How to set multiple array fields at once without using a for loop in pascal?

Question

I am learning Pascal and currently stuck with a problem concerning array manipulation. I have come across a method of setting arrays, that I have seen in other languges, but I do not know how to do something similar in Pascal.

The declaration of the variable looks something like this:

rotationBounds: array of array of integer;
setLength(rotationBounds, 5, 5);

And I want to do something like this:

 rotationBounds :=
         [
          [0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
          [0, 1, 1, 0, 0],
          [0, 0, 1, 0, 0],
          [0, 0, 1, 1, 0],
          [0, 0, 0, 0, 0],
         ]; 

Basically, I am trying to set a multi-dimentional array directly, rather than looping through it.

One of my focuses is to make it look like a picture, easy to read and understand.

Is there a way I could achieve something like this?

I am using Borland Delphi 6 to compiler the progam.

Answer 1

In Delphi 6 there is no built in support for dynamic array initialization. I'd use a pair of helper functions for this:

type
  TIntegerArray = array of Integer;
  TIntegerMatrix = array of TIntegerArray;

function IntegerArray(const Values: array of Integer): TIntegerArray;
var
  i: Integer;
begin
  SetLength(Result, Length(Values));
  for i := 0 to high(Result) do
    Result[i] := Values[i];
end;

function IntegerMatrix(const Values: array of TIntegerArray): TIntegerMatrix;
var
  i: Integer;
begin
  SetLength(Result, Length(Values));
  for i := 0 to high(Result) do
    Result[i] := Values[i];
end;

And then call it like this:

var
  rotationBounds: TIntegerMatrix;
....
rotationBounds := IntegerMatrix([
  IntegerArray([0, 0, 0, 0, 0]),
  IntegerArray([0, 1, 1, 0, 0]),
  IntegerArray([0, 0, 1, 0, 0]),
  IntegerArray([0, 0, 1, 1, 0]),
  IntegerArray([0, 0, 0, 0, 0]),
]);