Spent 4 hours on a missing semicolon in my first JavaScript project

I was building a simple to-do list app and the whole thing just wouldn't run. The error message was useless. Turns out I missed a semicolon on line 47, and my browser's console didn't even point to the right line. Has anyone else had a tiny syntax error ruin their entire afternoon?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannahm399h ago

My first Python script had a typo where I wrote "prin" instead of "print" and it took me two days to find it. The worst part was I kept reading right over it because my brain autocorrected the mistake. Now I use a linter for every single project, no exceptions. Those tiny errors can hide in plain sight forever.

wesley3856h ago

Oh man, that brain autocorrect thing is so real lol. Staring at the same line of code forever and just not seeing the obvious mistake. Two days sounds brutal, but I've totally been there. Linters are a lifesaver for sure, even if they just make you feel a little more sane.

the_eric8h ago

Actually, that's a syntax error, not something a linter would usually catch. Linters are more for style and potential bugs, while a missing letter breaks the code outright. A good editor with real-time error highlighting would show that instantly. What editor were you using back then?