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NoBraces

Function NoBraces(const aGuid: string): string

Example​

procedure ScriptEvent(var Value: variant);
begin
  Value := NoBraces('{12345678-9ABC-DEF0-1234-56789ABCDEF0}');
  // 12345678-9ABC-DEF0-1234-56789ABCDEF0
end;

Usage​

NoBraces removes the first and last character whenever a string begins with an opening brace, without validating a GUID or closing brace.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
aGuidstring, constAny string. The name suggests a GUID, but Velox accepts arbitrary text.

Returns

  • Input unchanged when it is empty or does not begin with {.
  • Copy(aGuid, 2, Length(aGuid) - 2) when it begins with {.

Usage notes

Use this helper only when the input is already known to be Velox's brace-wrapped GUID form. To validate and parse external input, use SafeStringToGuid, noting that it still raises on malformed text.

Additional Technical Info​

NoBraces is a small lexical helper. If the first character is {, it removes the first and last character. Otherwise it returns the input unchanged. It does not parse or validate a GUID and does not verify that the last character is }.

The example is fictional, deterministic, source-reviewed and was not executed by the documentation workflow.

Implementation

The direct runtime pointer reaches vxCommon.NoBraces. Its only condition is (Length(aGuid) = 0) or (aGuid[1] <> '{'). The true removal branch relies on Delphi's 1-based Copy semantics.

Edge cases and quirks

  • A normal {...} GUID loses both braces as intended.
  • {abc becomes ab: the opening brace and final c are removed even though no closing brace exists.
  • {x and { produce an empty string because the requested copy count is zero or negative.
  • A string ending } but not starting { is returned unchanged.
  • Leading whitespace prevents removal because position 1 is not {.
  • Parentheses, square brackets and lowercase/uppercase characters receive no special treatment.
  • The helper never reports malformed structure, so a normal return does not prove that the input was a GUID.

Side effects and errors

No side effects. Empty and short strings are handled by the condition/Delphi Copy; normal allocation failures are the only expected failure class.

Performance and concurrency

One first-character check and, on removal, one substring allocation proportional to input length. No shared state.

Related entries

External references

NoBraces is custom Velox string logic. The official GUID references show the validated shape that makes its intended use safe:

Created 2026-07-15