Delphi Record Helpers For Sets and Other Simple Types

Understanding Delphi Class (and Record) Helpers introduces a feature of the Delphi language allowing you to extend the definition of a class or a record type by adding functions and procedures (methods) to existing classes and records without inheritance. In XE3 Delphi version, record helpers became more powerful by allowing to extend simple Delphi types like strings, integers, enums, sets and alike. The System.SysUtils unit, from Delphi XE3, implements a record named TStringHelper which is actually a record helper for strings. Using Delphi XE3 you can compile and use the next code: var s : string; begin s : Delphi XE3; s.Replace(XE3, rules, []).ToUpper; end; For this to be possible, a new construct was made in Delphi record helper for [simple type]. For strings, this is type TStringHelper record helper for string. The name states record helper but this is not about extending records - rather about extending simple types like strings, integers and alike. In System and System.SysUtils there are other predefined record helpers for simple types, including: TSingleHelper, TDoubleHelper, TExtendedHelper, TGuidHelper (and a few others). You can get from the name what simple type the helper extends. There are also some handy open source helpers, like TDateTimeHelper. Enumerations? Helper for Enumerations? enumerations sets Enumerations and sets being treated as simple types can also now (in XE3 and beyond) be extended with functionality a record type can have: functions, procedures and alike. Heres a simple enumeration (TDay) and a record helper: type TDay (Monday 0, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday); TDayHelper record helper for TDay function AsByte : byte; function ToString : string; end; function TDayHelper.AsByte: byte; begin result : Byte(self); end; function TDayHelper.ToString: string; begin case self of Monday: result : Monday; Tuesday: result : Tuesday; Wednesday: result : Wednesday; Thursday: result : Thursday; Friday: result : Friday; Saturday: result : Saturday; Sunday: result : Sunday; end; end; var aDay : TDay; s : string; begin aDay : TDay.Monday; s : aDay.ToString.ToLower; end; convert a Delphi Enum to a String Representation Sets? Helper for Sets? TDays set of TDay; var days : TDays; s : string; begin days : [Monday .. Wednesday]; days : days [Sunday]; end; BUT, how GREAT would it be to be able to do: var days : TDays; b : boolean; begin days : [Monday, Tuesday] b : days.Intersect([Monday, Thursday]).IsEmpty; type TDaysHelper record helper for TDays function Intersect(const days : TDays) : TDays; function IsEmpty : boolean; end; ... function TDaysHelper.Intersect(const days: TDays): TDays; begin result : self * days; end; function TDaysHelper.IsEmpty: boolean; begin result : self []; end; For every set type constructed around an enumeration you would need to have a separate helper as, unfortunately, enumerations and sets do not go along generics and generic types. This means that the following cannot be compiled: //NO COMPILE OF ALIKE! TGenericSet set of T : [?Enumeration?]; TEnum Simple generics Enum example Record Helper For Set Of Byte! type TByteSet set of Byte; TByteSetHelper record helper for TByteSet We can have the following in the definition of the TByteSetHelper: public procedure Clear; procedure Include(const value : Byte); overload; inline; procedure Include(const values : TByteSet); overload; inline; procedure Exclude(const value : Byte); overload; inline; procedure Exclude(const values : TByteSet); overload; inline; function Intersect(const values : TByteSet) : TByteSet; inline; function IsEmpty : boolean; inline; function Includes(const value : Byte) : boolean; overload; inline; function Includes(const values : TByteSet) : boolean; overload; inline; function IsSuperSet(const values : TByteSet) : boolean; inline; function IsSubSet(const values : TByteSet) : boolean; inline; function Equals(const values : TByteSet) : boolean; inline; function ToString : string; inline; end; { TByteSetHelper } procedure TByteSetHelper.Include(const value: Byte); begin System.Include(self, value); end; procedure TByteSetHelper.Exclude(const value: Byte); begin System.Exclude(self, value); end; procedure TByteSetHelper.Clear; begin self : []; end; function TByteSetHelper.Equals(const values: TByteSet): boolean; begin result : self values; end; procedure TByteSetHelper.Exclude(const values: TByteSet); begin self : self - values; end; procedure TByteSetHelper.Include(const values: TByteSet); begin self : self values; end; function TByteSetHelper.Includes(const values: TByteSet): boolean; begin result : IsSuperSet(values); end; function TByteSetHelper.Intersect(const values: TByteSet) : TByteSet; begin result : self * values; end; function TByteSetHelper.Includes(const value: Byte): boolean; begin result : value in self; end; function TByteSetHelper.IsEmpty: boolean; begin result : self []; end; function TByteSetHelper.IsSubSet(const values: TByteSet): boolean; begin result : self values; end; function TByteSetHelper.IsSuperSet(const values: TByteSet): boolean; begin result : self values; end; function TByteSetHelper.ToString: string; var b : Byte; begin for b in self do result : result IntToStr(b) , ; result : Copy(result, 1, -2 Length(result)); end; var daysAsByteSet : TByteSet; begin daysAsByteSet.Clear; daysAsByteSet.Include(Monday.AsByte); daysAsByteSet.Include(Integer(Saturday); daysAsByteSet.Include(Byte(TDay.Tuesday)); daysAsByteSet.Include(Integer(TDay.Wednesday)); daysAsByteSet.Include(Integer(TDay.Wednesday)); //2nd time - no sense daysAsByteSet.Exclude(TDay.Tuesday.AsByte); ShowMessage(daysAsByteSet.ToString); ShowMessage(BoolToStr(daysAsByteSet.IsSuperSet([Monday.AsByte,Saturday.AsByte]), true)); end; Theres a but :( Note that TByteSet accepts byte values - and any such value would be accepted here. The TByteSetHelper as implemented above is not enumeration type strict (i.e. you can feed it with a non TDay value) ... but as long as I am aware .. it does work for me.