TellMeAbout

Table of Contents

• Title
• Description
• Installation
• Usage
• Examples
• License
• Contributors
• Questions

Description

TellMeAbout is a powerful backend/Node.js JavaScript/TypeScript utility that allows you to plug in any variable or value and automatically infers as much information about it as possible. Whether you're dealing with objects, arrays, strings, numbers, or even more complex data types, TellMeAbout provides insights and details to help you understand your data better. Perfect for debugging, data analysis, or just satisfying your curiosity about what a variable holds, this tool is a must-have for any developer looking to dive deeper into their code.

Installation

• npm
• GitHub Repo

Install the npm package! In the root directory of your code base, open your IDE's integrated terminal and enter npm install tellmeabout. To stay current with the most recent version, enter npm install tellmeabout@latest. And that's it!

Usage

The TellMeAbout function is a versatile tool that provides detailed information about a given input. It accepts two optional parameters:

input: The value or variable you want to analyze. This can be of any type (string, number, object, array, etc.).

variableName: A string representing the name of the variable (if applicable). This helps distinguish whether the input is a variable or just a value.

This function returns a string, and it can be readily viewed with console.log.

What It Does

• Type Detection: The function determines the data type of the input and provides relevant information such as length (for strings), factors and prime status (for numbers), and keys (for objects).

• Detailed Analysis: Depending on the input type, the function checks for specific characteristics:

• Strings: Length and palindrome detection.

• Numbers: Type (integer, float, BigInt), sign, parity (odd/even), prime status, and whether it’s a perfect square or cube.

• Objects/Arrays: Key and length analysis.

• Functions: Function type (regular or arrow), the number of expected parameters, and in some cases - the entire code it contains.

• Falsy/Truthy Check: The function also determines if the input is truthy or falsy.

The function returns a colored, detailed report about the input, making it useful for debugging, data analysis, or simply understanding more about the variables and values in your code.

How To Use It

After installing the package, you'll want to create a reference to it using the backend specific require() syntax like so:

const {TellMeAbout} = require("tellmeabout");

For demonstration, let's declare a variable called "mystery" and assign anything we want to it.

let mystery = "Hello World!"

From here, we can either:

• Store TellMeAbout's return in a variable and console.log that very variable

let dialogue = TellMeAbout(mystery);
console.log(dialogue);

OR

• Directly console.log the TellMeAbout function with parameters filled in

console.log(TellMeAbout(mystery));

The above example should display this in your terminal console when you run the source file with the node command:

That's pretty cool, but wait... I thought that if I directly plugged in a variable into the function that it would also give the name of the variable? I originally thought the same thing, until I learned that in the eyes of a JavaScript function, a value is a value. A variable is simply a reference to a value stored in memory, and not the literal name of said variable. While there are a few tricks to get that to work, they are quite vulnerable and leave you quite hackable.

To get around this, TellMeAbout has an optional second parameter variableName: string to explicitly have the variable's name accounted for:

const fullDialogue = TellMeAbout(mystery, "mystery");
console.log(fullDialogue);

That should yield a more informative response:

That's much better, and should help turn your debugging capabilities up to 11! TellMeAbout isn't simply limited to strings, either. You can plug in all kinds of variables and values, and learn more about the tools you use every day without realizing how deep they go.

Examples

• Number (also if it's a Perfect Square or a Perfect Cube)

• String (also if it's a Palindrome)

• Falsy value (such as null)

• Objects

• Arrays (which are also Objects)

• Error return if variableName parameter is not a String

License

ISC

Contributors

• jbassard97

Questions

Noticed an edge case not covered or see an opportunity to improve this package's functionality?

• Shoot a nice quick email here
• Or make a pull request here