Console Logging and Browser Dev Tools

Console logging and Browser Developer Tools are best friends for web developers! Let’s break down both and see how they work together with an example:

Console Logging:

• Imagine it as a behind-the-scenes messaging system in your Javascript code.
• You use statements like console.log("Hello World!") to print messages.
• These messages won’t be visible on the webpage itself, but are directed to the browser’s developer console.

Browser Developer Tools (DevTools):

• This is a built-in toolbox within your browser to inspect and debug webpages.
• It has different panels for various tasks, and one crucial one is the Console panel.
• This console panel is where all your console.log messages appear.

Example:

1. Open any webpage (like this one!) and right-click anywhere.
2. Select “Inspect” (or press F12 on most browsers) to open the DevTools.
3. Find the “Console” tab. It’s usually at the bottom.
4. Now, go back to the webpage and write some Javascript in the console itself (like console.log("This is from the Console tab!")).
   • You’ll see that message appear instantly in the console panel.

How Console Logging helps with DevTools:

• As you write Javascript code for your webpage, you can use console.log statements to track the values of variables, check if certain parts of your code are executing, or see the results of calculations.
• By monitoring these messages in the DevTools console, you can pinpoint errors, debug your code efficiently, and understand how your webpages work under the hood.

Bonus Tip:

• The console object has other methods besides log. You can use console.error for error messages, console.warn for warnings, and more!
• DevTools Console allows filtering messages by type (error, warning, etc.) and searching for specific text, making it easier to navigate your logs.