describe for core

Describe the type and structure of the value(s) piped in.

Signature

> describe {flags}

Flags

  • --no-collect, -n: do not collect streams of structured data
  • --detailed, -d: show detailed information about the value
  • --collect-lazyrecords, -l: collect lazy records

Input/output types:

input output
any string

Examples

Describe the type of a string

> 'hello' | describe
string

Describe the type of a record in a detailed way

> {shell:'true', uwu:true, features: {bugs:false, multiplatform:true, speed: 10}, fib: [1 1 2 3 5 8], on_save: {|x| print $'Saving ($x)'}, first_commit: 2019-05-10, my_duration: (4min + 20sec)} | describe -d
╭─────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
 type     record                                                    
 lazy     false                                                     
          ╭──────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────╮ 
 columns   shell         string                                  
           uwu           bool                                    
                         ╭─────────┬──────────────────────────╮  
           features       type     record                     
                          lazy     false                      
                                   ╭───────────────┬──────╮   
                          columns   bugs           bool    
                                    multiplatform  bool    
                                    speed          int     
                                   ╰───────────────┴──────╯   
                         ╰─────────┴──────────────────────────╯  
                         ╭────────┬─────────────╮                
           fib            type    list                        
                          length  6                           
                                  ╭───┬─────╮                 
                          values   0  int                  
                                   1  int                  
                                   2  int                  
                                   3  int                  
                                   4  int                  
                                   5  int                  
                                  ╰───┴─────╯                 
                         ╰────────┴─────────────╯                
                         ╭───────────┬────────────────────────╮  
           on_save        type       closure                  
                                     ╭──────────┬─────────╮   
                          signature   name                 
                                      category  default    
                                     ╰──────────┴─────────╯   
                         ╰───────────┴────────────────────────╯  
           first_commit  date                                    
           my_duration   duration                                
          ╰──────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────╯ 
╰─────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

Describe the type of a stream with detailed information

> [1 2 3] | each {|i| echo $i} | describe -d

Describe a stream of data, collecting it first

> [1 2 3] | each {|i| echo $i} | describe

Describe the input but do not collect streams

> [1 2 3] | each {|i| echo $i} | describe --no-collect