Variables initialization

[PascalDragon]

For some things it is guaranteed, because it's considered part of the language.

It may be part of FPC but it is not part of the Pascal language.

It's part of the language dialect(s) that FPC understands.

[Thaddy]

I miss that if you want to allocate initialized data, and getmem is citated above,  one should use AllocMem, not GetMem...
AllocMem initializes to all zero's, also on the stack, a bit like Default().

[PascalDragon]

I miss that if you want to allocate initialized data, and getmem is citated above,  one should use AllocMem, not GetMem...
AllocMem initializes to all zero's, also on the stack, a bit like Default().

If one touches the whole allocated memory after the allocation anyway, then GetMem is better.

[Чебурашка]

Isn't it easier to design execution flow in such way that values assigned naturally with meaningful values before the first time the value is being used anywhere in program. Then there is no guessing or duplicate operations.

A software where is difficult to tell whether variables are initialized or not probably needs rewritten from zero, as I could see several times.

[Thaddy]

Well the rule is pretty simple: Stack, locals: Uninitialized, Heap, global: Initialized.

[PascalDragon]

Well the rule is pretty simple: Stack, locals: Uninitialized, Heap, global: Initialized.

Wrong. GetMem or New will allocate from the heap, but the data contained there will be random.

[Thaddy]

But that is why a mentioned allocmem. Suppose array allocation. Grr. Sometimes you can not read my replies Sarah.

[PascalDragon]

But that is why a mentioned allocmem. Suppose array allocation. Grr. Sometimes you can not read my replies Sarah.

The post I quoted did not mention AllocMem at all, it generally mentioned Heap and there it is simply not true that the allocated memory will always be cleared as your sentence suggests.

[cpicanco]

To summarize:

https://chat.openai.com/share/0ffb0dff-6fa4-4768-ab7e-8b6550ceb8bc

[Thaddy]

so almost exactly what i wrote....
pascaldragon is right when you know the whole memory will be committed but if and only if that is the case. otherwise you should use allocmem if you want initialized memory.