what to buy to do minimal iPad safari debugging?

[Lost User]

I wouldn't bother if I were you unless you really have no choice (as in your boss wants you to fix a script issue that only presents itself on iOS). Otherwise check your app in Chrome, make sure it's all standards compliant and you should be (99% of the time) good to go. Give it a check on an iPad once it's available to see online just to make sure it works as expected. Most things you'll be able to figure out without debugging (it'll be minor layout issues most of the time). I work between Macs, Windows and Linux machines but I've never had the need (luckily, perhaps?) to debug a web app on the Mac - every problem has always showed up when testing in Chrome. If you're planning on developing mobile apps or just like the idea of working on a MacBook then that's a different matter.. :)

Now is it bad enough that you let somebody else kick your butts without you trying to do it to each other? Now if we're all talking about the same man, and I think we are... it appears he's got a rather growing collection of our bikes.

[jschell]

Since I don't do UIs specifically I am not the best source but I did spend a lot of time reading bug reports that came up specifically related to iPad (not iPhone) usage for a app that was normally expected to work on the desktop. Some were major like being being unable to get to the update button on a update view. And perhaps a problem with downloading/uploading files.

[RedDk]

Real Cpians ask questions here: Hardware & Devices Discussion Boards[^] (this also looks like a short list of CPians that are more likely to be experts in the field)

[charlieg]

You could pick up a mac mini off ebay for less than $400.

Charlie Gilley <italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape... "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783 “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759

[Spoon Of Doom]

One or more large bottles of whiskey to numb the pain.

[Peter_in_2780]

I'm redeveloping a website in HTML5/CSS3/responsive, all those good buzzwords. Standards compliant, ... But I've had to code round some "features" of Safari. Really simple stuff. Like a div initially visibility:hidden Any other (current) browser, javascript sets visibility:visible and it appears. Not with Safari. The workaround I used was opacity:0.0 and opacity:1.0 Safari gets that right. Fortunately I have some iVictim friends to help with testing.

Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012

[Member 2912016]

Maybe you can embed Firebug Lite like this guy

[Lost User]

Peter_in_2780 wrote:

Like a div initially visibility:hidden

I'd recommend using the CSS 'display' attribute rather than visibility - it's been around for years and works on all browsers. [CSS display property](https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/pr\_class\_display.asp) If you need to set it in JavaScript, use JQuery's .show() and .hide() methods. Again, works on all browser. The trick is not to try to be clever with this kind of stuff, it's bread and butter stuff that is as easy or difficult as you want to make it (and I've worked on some projects where the devs really want to make it difficult). :laugh:

Now is it bad enough that you let somebody else kick your butts without you trying to do it to each other? Now if we're all talking about the same man, and I think we are... it appears he's got a rather growing collection of our bikes.

[Lost User]

Chances are someone's trying to do something too clever. Any issue like that which I've seen has usually been down to someone developing something that didn't make sense. Not being able to get to a button is a problem caused by the developers not by the device or browser.

Now is it bad enough that you let somebody else kick your butts without you trying to do it to each other? Now if we're all talking about the same man, and I think we are... it appears he's got a rather growing collection of our bikes.

[Peter_in_2780]

The whole point of using visibility/opacity is that layout is not affected by showing/hiding this particular element. It's either visible or not, nothing nearby moves.

Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012

[Lost User]

It's all detailed in these pages: [opacity - CSS | MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/opacity) [visibility - CSS | MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/visibility)

Quote:

Support for visibility: collapse is missing or partially incorrect in some modern browsers. It may not be correctly treated like visibility: hidden on elements other than table rows and columns.

Now is it bad enough that you let somebody else kick your butts without you trying to do it to each other? Now if we're all talking about the same man, and I think we are... it appears he's got a rather growing collection of our bikes.

[Lost User]

Any mac will do - though you could blow some coin on a decent one and use parallels or similar to emulate Windows too when you need to- that's my preference as it means I can test on iPad fix code etc. all on the same machine (and build native apps etc. too) - I use VS Code for developing Angular apps mainly - and I'm forced into using a windows machine at work but always prefer my macbook when I can Mac mini will certainly be fine- I'd prob make sure you get one that is at least supported by the current OSX version (late 2009 I believe) MAC OS upgrades are free so are not a concern

PooperPig - Coming Soon

[svella]

I'd agree with that - though I would probably say 2011 or newer year to give it a little longevity. My main home machine is a late 2012 Mac Mini that I paid around $600 new and have since upgraded to SSD and 16GB ram and it is more than powerful enough to be a full development machine. One caveat though is that they tend to hold their value - the last time I looked into buying the same model used, they were selling for more than I paid for mine new. That is in part because it was the last model that didn't have the memory soldered in.

[RafagaX]

Last time i developed for an iDevice i used WeinRe for debugging, it works pretty fine with Chrome.

CEO at: - Rafaga Systems - Para Facturas - Modern Components for the moment...

[Member 13400076]

Check out saucelabs.com, able to emulate almost anything and much less expensive than purchasing physical devices.

[jschell]

Brent Jenkins wrote:

Chances are someone's trying to do something too clever.

Definitely a possibility. But can one be sure that the OP will not encounter something similar?

Brent Jenkins wrote:

Not being able to get to a button is a problem caused by the developers not by the device or browser.

Yes, but the button was accessible on the desktop. So just testing it on the desktop would not have revealed that. It is possible they tried one simulator years ago (seems like I remember a conversation about that) but it would have been 3-4 years ago so maybe the simulators have gotten better.

[Lost User]

The key thing is either he a) deals with the problems as they occur, fixing them in Chrome on Windows/Linux for free, or b) spends over £1,200 on a MacBook. It's his choice but personally I wouldn't spend that much just on the off-chance that I may need to debug Safari on iOS. It'll spend 99.9% of it's life switched off collecting dust.

Now is it bad enough that you let somebody else kick your butts without you trying to do it to each other? Now if we're all talking about the same man, and I think we are... it appears he's got a rather growing collection of our bikes.

[Peter_in_2780]

Brent Jenkins wrote:

Quote:

Support for visibility: collapse is missing or partially incorrect in some modern browsers. It may not be correctly treated like visibility: hidden on elements other than table rows and columns.

... and visibility: collapse has absolutely nothing to do with my point.

Software rusts. Simon Stephenson, ca 1994. So does this signature. me, 2012

[E Anderson]

You don't have to spend $1K, not even close. I faced the same situation awhile back with a web application my organization developed; it worked for every browser, desktop or mobile, except iOS Safari. I picked up a 2009 MacBook Pro running El Capitan with 4GB RAM and 120GB SSD from a local computer shop for $325. With this setup, I was able to connect my iPad and quickly identify the CSS element causing the issue. The deals are out there (local shops, pawn shops, Craigslist, etc.), you just have to be persistent.

[Lost User]

Well you're the one having problems with Safari on iPads, not me. ;P My point is that I'd stay away from visibility altogether and find another way of doing it. The more browsers and devices you want to support, the simpler (and standards compliant) you should keep your code.

Now is it bad enough that you let somebody else kick your butts without you trying to do it to each other? Now if we're all talking about the same man, and I think we are... it appears he's got a rather growing collection of our bikes.