December 19, 1996 6:00 PM ET
Microsoft releases beta of Script Debugger for Internet Explorer
By Michael Moeller

Microsoft Corp. today posted what it claims is the first tool for debugging scripts found in World Wide Web pages. Called Script Debugger for Internet Explorer, the new debugging environment runs as an add-on for IE and enables Web site developers to debug scripts created with either Visual Basic Script or JScript from within the browser. Launched when a developer views the source file of a Web page, Script Debugger replaces NotePad, which was the previous editor. From there, Script Debugger scans for errors in any VBScript or JScript contained in the Web page and notifies the developer. In addition, the developer can edit the scripts from within the browser. According to David Streams, product manager for Script Debugger and Visual SourceSafe at the Redmond, Wash., company, the new environment is host and language independent, which means that Script Debugger also could be used to debug Java applets or ActiveX controls in the future. Script Debugger also enables developers to dynamically view the entire source code for a Web page in a hierarchical fashion. In addition, they can step through floating frames and view the object model of HTML pages. The debugger works only with scripts contained in Web pages and that run on the client rather than the server. It currently runs on Windows 95 or Windows NT. The Script Debugger is due to be commercially available in the first quarter of next year. The beta version can be found at www.microsoft.com/workshop/prog/scriptie. Copyright(c) 1996 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. PC Week and the PC Week logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. PC Week Online and the PC Week Online logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Send mail to PC Week