What is the purpose of {.$DEFINE VAR} instead of {$DEFINE VAR} in Delphi

Question

What is the difference in Delphi between using {.$DEFINE VAR} and {$DEFINE VAR} compiler directives ?

Answer 1

The code originally had a {$DEFINE VAR} statement in it, then a period was added to turn the statement into a plain ordinary comment without removing the statement, presumably so it can be restored at a later time.

{$...} is a precompiler directive.

{...} that does not start with {$ is a comment.

Answer 2

Think of the first one as a commented version (one that the compiler will ignore) of the second one.