I found a couple of stand-alone programs for debugging when I did a google search.
The first one is SplineTech JavaScript HTML Debugger (available for download here at a cost of a measly US$70 up to a staggering US$400. It has a lot of features that sound good for debugging, but the cost is a real turn off.
The second stand alone I found is Komodo IDE 4.3.2 which is found here and it costs a lot less than the previous product. It also has a student edition, but you have to email them for prices on this, as they want verification you are a student before they give up that state secret. Seems to have the same things that SplineTech has.
If the debuggers you can get for nothing are not your cup of tea, then either of these programs would suit your needs.
Now onto the good stuff ... debuggers that are FREE
My system is AMD athlon 64 X2 dual core processor 3600+ 1.90 GHz, 894 Mb RAM, with a 32-bit operating system. I am running Windows Vista Home Premium, with all available security updates installed.
My main internet browser is Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-GB; rv:1.8.1.14) Gecko/20080404 Firefox/2.0.0.14, and so I looked for free debuggers which work with this.
I installed both FireBug and Venkman but have yet to use either of them. I really don't know how to test them, and haven't found the time during the week to do anything. I do have information on both, taken from the websites so I don't know how good the information is.
Firefox does not come with a built-in JavaScript debugger. Nevertheless, Firefox users can download Venkman JavaScript debugger version 0.9.87.2 as an extension ( here ). I have had a quick look at it, and it seems to be fine at first glance. It has a built in help function if needed (just type /help)
Now to FireBug. Information from http://www.joehewitt.com/software/firebug/# states 'FireBug lets you explore the far corners of the DOM by keyboard or mouse. All of the tools you need to poke, prod, and monitor your JavaScript, CSS, HTML and Ajax are brought together into one seamless experience, including a debugger, error console, command line, and a variety of fun inspectors.'
I'm relying heavily on correct information from both websites, as I haven't tested either of them. One day I will test them, and add another blog to let you know what I think.
Oh, for IE users, there is help available.
'The best tool for debugging JavaScript on Internet Explorer is the Microsoft Script Editor, a free component of Microsoft Office XP/2003. There are other options, but they are less attractive: Microsoft Script Debugger is not very powerful, and Visual Studio .Net is an expensive purchase if all you need is JavaScript debugging for IE.' (http://www.jonathanboutelle.com/mt/archives/2006/01/howto_debug_jav.html)
The best advice I can give at this time is for IE users to switch to FireFox, and use the free add-on FireBug for all your debugging needs. (no, I don't like IE and only use it when I have to)
Image: 'high point for little creatures'
www.flickr.com/photos/37996577120@N01/858410838
Venkman information from http://www.mozilla.org/projects/venkman/
