[Javascript] Debugger

[Hakan M.]

I prefer Netscape/Mozilla because it does what you expect it to do. 
offsetLeft is always offsetLeft, where in IE, offsetLeft can be anything 
from a picture of Barbara Streisand to the amount of imaginary 
microsoft-units to the closest, probable parent (providing that parent 
isn't positioned relatively, or contains some other *highly advanced* 
properties that IE can't handle, altough the support was promised back 
in the years where scientists promised the wheel and fire).

I find it pretty obvious that Microsoft is deliberately keeping their 
browser incompatible and poorly updated, in order to secure the 
development possibilities of it. Let's face it, they litteraly have an 
army of developers, adding PNG-support, adding XML-support, fixing the 
box model, anything could be supported. But by dominating with 
non-standard applications and solutions, they make sure that THEY are in 
control of any development. If we want anything, we'll have to ask them 
to do it, because their native software just isn't up to the task.

Instead of using JavaScript, they invent JScript.
Instead of supporting XML/PNG natively, they throw in some ActiveX-junk.
Instead of using XUL, they invent their own crap, which will be 
non-standardised of course.

I makes me sick to think about the fact that Microsoft is actually board 
members at W3c. Feels like a law firm that employs theives and murderers 
to me. If Microsoft ever had any intentions of beeing standards 
compliant at all, they would've been there ages ago. As it is now, their 
top-of-the-line, newest browser doesn't have half-decent support for 
XHTML, something that became a recommendation in the year 2000. That's 
four years ago.

liorean wrote:

> Hassan Schroeder wrote:
>
>> Dave Stoltz wrote:
>>
>>> Ok, lets pretend that some people HATE Netscape, and don't even have 
>>> it on
>>> their machine....Now what should I use for Javascript debugging? 
>>
>> Bummer. Then AFAIK you're stuck with the Microsoft Script Debugger
>> that you apparently already have.
>> Better than nothing, at least, which is what you get with Opera :-)
>
>
> Netscape has always been nicer to the developer than ie when it comes 
> to scripting. It has reported the line number correctly, had more 
> informing error messages, and has had a debugger in two generations. 
> Netscape's successor, Mozilla, provides you with excellent script 
> development tools. You have the JavaScript console, the DOM Inspector, 
> Venkman (the JavaScript debugger), the ability to toggle strict 
> warnings (will notify you of potential problems wiht your code, and is 
> - of course - stricter)  and a lot of extensions that allow your work 
> to be done in far shorter time. Microsoft has the Windows Script 
> Debugger; of course, but that only captures some kinds of errors, not 
> all errors. The ie error reports are often incorrect in line number, 
> and are less informative over all. Besides, the JScript engine allows 
> far less insight into it's workings than the other engines. (With the 
> possible exception of KJS, but that at least has a full 
> from-the-source-code documentation, in the same way Mozilla has.) 
> Opera was dead silent about errors until op7, when a JavaScript 
> Consome appeard in it as well, and one that rivals the Mozilla 
> JavaScript Console in how informative it is at times. This console is 
> reachable from the menu, Window:Special:JavaScript Console.
>
> Overall, I think you should use Mozilla as your primary debugging 
> platform because of it's clear superiority on this point. Opera is 
> helpfull, but when Mozilla doesn't give you the answer, op7 isn't 
> likely to help either. The Windows Script Debugger is useful for ie 
> proprietary code, but not for much else.
>
>
> The best way to debug, though, is and always will be variable lookup 
> by alerts inserted in the source code, and knowing what JavaScript 
> constructs are supported to what level in what browsers.
>
>
>
> Then there is JavaScript Lint, of course. 
> <http://www.crockford.com/javascript/jslint.html>
>
>
> And if you need any documentation or references, 
> <http://www.codingforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17254>
>
>
> HTH,