Bug 18983 – Exception messages in console not always obvious

• Status: RESOLVED
• Resolution: FIXED
• Component: Web Inspector (Deprecated)

[Oliver Hunt]

Doing the following example in the console:
q=({valueOf:function(){console.log("argh"); throw "foo";}})
q++

Will result in a small red cross, with the text "foo".  It is not obvious however that the  "foo" text is in fact an exception.

[Timothy Hatcher]

What would make it more obvious?

[Adam Roben (:aroben)]

(In reply to comment #1)
> What would make it more obvious?

Maybe something as simple as prefixing the exception with "Exception: " would help.

[Oliver Hunt]

Yeah, i was thinking something along the lines of what adam referred to.

[Timothy Hatcher]

This recently regressed a little, we no longer show a small red cross. And some cases the text isn't red. I have a fix that make these cases clear and consistent. Prefixing isn't a trivial change, so I will save that for another rainy day.

[Timothy Hatcher]

Created attachment 28184 [details]
Proposed Patch

[Timothy Hatcher]

Created attachment 28185 [details]
Screenshot of new design

[Adam Roben (:aroben)]

Comment on attachment 28184 [details]
Proposed Patch

>         (WebInspector.Console.prototype._formaterror): Add an error-message
>         classed span around the message to show in red and remove the
>         console-message-url class from the link so it doesn't float right.
>         Instead inclose the link in parenthesis and use displayNameForURL

Typos: inclose -> enclose, parenthesis -> parentheses

>         (WebInspector.ConsoleMessage.prototype.toMessageElement): Simplify
>         how line numbers are shown since link underlining a string with
>         parenthesis looks bad.

Typo: parenthesis -> parentheses

Can you make a manual test?

r=me

[Timothy Hatcher]

Landed in r41364.