Delphi Identifier Naming Conventions

How to name all those variables and components you use in your daily Delphi programming.

The name of an identifier (variable, component, ...) plays a fundamental role in (Delphi) programming.

The Hungarian naming convention is quite useful — it's one technique among many that helps programmers produce better code faster. Since most of the API headers and documentation Microsoft has published over the last years have used Hungarian notation names for identifiers, many programmers have adopted one variation or another of this scheme for naming their identifiers.

In Delphi, using Hungarian notation, variable names begin with one or more lowercase letters that denote the variable type, thus providing an inherent identification. For example, the prefix h is used to identify a handle, as in hWnd or hDlg, referring to window and dialog box handles, respectively.

All components should be given descriptive names. No components should be left with their default names assigned by Delphi (Class name without the T letter plus a number). Components are to have a lowercase prefix to designate their type.

The following table defines some of suggested Delphi object name prefixes:

Category: in Types and classes

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