"is" versus "<> nil" on speed?

[cronodragon]

If that's correct then you are going to check if the pointer is nil anyways before using the "is" operator. Else you risk a heavy AV

"is" includes a nil test and returns false in that case.

I don't think so. My application crashes when I try the is operator on an uninitialized pointer

But if the pointer is uninitialized "is" will try to examine an instance that is void :? That's why it is crashing. When you use "is" with a pointer to nil, you get False.