Actually, the PascalABC dialect[1][2] supports using variables in that way too. However, I've seen arguments that allowing variable declarations anywhere tends

Actually, the PascalABC dialect[1][2] supports using variables in that way too. However, I've seen arguments that allowing variable declarations anywhere tends to lead to sloppier coding and unnecessary errors, so Free Pascal/Lazarus has not followed that trend. It also appears that Delphi/Embarcadero may have went in that direction to synchronize their C++Builder and Delphi products, to make it easier to jump between them. 1. https://pascalabc.net/en/ https://pascalabc.net/en/ (PascalABC) 2. https://github.com/pascalabcnet/pascalabcnet https://github.com/pascalabcnet/pascalabcnet (PascalABC GitHub)