The examples you gave were for dimensional measurement of physical objects, so I'll assume that's the kind of inspection you're interested in.

For dimensional inspection, the choice of instrument depends on the precision of the required measurement. An instrument with the appropriate discrimination (smallest division on the scale) should be selected according to this precision.

If you're interested in inspecting only to fractions of an inch, scales (rules) will suffice. If you need to measure to the nearest thousandth of an inch, then a caliper or micrometer is called for (discrimination of .001"). If you need closer measurements, then you need a vernier micrometer (discrimination of .0001") or similar instrument.

Other instruments, such as optical comparators, work OK in the .001 region..... More sophisticated instruments such as laser micrometers, etc. will go beyond this.

Note that there are many measuring instruments and techniques, and that the approaches differ somewhat for inside, outside, and depth measurements. Further, if you're measuring in metric the rules change a little, but again the micrometer is probably the best all-around instrument for relatively precise measurements.