syntax count

syntax-count

Counts how often a codebase uses a modern syntax feature. Each unit is parsed at the call and the count is of SHAPES in the parse, so a string or a comment that happens to say "is not" never counts, and nothing is capped (query --text covers strings and comments only and stops at 200 hits).

feature	what counts	first Delphi
if-expr	X := if C then A else B (each nested one too; IfThen() does not)	13
is-not	X is not T (not (X is T) does not)	13
not-in	a not in S (not (a in S) does not)	13
inline-var	block-level var x := ..., var x: T;, for var i (a var section does not)	10.3
inline-const	block-level const k = ...	10.3
anon-method	function ... begin ... end / procedure ... begin ... end as a value	2009
multiline-string	a ''' string spanning lines ('''' does not)	12

Running it from the CLI

drag-lint syntax-count (--db <file.sqlite> | --in <path>...) [--feature <a,b>|all] [--per-file] [--hits] [--json]

• --db takes every .pas / .dpr / .dpk / .inc file of that index. The index is opened read-only and supplies only the file list; nothing is written.
• --in adds one path (repeatable); with no --db only those files count.
• --feature if-expr,is-not counts only those; the default is all.
• --per-file lists each file with at least one occurrence and its counts; --hits lists path:line:col feature per occurrence.
• --json prints one object: features[], files_scanned, files_unreadable, files_with_parse_errors, totals{feature: n}, and files[] / hits[] when asked.

The count is of the text as written: $IFDEF branches are not evaluated, so code in every branch counts. A file that parses with errors is still counted (the shapes outside the error survive) and tallied in files_with_parse_errors.

Exit codes: 0 = counted (zero occurrences included); 2 = no --db / --in, an unknown --feature name, or an index that is missing or has an old schema; 3 = an unknown flag (error[unknown-flag] on stderr).

Examples

drag-lint syntax-count --db <db> --feature if-expr,is-not
drag-lint syntax-count --db <db> --feature is-not --hits
drag-lint syntax-count --in Unit1.pas --json

Typical use: before a downgrade to an older compiler, see how many Delphi 13 constructs the compat fixes would have to rewrite.