An HTML debugger checks and fixes errors in HTML code, supports web languages, and offers advanced tools for layout and style errors. It allows developers to monitor page performance and network activity, and test code in different browsers.
A HyperText Markup Language (HTML) debugger is an editing program that checks HTML markup and locates any bugs or errors in the code. Modern HTML debugging tools function as HTML validators and generally also support common web languages, allowing debugging of JavaScript®, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP), and Extensible Markup Language (XML). HTML debuggers often offer advanced tools for handling and fixing layout and style errors. In addition to validating and maintaining code, HTML debuggers allow developers to monitor page performance and network activity.
Developers often turn to an HTML debugger for its ease of use in fixing layout errors. The debug tool effectively provides a graphical user interface for editing page contents. A typical debugger will display both a preview of the page and the underlying code. Inspecting the elements within the page preview provides a clear view of the tag and style attributes affecting the selected element. If the debugger supports live tweaking, the changes you make are immediately reflected in the preview window, allowing for quick fixes.
Other tools that an HTML debugger can offer include stroke style and border illustration functions. Trace style functions allow the developer to understand which style sheets affect an element and observe the interaction between the style sheets. Border illustrations provide line graphics that mark the edges of normally invisible borders, such as the margins around a text field.
More modern iterations of the HTML debugger include a JavaScript® debugger for testing and validating any JavaScript® included in your code. Some JavaScript® debuggers will only provide basic functionality such as finding errors in JavaScript® or providing a log of everything that occurs as your code runs, while others offer more advanced functionality. Some advanced features include the ability to measure code performance and find bottlenecks, and the ability to step-by-step, run-by-run code.
An HTML debugger allows a developer to test markup and code written in a variety of browser platforms. Each web browser follows its own internal rules when choosing how to display or process an element of a website. Differences in computation mean that elements do not always appear the same in different browsers. Any discrepancies in display or program execution between browsers can then be detected and corrected to ensure all users have the same experience.
Network activity monitoring is another important function of an HTML debugger. The debugger monitors how long files take to download and how long JavaScript® commands take to complete. If managing speed and bandwidth is a concern, this information can give a developer a better idea of how a page can be modified to optimize its speed and reduce its overall size.
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