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Describe objects

Source: R/btw_this.R
btw_this.character.Rd

Character strings in btw_this() are used as shortcuts to many underlying methods. btw_this() detects specific formats in the input string to determine which method to call, or by default it will try to evaluate the character string as R code and return the appropriate object description.

btw_this() knows about the following special character string formats:

  • "./path"
    Any string starting with ./ is treated as a relative path. If the path is a file, we call btw_tool_files_read_text_file() and if the path is a directory we call btw_tool_files_list_files() on the path.

    • btw_this("./data") lists the files in data/.

    • btw_this("./R/load_data.R") reads the source of the R/load_data.R file.

  • "{pkgName}" or "@pkg pkgName"
    A package name wrapped in braces, or using the @pkg command. Returns the list of help topics (btw_tool_docs_package_help_topics()) and, if it exists, the introductory vignette for the package (btw_tool_docs_vignette()).

    • btw_this("{dplyr}") or btw_this("@pkg dplyr") includes dplyr's introductory vignette.

    • btw_this("{btw}") returns only the package help index (because btw doesn't have an intro vignette, yet).

  • "?help_topic" or "@help topic"
    When the string starts with ? or @help, btw searches R's help topics using btw_tool_docs_help_page(). Supports multiple formats:

    • btw_this("?dplyr::across") or btw_this("@help dplyr::across")

    • btw_this("@help dplyr across") - space-separated format

    • btw_this("@help across") - searches all packages

  • "@news {{package_name}} {{search_term}}"
    Include the release notes (NEWS) from the latest package release, e.g. "@news dplyr", or that match a search term, e.g. "@news dplyr join_by".

  • "@url {{url}}"
    Include the contents of a web page at the specified URL as markdown, e.g. "@url https://cran.r-project.org/doc/FAQ/R-FAQ.html". Requires the chromote package to be installed.

  • "@git status", "@git diff", "@git log"
    Git commands for viewing repository status, diffs, and commit history. Requires gert package and a git repository.

    • btw_this("@git status") - show working directory status

    • btw_this("@git status staged") - show only staged files

    • btw_this("@git diff") - show unstaged changes

    • btw_this("@git diff HEAD") - show staged changes

    • btw_this("@git log") - show recent commits (default 10)

    • btw_this("@git log main 20") - show 20 commits from main branch

  • "@issue #number" or "@pr #number"
    Fetch a GitHub issue or pull request. Automatically detects the current repository, or you can specify owner/repo#number or owner/repo number. Requires gh package and GitHub authentication.

    • btw_this("@issue #65") - issue from current repo

    • btw_this("@pr posit-dev/btw#64") - PR from specific repo

    • btw_this("@issue tidyverse/dplyr 1234") - space-separated format

  • "@current_file" or "@current_selection"
    When used in RStudio or Positron, or anywhere else that the rstudioapi is supported, btw("@current_file") includes the contents of the file currently open in the editor using rstudioapi::getSourceEditorContext().

  • "@clipboard"
    Includes the contents currently stored in your clipboard.

  • "@platform_info"
    Includes information about the current platform, such as the R version, operating system, IDE or UI being used, as well as language, locale, timezone and current date.

  • "@attached_packages", "@loaded_packages", "@installed_packages"
    Includes information about the attached, loaded, or installed packages in your R session, using sessioninfo::package_info().

  • "@last_error"
    Includes the message from the last error that occurred in your session. To reliably capture the last error, you need to enable rlang::global_entrace() in your session.

  • "@last_value"
    Includes the .Last.value, i.e. the result of the last expression evaluated in your R console.

Usage

# S3 method for class 'character'
btw_this(x, ..., caller_env = parent.frame())

Arguments

x

A character string

...

Ignored.

caller_env

The caller environment.

Value

A character vector of lines describing the object.

See also

Other btw formatting methods: btw_this(), btw_this.data.frame(), btw_this.environment()

Examples

mtcars[1:3, 1:4]
#>                mpg cyl disp  hp
#> Mazda RX4     21.0   6  160 110
#> Mazda RX4 Wag 21.0   6  160 110
#> Datsun 710    22.8   4  108  93
cat(btw_this("@last_value"))
#> $repos NULL  $Ncpus NULL  $HTTPUserAgent [1] "R/4.5.2 (ubuntu-24.04) R (4.5.2 x86_64-pc-linux-gnu x86_64 linux-gnu)"