Debugging Output Enabled by Default in EE 2.2
Update: This has been disabled in EE 2.2.1. A welcome change!
The release notes for ExpressionEngine 2.2 include this item:
Turned on Show SQL Queries and Template Debugging by default in a new installation.
This change is a mistake. New users to EE don’t need confusing debugging output cluttering up their experience of EE2. Heck, no one does unless they turn it on.
I haven’t had a chance yet to ask EllisLab what the thinking behind this change was (maybe they’ll say in the comment thread) but I’m sure it was intended to be helpful. To me, however, it feels like a developer-centric view of the ExpressionEngine experience (don’t forget that EE appeals to designers because of its simple template language). I wonder what the use case is for this change.
One thing I can appreciate is that sometimes you want to have a debug or development mode for ExpressionEngine if, for example, you’re working on a custom add-on or just want a sandbox to test code. One idea (and it may be a bad one; I’ll let you decide) is to have an option in the installation process to install in “Development Mode,” which turns on all debugging and perhaps a few other features.
Turning on debug output for every new installation, however, is less than ideal.
Posted on Jun 22, 2011 by Ryan Irelan
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Brad Parscale — 23:38 on 06.22.2011
Completely agree… It is super easy to turn on and will make things look overwhelming for the average new user.
Jason Hudnutt — 23:44 on 06.22.2011
I agree, however “development mode” might confuse new developers (add-on or otherwise) so maybe “debugging mode”?
Tony Geer — 00:19 on 06.23.2011
Agreed. I imagine there are much less people that would benefit from a change like this than there would be people that are confused. And the ones that need to see this kind of info would be familiar enough with the CP to turnmit on themselves.
Todd — 02:03 on 06.23.2011
My thoughts were that perhaps there were folks who were unaware that this mode existed and by turning it on, they’re hoping that it’ll increase awareness of the powerful tool. But it would be confusing to many who don’t need it, so it probably should stay off by default. Awareness of the mode can be increased in some other way….
Paul Stone — 03:48 on 06.23.2011
I agree. A simple check box in the installation saying something like “Would you like to turn ‘Show SQL Queries and Template Debugging’ on? This can provide you with helpful debugging information whilst you are creating your ExpressionEngine site. You can turn this on or off at a later date by going to
Matt — 07:01 on 06.23.2011
I disagree, but then I turn on the debugging for every new install I make. From a development point of view it helps with checking your code is at its best and gives easy access to errors like file permissions etc.
Matt
James — 09:59 on 06.23.2011
“I agree. A simple check box in the installation saying something like
Garrett Winder — 12:49 on 06.23.2011
If it’s to raise awareness of the feature I think it belongs in a blog post or a tweet, not front and center by default.
I know it’s not a huge deal and can be removed really easily, but, just the fact that the team decided “Yes, let’s do that” really does scare me. There has to be somewhere in the decision process where at least a few people say “That is a bad idea, and here is why.”.
The output profiler and template debugger can help us build better more responsive websites, but features like this do not belong front and center. It’s raw data that for someone first logging into the CP just looks broken, and it’s only used regularly by an extremely small percentage of ExpressionEngine developers.
Aleks Seltenreich — 16:23 on 06.24.2011
I agree, it should be off by default. Adds a lot of ‘clutter’ to the output that I don’t really need to see, unless I need to track down problems or performance issues.
Matt Green — 21:51 on 06.27.2011
agreed, I was thoroughly confused with my new install today. Although sadly I have built countless EE sites for years now and I had no idea it even existed. ha!
Sytrek — 10:54 on 06.28.2011
I agree but some other additional feature could have been more useful.