Introduction to Introspection

Whether you’re new to Python, been using it for a few years or you’re an expert, knowing how to use Python’s introspection capabilities can help your understanding of your code and that new package you just downloaded with the crappy documentation. Introspection is a fancy word that means to observe oneself and ponder one’s thoughts, senses, and desires. In Python world, introspection is actually kind of similar. Introspection in this case is to use Python to figure out Python. In this chapter, you can learn how to use Python to give yourself a clue about the code you’re working on or trying to learn. Some might even call it a form of debugging.

Here’s what we’re going to cover:

• type
• dir
• help