Best Practice in JavaScript Debugging

Hey Everyone,

I have found that most of my time is spent in trying to debug JavaScript to work cross-browser. I am limited to the "Alert" method of debugging, and I really want to know if there is a better way to debug JavaScript. I focus on IE, Firefox, and Chrome browsers. So a cross-browser tool would be fantastic, but I'll take what I can get.

Thanks a ton,
Einstein47

All modern browsers have a JavaScript console. Use console.log

https://developers.google.com/chrome-developer-tools/docs/console
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg699336%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
https://getfirebug.com/wiki/index.php/Console_API

Eric

Why are you limited to alerts, which are the worst debugging "tool" possible? All modern browsers have built-in JavaScript debuggers (Firebug for Firefox).

The reason I am "limited" is because when I taught myself JavaScript back in the late '90s - it was the only option. I have not stayed on top of all the changes in technology (my own fault, you get busy and need to choose what to focus your time on). And now I am getting back into JavaScript editing (mostly to help co-workers), and I wasn't aware of all these great tools.

Thank you very much for your helpful posts.
Einstein47

I would recommend you to watch some of the great videos/tutorial that Paul Irish made on Chrome Dev Tools: http://paulirish.com/?s=devtools
so many powerful tips you can leverage later... ;)

I do most of my development in Chrome/Safari precisely because of these tools.