Debugging jQuery in Visual Studio 2019: A Step-by-Step Guide

Have you ever been bamboozled by jQuery? Me too! That’s why we’re here to help perplexed web developers debug their code using Visual Studio 2019. Let’s dive in and burst through these steps together.

Step 1: Set up your project

First things first, we need to set up your project. Here’s how:

1. Open up Visual Studio 2019. If you don’t have it, go and download it (We won’t judge you, promise).
2. Create a new web project or open an existing one. You can do this by selecting File > Open > Web Site/Solution.
3. Once in the solution explorer, right-click on your project and select Add > New Item.
4. Select the HTML Page template and give it a name (e.g. index.html).
5. Click Add and watch the magic unfold.

Step 2: Add jQuery to your project

Now it’s time to add jQuery to your project. Follow these steps:

1. Get yourself over to the official jQuery website (https://jquery.com/download/).
2. Extract the downloaded files from the archive and savor that satisfying click sound.
3. Get yourself over to your project’s Scripts directory and copy the jquery-x.y.z.min.js file (We won’t judge if you dance your way over there).
4. In your HTML file, add a reference to the jQuery library by adding the following code in the head section:

<script src="Scripts/jquery-x.y.z.min.js"></script>

Replace x.y.z with the version number of the jQuery library that you downloaded. You’re almost there, just a few more steps to go.

Step 3: Add a breakpoint in your code

It’s time to add a breakpoint in your code. This will help you pause execution in your code, examine values of variables, call stacks and more. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open your HTML file in Visual Studio.
2. Find the line of code where you want to add the breakpoint.
3. Click in the left margin of the code editor, next to the line number, to add the breakpoint. A red circle will appear to indicate that a breakpoint has been set.

Ta-da! You’ve done it.

Step 4: Debug Your Code

Let’s start debugging your code! Follow these steps:

1. Start debugging your projext by selecting Debug > Start Debugging or by pressing F5.
2. Navigate to your web page in your browser.
3. Perform the action that triggers the jQuery code you need to debug.
4. When the breakpoint is hit, the debugger will pause execution at that line of code.
5. You can now examine the values of variables, inspect the call stack, and run other debugging tools to help you identify and fix any issues in your code.

Yes, you’ve made it to the final step!

Step 5: Continue debugging

Once you have identified and fixed the issue in your code, you can continue debugging to ensure that your changes have had the desired effect. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Click the Continue button in the toolbar or press F5, to resume execution of your code.
2. Use your web page as normal to ensure that your changes are working correctly.
3. If you encounter any further issues, repeat the debugging process and make any necessary fixes.

And there you have it, debugging jQuery code in Visual Studio 2019 is now a simple process. Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to perfect, error-free web pages. You, my friend, are the real MVP.