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FindComponent

function FindComponent(AName: string): TComponent;

Example​

function OwnedComponent(const Container: TComponent;
  const ComponentName: string): TComponent;
begin
  Result := Container.FindComponent(ComponentName);
end;

Usage​

FindComponent finds an immediately owned component by non-empty case-insensitive Velox component name.

Parameters and result

AName is the component's Name, with no trimming. The result is a live owner-owned TComponent or nil.

Behaviour

  • Comparison is case-insensitive under Velox CompareText rules.
  • Empty, whitespace-only and unknown names do not receive special normalisation; empty returns nil and whitespace is searched literally.
  • Only immediate owned children participate.
  • The returned reference remains owned by its existing owner and can become stale on destruction.

Errors and edge cases

A nil receiver fails. A miss returns nil, so callers must test before dereferencing. Allocation while building the cache can raise.

Additional Technical Info​

FindComponent is a script-visible method declared on hidden ancestor TComponent. Visible descendant classes inherit it even though Classes/Common is intentionally omitted from the Velox and Docusaurus Code Library menus.

FindComponent searches only the receiver's immediate owned-component list. It does not recurse through grandchildren, search Velox modules or interpret a dotted path.

Implementation trace

Studio 37.0 returns nil for an empty name or missing list. On first non-empty lookup it builds and sorts a cached list with Delphi CompareText, then uses binary search; owner insertion/removal/rename code maintains that cache.

Side effects and ownership

Logically read-only, but the first lookup can allocate/build the sorted-name cache. No ownership transfer occurs.

Performance and concurrency

First lookup after cache invalidation is O(n log n); subsequent lookup is O(log n). Component lists and cache maintenance are not a general concurrent-access contract.

Remarks

This entry describes the installed Delphi Studio 37.0 terminal reached by the Velox-modified PascalScript registration. Free Pascal is linked for compatible Object Pascal context; where implementations differ, the traced Delphi behaviour above is authoritative. The example is source-reviewed and non-destructive except where the named operation is inherently destructive.

Related entries

  • Name defines the validated lookup key.
  • Components provides positional immediate-child access.
  • ComponentCount reports the search population.

External references

Created 2026-07-15