diff --git a/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/util/ObjectUtil.java b/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/util/ObjectUtil.java
index 690a462a..43284959 100644
--- a/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/util/ObjectUtil.java
+++ b/projects/samskivert/src/java/com/samskivert/util/ObjectUtil.java
@@ -1,8 +1,28 @@
 //
-// $Id: ObjectUtil.java,v 1.1 2003/08/18 21:53:59 ray Exp $
+// $Id: ObjectUtil.java,v 1.2 2004/02/25 13:19:49 mdb Exp $
+//
+// samskivert library - useful routines for java programs
+// Copyright (C) 2001 Michael Bayne
+// 
+// This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+// under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published
+// by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+// Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+// License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+// Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
 
 package com.samskivert.util;
 
+import java.lang.reflect.Field;
+import java.io.PrintStream;
+
 /**
  * Utility methods that don't fit anywhere else.
  */
@@ -15,4 +35,70 @@ public class ObjectUtil
     {
         return (o1 == null) ? (o2 == null) : o1.equals(o2);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Dumps the contents of the supplied object instance, listing the
+     * class name, hash code and <code>toString()</code> data for each
+     * field in the supplied object and then dumps each field in turn.
+     */
+    public static void dumpInstance (PrintStream out, Object object)
+    {
+        dumpInstance(out, object, true);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Dumps the contents of the supplied object instance, listing the
+     * class name, hash code and optionally, the <code>toString()</code>
+     * data for each field in the supplied object and then dumps each
+     * field in turn.
+     */
+    public static void dumpInstance (PrintStream out, Object object,
+                                     boolean includeToString)
+    {
+        dumpInstance(out, object, includeToString, "");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Helper function.
+     */
+    protected static void dumpInstance (
+        PrintStream out, Object object, boolean includeToString, String indent)
+    {
+        // summarize the current object
+        summarizeObject(out, object, includeToString, indent);
+        // increment the indentation level
+        indent += " ";
+        // summarize the object's fields
+        Field[] fields = object.getClass().getDeclaredFields();
+        for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
+            try {
+                Object field = fields[i].get(object);
+                dumpInstance(out, field, includeToString, indent);
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                out.println(indent + "*** unable to fetch field " +
+                            "[field=" + fields[i] + ", error=" + e + "]");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Prints out the object class name, hash code and optionally the
+     * <code>toString()</code> data for the supplied object.
+     *
+     * @param out the print stream on which to dump the object.
+     * @param object the object to be dumped.
+     * @param includeToString true if the result of {@link
+     * Object#toString} should be included in the output.
+     * @param prefix a prefix to prepend to the output.
+     */
+    public static void summarizeObject (
+        PrintStream out, Object object, boolean includeToString, String prefix)
+    {
+        out.print(prefix + object.getClass().getName());
+        out.print(" [" + object.hashCode());
+        if (includeToString) {
+            out.print(", " + object.toString());
+        }
+        out.println("]");
+    }
 }