This is the sixth article in the series of articles designed with one goal in mind: to provide a quick and dirty introduction to the world of .Net programming with Delphi.

As discussed in the An Introduction to the .NET Framework Class Library article, the .NET Framework Class Library (FCL) consists of a series of classes, interfaces, and value types that can be used to program with. Delphi for .NET FCL Examples Reference Here you can locate Delphi language code examples of some of the most important FCL classes.

System

• Convert - converts a base data type to another base data type
  
• DateTime - represents an instant in time, typically expressed as a date and time of day.
  
• Delegate - a data structure that refers to a static method or to a class instance and an instance method of that class
  
• Enum - provides the base class for enumerations
  
• Environment - provides information about, and means to manipulate, the current environment and platform
  
• EventArgs - is the base class for classes containing event data
  
• Guid - represents a globally unique identifier (GUID)
  
• Random - represents a pseudo-random number generator, a device that produces a sequence of numbers that meet certain statistical requirements for randomness.
  

System.Collections

• ArrayList - implements the IList interface using an array whose size is dynamically increased as required
  
• BitArray - manages a compact array of bit values, which are represented as Booleans, where true indicates that the bit is on (1) and false indicates the bit is off (0).
  
• CollectionBase - provides the abstract base class for a strongly typed collection
  
• Comparer - compares two objects for equivalence, where string comparisons are case-sensitive
  
• DictionaryBase - provides the abstract base class for a strongly typed collection of key-and-value pairs
  
• HashTable - represents a collection of key-and-value pairs that are organized based on the hash code of the key
  
• Queue - represents a first-in, first-out collection of objects
  
• SortedList - represents a collection of key-and-value pairs that are sorted by the keys and are accessible by key and by index
  
• Stack - represents a simple last-in-first-out collection of objects
  

System.Collections.Specialized

• HybridDictionary - implements IDictionary by using a ListDictionary while the collection is small, and then switching to a Hashtable when the collection gets large
  
• ListDictionary - implements IDictionary using a singly linked list. Recommended for collections that typically contain 10 items or less