[fpc-pascal] When do I need a component rather than a plain object?

[Frank Church]

Does TObject have all the capabilities of TComponent apart from things like
streaming and being used from the IDE component palette?

I want to create an object which has all the capabilities like getting and
setting properties, and I want to know whether I need to inherit from
TObject or from something further down the hierarchy.

Another aspect is ownership. Does ownership require objects to be derived
from TComponent?

Is a TPersistent adequate if manipulating the object from the IDE isn't
needed?

Last but not the least, is the FreePascal TObject/TComponent system more or
less the same as Delphi's, or are there some major differences?


PS. I asked this question in the Lazarus forum, but on reflection it is a
FreePascal question and belongs here instead.
-- 
Frank Church

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