Real Web Developers Don’t Need Debugging Tools

Published on May 14, 2010 (updated Feb 5, 2024), filed under development (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)

This and many other posts are also available as a pretty, well-behaved ebook: On Web Development.

Bottom line: Try to limit your use of web dev debugging tools—like Firebug or Chrome’s Developer Tools—in order to grow your skills.

In theory, debugging tools make the developer life easier. But in practice, they also make it harder.

Typically, debugging tools save the more time the less experienced a web developer is, and the more complex a project is. But the more experienced a web developer is, or the simpler a project, the less of a need there is to use debugging tools.

The point is, debugging tools can stand in the way of a web developer becoming more experienced, and becoming more experienced more quickly. In other words, making too generous use of debugging tools means short-term gains (solving a problem faster), but long-term sacrifices (developing less of a sense and less of an understanding of the subject).

What you want to do is make short-term sacrifices (sitting on a problem for a bit longer, if necessary) for long-term gains (building up more experience, and benefiting from that experience in the long run).

Some will beg to differ. That’s fair. I like to tease at times.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a web developer, manager, and author. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager for small and large enterprises, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)