console.timeLog

By  on  

I work on a really complex debugger at Mozilla but, and don't tell my colleagues, I sometimes enjoy simply using console.log and other console commands to get some simple output.  I know, I know, but hey -- whatever gets the job done.  A few years ago I detailed console.time and console.timeEnd for measuring time for a given set of tasks; let me show you console.timeLog, a new function in Firefox Nightly for logging events during a console.time timer!

Start by kicking off the timer with a name of your choice:

console.time("MyApp");

Whenever you want the intermediate timer value, as well as extra information like variable or object values, you can use console.timeLog:

// Same timer name, provide sublabel and optional info
console.timeLog("MyApp", "constructor"); 
// MyApp: 4ms constructor

console.timeLog("MyApp", "render", this.state);
// MyApp: 2ms render Object { disabled: false }

When your timed tasks have completed, you can call console.timeEnd to stop the timer:

console.timeEnd("MyApp");
// MyApp: 10ms

Firefox has a Performance tab for very detailed performance metrics but, as always, the console is a great way to get some basic insight at a glance.  The timeLog function is an awesome way to get intermediate timing and information while your script runs!

Recent Features

  • By
    Responsive Images: The Ultimate Guide

    Chances are that any Web designers using our Ghostlab browser testing app, which allows seamless testing across all devices simultaneously, will have worked with responsive design in some shape or form. And as today's websites and devices become ever more varied, a plethora of responsive images...

  • By
    Create a CSS Flipping Animation

    CSS animations are a lot of fun; the beauty of them is that through many simple properties, you can create anything from an elegant fade in to a WTF-Pixar-would-be-proud effect. One CSS effect somewhere in between is the CSS flip effect, whereby there's...

Incredible Demos

  • By
    Facebook Sliders With Mootools and CSS

    One of the great parts of being a developer that uses Facebook is that I can get some great ideas for progressive website enhancement. Facebook incorporates many advanced JavaScript and AJAX features: photo loads by left and right arrow, dropdown menus, modal windows, and...

  • By
    Create a Trailing Mouse Cursor Effect Using MooTools

    Remember the old days of DHTML and effects that were an achievement to create but had absolutely no value? Well, a trailing mouse cursor script is sorta like that. And I'm sorta the type of guy that creates effects just because I can.

Discussion

  1. MaxArt

    don’t tell my colleagues, I sometimes enjoy simply using console.log

    Don’t worry, your colleagues do the same too

    • MaxArt

      Hey, does your comment system not handle emojis? :(

  2. This was new to me, thanks! One other useful console command is console.table. Prints objects nicely to the console.

  3. Brad Kent

    So, does each call to console.timeLog reset the timer?
    If so, I wouldn’t call that an “intermediate” value

  4. Brad Kent

    And to answer my own question.. it appears no, timeLog() does not reset the timer.
    My confusion was due to the poor documentation on MDN’s site and your example where first call outputs 4ms, and the 2nd call outputs 2ms (2nd call’s output time should be greater than the first)

Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!