type Pointer;
Description
The Pointer type provides a general use pointer to any memory based variable. That is, one that is accessed by reference.
Objects, AnsiStrings, and arrays are examples of reference based variables.
But be warned : untyped pointers are dangerous - it is normally always better to use a specific pointer reference to the data type you are using. Only then can you act up on the pointer, as in the example.
Related commands
PAnsiChar A pointer to an AnsiChar value
PAnsiString Pointer to an AnsiString value
PChar A pointer to an Char value
PCurrency Pointer to a Currency value
PDateTime Pointer to a TDateTime value
PExtended Pointer to a Extended floating point value
PInt64 Pointer to an Int64 value
PShortString A pointer to an ShortString value
PString Pointer to a String value
PVariant Pointer to a Variant value
PWideChar Pointer to a WideChar
PWideString Pointer to a WideString value
Example code : Referring to the current form using a Pointer variable
var
generalPtr : Pointer; // A pointer to anything
formPtr : ^TForm; // A pointer to a form object
begin
// The current unit's form is addressable via the self keyword
generalPtr := Addr(self);
// We can assign this pointer to the form pointer
formPtr := generalPtr;
// And set the form caption to show this
formPtr.Caption := 'Test program';
end;
Show full unit code
The form is shown with caption:
Test program