I don’t have a problem with learning a new language, but JavaScript has always bugged me*. There’s just no decent way to catch those complicated bugs, as using alert() and document.write() just doesn’t cut it for really big stuff.
Enter Venkman, stage right.
Venkman is just awesome. It includes features that allow you to set breakpoints and watches, view variables and their values, and (most importantly IMHO) has an interactive console. Being a Python programmer I’ve found that interactive consoles are the key to getting something working. No more making a change, reloading the page and figuring out what went on. You can load the page and simply execute the JavaScript in real time. For a JS newbie the ability to do that is an absolute lifesaver.
If you want to learn how to use Venkman, there is an excellent guide that’s “slightly more useful than a towel“. I highly recommend you check it out, even if you’re only going to use Venkman once or twice a month.
* Apologies. It seems like I’m getting some bad influences from somewhere. I never used to make puns like this!
drac | 27-Oct-05 at 5:39 pm | Permalink
Yes, Venkman is pretty awesome. Much to my sorrow, it doesn’t work on the Firefox beta - so I can’t use it as often as I would like.
Venkman, WebDev Toolbar and DOM Inspector. Don’t do any Javascript/CSS without them :)