The EXAMINE command displays the entity at the location denoted by an address expression. You can use the command to display the contents of any memory location or register that is accessible in your program. For high-level languages, the command is used mostly to obtain the current value of a variable (an integer, real, string, array, record, and so on). If you are debugging optimized code on Alpha systems, the EXAMINE command displays the definition points at which a split-lifetime variable could have received its value. Split-lifetime variables are discussed in the VSI OpenVMS Debugger Manual. By default, the EXAMINE command displays up to five definition points. With the /DEFINITIONS qualifier, you can specify the number of definition points. The debugger recognizes the compiler-generated types associated with symbolic address expressions (symbolic names declared in your program). Symbolic address expressions include the following entities: o Variable names. When specifying a variable with the EXAMINE command, use the same syntax that is used in the source code. o Routine names, labels, and line numbers. These are associated with instructions. You can examine instructions using the same techniques as when examining variables. In general, when you enter an EXAMINE command, the debugger evaluates the address expression specified to yield a program location. The debugger then displays the value stored at that location as follows: o If the location has a symbolic name, the debugger formats the value according to the compiler-generated type associated with that symbol (that is, as a variable of a particular type or as an instruction). o If the location does not have a symbolic name (and, therefore, no associated compiler-generated type) the debugger formats the value in the type longword integer by default. This means that, by default, the EXAMINE command displays the contents of these locations as longword (4-byte) integer values.