Mind Your Language

The Object Pascal language used in Delphi is constantly evolving. With every new version of Delphi, new features are added to the language. For every mobile and desktop operating system, there is a different Delphi compiler with slightly different functionality, such as automatic reference counting for mobile. Fluency in using the Object Pascal language is a key skill for every Delphi developer.

This chapter will cover the following points:

• The basic Object Pascal language features
• Advanced constructs, such as generics, anonymous methods, class helpers, custom attributes, and Runtime Type Information (RTTI)

The objective of this chapter is gaining fluency in using the Object Pascal language with a focus on mobile Delphi compilers. This chapter is not a definitive reference to every single feature of the programming language of Delphi. The goal is to cover most of the everyday constructs, to be able to understand the FireMonkey library source code, and to write solid and maintainable code.