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Count

property Count: Integer read;

Example​

procedure ReadLast(const Items: TStringList; var LastValue: string);
begin
  if Items.Count = 0 then
    LastValue := ''
  else
    LastValue := Items[Items.Count - 1];
end;

Usage​

Count returns the list's current number of valid zero-based string entries.

  • Re-read Count when other code can mutate the list.
  • Guard empty lists before calculating Count - 1.
  • Do not iterate concurrently with mutation unless the workflow supplies external synchronisation.

Additional Technical Info​

Count is declared by hidden ancestor TStrings and is normally used through a concrete visible descendant such as TStringList. The base accessor is abstract and every storage-bearing descendant must implement it.

Source-backed behaviour​

Valid indexed positions are 0 through Count - 1; a zero count means no valid index. The property is live and can change after add, insert, delete, clear, text/delimited assignment, load or event-driven mutation.

Count is not Capacity, a byte size or a character count. Reading it does not snapshot the collection or lock it.

Strings and Objects use this index range. Capacity is allocation headroom.

Official RTL references​

Created 2026-07-15