Firebug (software)

Firebug is a discontinued free and open-source[4] web browser

Firebug
extension for Mozilla Firefox[2] that facilitated the live
debugging, editing, and monitoring of any website's CSS,
HTML, DOM, XHR, and JavaScript.[5]

History
Firebug was licensed under the BSD license[3] and was
initially written in January 2006 by Joe Hewitt, one of the
original Firefox creators.[6] The Firebug Working Group
oversaw the open source development and extension of
Firebug. It had two major implementations: an extension for
Mozilla Firefox and a bookmarklet implementation called
Firebug Lite[7] which can be used with Google Chrome.[8] Firebug 2.0.1 running in Firefox 30.0
under Windows 7 with the HTML panel
In addition to debugging web pages, Firebug was used for web
active on the main Wikipedia page.
security testing[9] and web page performance analysis.[10]
Original author(s) Joe Hewitt
Firebug has been deprecated in favor of the integrated
Developer(s) Firebug Working
developer tools added to Firefox itself, whose functionality has
Group (https://getfi
been unified with those of Firebug. As Firefox 57 no longer
rebug.com/wiki/ind
supports XUL add-ons, Firebug is no longer compatible.[11]
ex.php/Firebug_W
orking_Group)
Version history Stable release 2.0.19[1] /
February 16, 2017
Version 2.0 Repository github.com/firebug
/firebug (https://git
Firebug 2.0 introduced many new features to the Firebug hub.com/firebug/fir
extension including JavaScript syntax highlighting, pretty print ebug)
for minified JavaScript code, and a DOM Event Inspector to
handle all event handlers on a web page. Additionally, users Written in JavaScript, XUL,
can search for page elements using CSS selectors in the search CSS
bar. The debugging tool now allows users to inspect JavaScript Operating system Cross-platform
expressions as they are evaluated. Moreover, users can inspect
values returned from JavaScript functions. It also adds the Type Mozilla
ability to create new HTML attributes for existing HTML extension[2]
elements.[12] License New BSD
License[3]

Version 3.0 Website getfirebug.com (ht

tps://getfirebug.co
m/)
On November 10, 2014, Firebug 3.0 was announced and an alpha was made available to the public.[13]
This version was to feature a new theme and would have focused on user experience.

Features
Firebug makes changes immediately and gives constant feedback to the user. All editors in Firebug support
autocomplete.[12]

The Firebug command line accepts commands written in JavaScript. The result of executing each
command is displayed in the console, appearing as hyperlinks. The Firebug application contains multiple
windows, splitting related features to a common window.[14] Firebug also allows users to view the
download time for individual files. It separates different types of objects, such as JavaScript files and
images, and can determined which files are loaded from a browser's cache. Firebug also features the ability
to examine HTTP headers and time stamps relative to when an HTTP request is made.[15] Its net panel can
monitor URLs that the browser requests, such as external CSS, JavaScript, and image files.

HTML and CSS

The HTML and CSS tools allow for the inspection and editing of HTML and CSS elements on a web
page.[16] Later versions of Firebug allow users to see live changes to the CSS.[12] Visualization of CSS
elements is shown while inspecting HTML elements. The Firebug layout tab is used to display and
manipulate CSS property values. Furthermore, users can click on any visible HTML elements on a web
page to access its CSS property values.[17]

JavaScript Console

Firebug's script tab enables users to set breakpoints and step through lines of code.[18] Additionally, Firebug
can navigate directly to a line of JavaScript code, watch expressions, call stacks, and launch the debugger
in the event an error occurs during execution. Firebug can also log errors. Logging uses a Firebug
JavaScript API. Firebug's JavaScript panel can log errors, profile function calls, and enable the developer to
run arbitrary JavaScript. Firebug allows users to run JavaScript code through the command line and allows
the user to log errors that occur in the JavaScript, CSS, and XML. Firebug provides a separate text editor to
modify the JavaScript and see immediate results on the user's browser.

As provided in an update, the JavaScript command line features an autocomplete function. The text editor
also provides the ability to write full functions. Firebug requires a user to refresh a web page in the event of
a crash.

Extensions

Many extensions have been made to enhance Firebug. Since Firebug is open source, users can contribute
their own extensions to the Firebug community.[19]

See also
Flash of unstyled content
Google Chrome § User interface (Google Chrome Inspector)
Internet Explorer Developer Tools
 Opera Dragonfly
Safari (web browser) § Other features (Web Inspector)

References
1. "Firebug Version History" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170702174937/https://addons.moz
illa.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/versions/). Mozilla extension. 2017-02-16. Archived from
the original (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/versions/) on 2017-07-
02. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
2. "Mozilla Firefox Add-on" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170424182937/https://addons.mozil
la.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/). Archived from the original (https://addons.mozilla.org/en
-US/firefox/addon/firebug/) on 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
3. "Overview of Firebug" (https://web.archive.org/web/20141206062440/http://getfirebug.com/g
etinvolved). Archived from the original (http://getfirebug.com/getinvolved) on 2014-12-06.
Retrieved 2014-11-13.
4. Firebug on GitHub (https://github.com/firebug/firebug)
5. "Firebug Home Page" (https://web.archive.org/web/20141222221837/http://getfirebug.com/w
hatisfirebug). Archived from the original (http://getfirebug.com/whatisfirebug) on 2014-12-22.
Retrieved 2014-11-13.
6. O'Reilly Performance Tools: Appendix - Even Faster Websites (http://www.oreilly.com/server
-administration/excerpts/9780596522315/performance-tools.html)
7. "Firebug Lite Homepage" (https://web.archive.org/web/20141217201617/http://getfirebug.co
m/firebuglite). Archived from the original (http://getfirebug.com/firebuglite) on 2014-12-17.
Retrieved 2010-11-24.
8. Firebug Lite for Chrome (http://getfirebug.com/releases/lite/chrome/)
9. Hope, Paco; Walther, Ben (2008), Web Security Testing Cookbook (https://archive.org/detail
s/websecuritytesti00hope), Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc., ISBN 978-0-596-51483-9
10. "High Performance Web Sites", Steve Souders, CACM, Dec, 2008.
11. "Saying Goodbye to Firebug" (https://hacks.mozilla.org/2017/10/saying-goodbye-to-firebug/).
Mozilla Hacks. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
12. Odvarko, Jan. "Firebug 2.0 Release" (https://blog.getfirebug.com/2014/06/10/firebug-2-0/).
Firebug Working Group. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
13. Odvarko, Jan. "Firebug 3.0 The Next Generation" (https://blog.getfirebug.com/2014/11/10/fir
ebug-3-next-generation-of-firebug/). Firebug Working Group. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
14. Hewitt, J. (2007). Ajax debugging with firebug (http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/ajax-debugging
-with-firebug/196802787). Dr.Dobb's Journal, 32(2), 22-26.
15. "What is Firebug?" (https://web.archive.org/web/20141222221837/http://getfirebug.com/what
isfirebug). Archived from the original (http://getfirebug.com/whatisfirebug) on 2014-12-22.
Retrieved 2014-11-13.
16. Salkosuo, Sami (2008-05-06). "Debug and tune applications on the fly with Firebug" (http://w
ww.ibm.com/developerworks/library/wa-aj-firebug/). IBM Developer Works. Retrieved 6 May
2008.
17. Zukerman, Erez (2012-01-06). "Debug Web Pages in Firefox With Firebug" (http://www.pcw
orld.com/article/247356/firebug.html). PC World. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
18. Suehring, Steve. "Identify JavaScript Problems with Firebug" (http://www.dummies.com/how
-to/content/identify-javascript-problems-with-firebug.html). Dummies.
19. "List of Known Firebug Extensions" (https://web.archive.org/web/20141113145221/https://ge
tfirebug.com/wiki/index.php/Firebug_Extensions). Archived from the original (https://getfirebu
g.com/wiki/index.php/Firebug_Extensions) on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
Further reading
Luthra, Chandan; Mittal, Deepak (April 7, 2010). Firebug 1.5: Editing, Debugging, and
Monitoring Web Pages (1st ed.). Packt Publishing. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-84719-496-1.

External links
Official website (https://getfirebug.com/)

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