What I miss at times in Mathematica is an interactive prompt where I can type to see, e.g., the value of a variable, without having to go through the hassle of cleaning the notebook from cluttering output.
The interactive command line provides just that but without the convenience of the notebook frontend.
Is there a way to share the kernel/workspace/context between the two? Alternatively, is there anyway to obtain an interactive prompt for mathematica in some form?