Note: I’m pretty new to JavaScript development.
I come from a background where I typically work with separate tools - a compiler or interpreter, my favorite text editor, and terminal for running code and tests. I’m a big fan of test-driven development and like having direct control over my development environment.
With JavaScript though, my current approach feels clunky. I write code in a file, then switch to my browser and hit refresh to see results. This doesn’t give me much visibility into what’s happening under the hood, except for basic alert dialogs.
I’m looking for better development workflow suggestions for Mac users. Are there good debugging tools I should know about? Maybe a way to run JavaScript outside the browser? What setup do experienced developers recommend?