FAQ: Debugging JavaScript Code - Reading Error Stack Traces

This community-built FAQ covers the “Reading Error Stack Traces” exercise from the lesson “Debugging JavaScript Code”.

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This exercise can be found in the following Codecademy content:

Web Development

FAQs on the exercise Reading Error Stack Traces

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Are there any particular tools to debug JavaScript code or ways to debug JavaScript code in some text editors say Atom or Visual Studio Code?

Debugging is a manual process. The two most important tools are the error trace, and the writer’s ability to understand it enough to trace down both the error and its possible cause(s).

Many errors are typographical, in which case most editors will have a linting tool that usually runs in the background and flags lines that raise a question as to their composition. Editors may also have syntax highlighting which gives some indication of where an omission may have occurred, such as a missing quote mark, or some other delimiter such as a bracket or a brace is missing.

Practice is about the only way a writer becomes proficient at tracking down and fixing errors. Since a program could not know with any certainty what the objective of the writer is, it would be presumptuous to perform any changes purely on the basis of syntax so one can see why the writer is so important in the debugging process.

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