If you want to see what a name expands into, you can use the builtin
dumpdef:
dumpdef(...)
which accepts any number of arguments. If called without any arguments, it displays the definitions of all known names, otherwise it displays the definitions of the names given. The output is printed directly on the standard error output.
The expansion of dumpdef is void.
define(`foo', `Hello world.') => dumpdef(`foo') error-->foo: `Hello world.' => dumpdef(`define') error-->define: <define> =>
The last example shows how builtin macros definitions are displayed.
See section Controlling debugging output for information on controlling the details of the display.
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