.

a b c #0 #0
^

Reference

String

The type string may refer to ShortString or AnsiString, depending from the {$H} switch. If the switch is off ({$H-}) then any string declaration will define a ShortString. If it is on ({$H+}) string without length specifier will define an AnsiString, otherwise a ShortString with specified length.