Debugging Code Effectively

One of the most important skills for any developer is being able to effectively debug code when things don't work as expected. As a junior developer, I've been spending a lot of time debugging and have picked up some useful techniques along the way.

Console is Your Best Friend
The browser console is incredibly useful for debugging frontend code. You can use console.log() statements throughout your code to log variable values and check the flow. This has helped me trace issues so many times.
For example, if I have a function that isn't behaving as expected, I'll add logs before and after key lines to narrow down where it's breaking.

Breakpoints Save Time
For debugging JavaScript in the browser, learn how to use breakpoints. In the Sources panel of dev tools, click on the line number where you want execution to pause. Then reload and the code will break on that line.

This allows you to step through code line by line and inspect scopes. Much better than adding dozens of logs!

Handle Errors Gracefully
Always wrap potentially error-prone code in try-catch blocks and log the error. This will help catch runtime exceptions. For example:

try {
  // code that may throw
} catch (err) {
  console.error('An error occurred:', err);
}

Proper error handling is important for robust code.
https://react.dev/reference/react/Component#catching-rendering-errors-with-an-error-boundary

That covers some top debugging techniques I've found useful. In future posts, I'll discuss other tips like code organization, performance optimization, and more. Please share any other questions or feedback in the comments!