Skip to main content

Empty

function Empty: Boolean

Example​

procedure ScriptEvent(var Value: variant);
begin
  // Reliable cursor-empty test: both flags, not DATA1.Empty alone.
  Value := DATA1.BOF and DATA1.EOF;
end;

Usage​

Returns the dataset's EOF flag exactly and therefore can report true for a nonempty dataset positioned by Last.

Usage notes

Do not use Empty to decide whether records exist. For an active cursor use BOF and EOF; where an exact count is required, use the appropriate record-count/schema contract and account for filters/ranges.

Side effects and errors

Reading Empty performs no navigation, state check, data access, post or mutation; it reads the Boolean flag. On an inactive/new object the flag's prior/default state is not a supported record-existence test even if reading it does not raise.

Additional Technical Info​

Empty is a misleadingly named convenience method whose entire implementation is Result := EOF. It reports cursor end-of-file state, not whether record count is zero.

The example shows the reliable Delphi cursor test for an active dataset/range: both BOF and EOF. It is source-reviewed and was not executed by the documentation workflow.

Signature and exact behavior

EOF is true when an empty dataset opens, but also after Last, after attempting to move beyond the final record, or for an empty range. Consequently a nonempty dataset positioned on its last row can make Empty return true. It can still have a valid active last-record buffer at that point.

The complement method NotEmpty is just not EOF and has the inverse defect. Neither method checks BOF, RecordCount or physical storage.

Performance and concurrency

The method is constant-time. EOF is mutable shared cursor state and can change after any navigation, locate, range, delete, load, index or resync operation. Do not split a check and dependent operation across helpers that may move the dataset.

External references

Created 2026-07-15