Non-intrusive object introspection in C++

We describe the design and implementation of system architecture to support object introspection in C++. In this system, information is collected by parsing class declarations, and is used to build a supporting environment for object introspection. Our approach is non-intrusive because it requires no changes in the original class declarations and libraries; hence, binary compatibility between objects before and after the addition of introspective capability is ensured. This is critical if one wants to integrate third-party class libraries, which are often supplied as black boxes and allow no modification, into highly dynamic applications. We present two applications: the first is automatic I/O support for C++ objects, and the other is interactive exercise of dynamically loaded C++ class libraries. Copyright  2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.