The latest versions of Firebug in Firefox feel like they've been regressing. Performance is abysmal. This is a common complaint amongs everyone on my team, and increasingly among many other web developers online.
Are there any alternative extensions for Firefox that gives similar functionality(DOM inspector, Net tab, console)?
Firefox now has built in developer tools similar to Firebug, but not so full-featured:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/technology/
http://www.webmonkey.com/2011/12/an-overview-of-firefoxs-coming-developer-tools/
Fidler Web Debugger is an option, although it's not as integrated.
Other alternatives include:
Jash: Javascript Shell
Internet Explorer Developer Tools
FireAtlas (extension to FireBug, but helps debug ASP.NET)
The IE8 Debugger is pretty good, for IE. They seemingly took several cues from Firebug.
I agree with you as far as Firebug's performance goes in recent releases, therefore I have found myself using the excellent WebKit Inspector - in both Chrome and Safari - and Opera Dragonfly a lot more recently.
If you were to post your specific problems about Firebug performance to the Firebug newsgroup or bug list, then we'd just fix them. No one has ever complained about performance. We had some problems with memory but these were fixed.
jjb
For Http/Https traffic inspection HttpFox is very great tool. u'll get an add-on for firefox in the web. However it doesn't have the cool dom inspection feature of firebug.
Check out
Dung Beetle
Also, exclusively for XPath expressions, but pretty fast,
XPath Checker
Related
Many probably have the same generic question regarding the Firebug debugging tool these days. Now that Mozilla has reached Firefox 51, is Firebug now considered obsolete? Obviously, the Firefox development tools now available in the Web Console can perform pretty much the same functions.
. . .
Does the Firefox 51 Debugger now also feature the same 'Breakpoint on Property Change' capability that Firebug has, or something similar? If so, why use Firebug at all?
. . .
Just wondering, and thanks for any info.
Yes, you are right. Firebug is no longer being maintained because it would have been very complicated to make it compatible to Firefox's new e10s multi-process architecture and some other reasons. Most of the features have been integrated in Firefox developer tools and work as good (and some even better, meaning faster / more functionality / better design) now.
If you miss any features that were available in Firebug, feel free to file new bugs.
For further reference, see hacks.mozilla.org or getfirebug.com
I'm writing plugin for firefox and I need a way to debug it. Plugin written in javascript.
So is there is a elegant way how I can debug it?
Update 2014: There's a builtin Firefox debugger
The Mozilla Developer Center has plenty of useful information on this topic (as well as many others).
I would recommend Setting up an extension development environment as a good place to start.
You can use Firebug or Venkman's Javascript Debugger.
Chromebug is a useful tool which allows JavaScript debugging and inspecting XUL elements. You can take a look at a few screenshots here.
I want to see each url request made my by browser.
I want to see the url requests made by ajax.
Which software should I use? Some java code would also help.
You can use Fiddler or if you need to "go deep" (as their web page says), you can use Wireshark.
Firefox has a great plugin called LiveHTTPHeaders that I think will get you what you are looking for. I'm not positive on the AJAX part of the question, but it's worth a shot. I consider LiveHTTPHeaders to be an indispensable tool for anyone doing web development.
Use Firebug
(source: getfirebug.com)
Otherwise use Wireshark http://www.wireshark.org/ if you want the swiss army knife of network capture tools.
There are lots of great programs out there that will do this. My answer would really depend on what you are trying to do.
Adding an HTTP proxy that logs requests will easily do the job.
You can also leverage browser plugins such as FireBug and Google's Page Speed to see the requests fly in realtime.
Jacob
I don't really understand where do you want to see the traffic. But if what you mean is browser and if you are using Firefox then Firebug will come handy.
So many great extensions for Firefox that'll give you that info:
Firebug
PageSpeed
LiveHTTPHeaders
You could also try using the developer tools in Safari or Chrome if you're not a Firefox fan.
If you use IE... why are you using IE? ;-)
Any personal proxy will do. Fiddler was already suggested.
For Firefox I would use the TamperData plugin.
What are the minimum programming requirements to create a Firefox plugin?
You need to learn XUL for the UI and Javascript for the programming.
more infos here:
https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Developing_add-ons
Firefox plugins (such as things like Flash player) are binary components you develop in NPAPI the cross-browser API for plugins.
Check out Mozilla Plugin Developer Center
You might also look into Firefox Extensions sometimes Firefox plugins are shipped as extensions. Firefox extensions modify or enhance the functionality of the browser itself. Javascript is primarily the language you'll be writing a Firefox plugin.
Check out the Mozilla Extensions Developer Center
Some Firefox plugins that come in handy when developing Firefox plugins are the Venkman Javascript Debugger and Firebug Javascript debugger
If you are into an organized style of reading, and prefer an good ol' book, start here.
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Firefox-Building-Internet-Applications/dp/0596102437
It will get you started on the basics on XUL, which is in turn used to build the addons. If you have a touch in javascript, it will definitely help you.
Else,
Start here.
https://developer.mozilla.org/En
You can start learning what all you will need to start developing firefox addons, or even firefox itself.
If you are fairly proficient in Javascript and DOM, then, just jump here.
https://developer.mozilla.org/En/Developing_add-ons.
The only problem might be, they are as not comprehensive for a newbie programmer. If you have some professional background in programming, and can pick up a language from sample codes, then start here.
But I would definitely suggest a well organized book, like I mentioned above. There are very few XUL book in the market, this was my first google result, so just linked it here.
Search for XUL on http://www.amazon.com/.Choose one, atleast a book published after 2006-07.
[edit]
Just found out this good article
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Getting_started_with_extension_development
There seems to be a huge misunderstanding here; Are you trying to create a plugin or an extension? As Dougnukem stated, plugins have nothing to do with XUL or extensions. They are shared libraries (.dll, .so, or .dylib for win, linux, mac) that provide functionality that the browser isn't capable of alone.
If you're just getting started, I'd recommend looking at the FireBreath plugin framework and reading through some documentation. A decent place to start is: http://colonelpanic.net/2009/03/building-a-firefox-plugin-part-one/
Also, you still haven't selected an answer for this question; is that because you haven't found an answer yet, or because you've forgotten?
Advanced DOM, the Firefox API
I've just downloaded IE8, which replaced my IE7, but that's okay because IE8 has a 'compatibility view' which is meant to render pages like IE7 (not sure about the JavaScript).
I was wondering if there is a listing on the internet of all major differences a developer should know between the versions. I've searched Google a bit but haven't found a satisfactory listing.
So, what should I (or any other web developer) know about getting my site working optimally on IE8, and what are the major differences between the two?
I would start by looking here:
Internet Explorer 8 Readiness Toolkit
Differences between IE8 Compatibility View and IE7
IE8 Developer Resources
I don't think you'll find a comprehensive "gotcha" list of rendering quirks until more folks have it installed. There are a bunch of new features like Accelerators that you can develop to build new features into IE8. This looks like a good start.