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varAny

varAny = 257

Example​

function IsHostAny(const Value: Variant): Boolean;
begin
  Result := (VarType(Value) and varTypeMask) = varAny;
end;

Usage​

varAny identifies Velox-provided CORBA Any Variant representation, which Velox can inspect but scripts should not synthesize or cast to.

Additional Technical Info​

varAny is the base TVarType code $0101 for Delphi's legacy CORBA Any representation. It is a Pascal-specific managed type and is explicitly not OLE Automation compatible.

Velox registers the numeric constant because it imports Delphi's standard Variant codes. That registration does not install a public constructor or make varAny a general-purpose script container. A real value must come from host code that also supplies Delphi's ClearAnyProc, ChangeAnyProc and RefAnyProc callbacks. The Variant engine calls those callbacks when it clears, converts or copies the payload.

Use and boundaries

  • Use the constant to classify a host-supplied Variant. VarType returns the raw code; mask first in case representation flags are present.
  • Do not call VarAsType with varAny, construct the numeric tag manually or persist it as an interchange type. Missing or incompatible host callbacks can make copying, conversion or destruction unsafe.
  • It is not the same as ordinary Variant, varVariant, a custom Variant type, JSON any, an interface or an Automation Variant.
  • The code carries no schema information. Only the owning host integration can define the payload, lifetime and legal operations.

Inspection performs no I/O. Copying or destroying an actual varAny value can invoke host callbacks and change reference counts; concurrent use is safe only under that provider's contract.

The example is source-reviewed only; no Any value or callback was exercised.

External references

Created 2026-07-15