inspect

inspect Function

Syntax:

inspect object → implementation-dependent

Arguments and Values:

object—an object.

Description:

inspect is an interactive version of describe. The nature of the interaction is implementation dependent, but the purpose of inspect is to make it easy to wander through a data structure, examining and modifying parts of it.

Side Effects:

implementation-dependent.

Affected By:

implementation-dependent.

Exceptional Situations:

implementation-dependent.

See Also:

describe

Notes:

Implementations are encouraged to respond to the typing of ? or a “help key” by providing help, including a list of commands.

Expanded Reference: inspect

Interactive object inspection

inspect provides an interactive, implementation-dependent interface for examining and potentially modifying an object. It returns no useful value.

;; Inspect a list (enters an interactive inspector in most implementations)
;; (inspect '(1 2 3))
;; The user can then browse the structure interactively.

Inspecting various objects

inspect works on any Lisp object. The interactive interface varies by implementation.

;; Inspect a hash table
;; (inspect (make-hash-table))
;; Shows slots, count, rehash-size, etc. in implementation-dependent format

;; Inspect an array
;; (inspect (make-array '(3 3) :initial-element 0))
;; Shows dimensions, element-type, contents, etc.

Non-interactive usage

Since inspect is interactive, it is primarily useful at the REPL during development. In non-interactive contexts, describe is typically more appropriate.

;; For non-interactive output, use describe instead:
(describe (make-hash-table))
; Prints hash table details to *standard-output*
=> ; no useful return value