I have a two-part question about copying code from websites. I know there are tools like DeviMagic, CSS Peeper, and CSS Scan that let you select elements on a webpage to copy their HTML and CSS. However, they don't seem to handle any JavaScript associated with those elements. Does anyone know if there's a tool that can also copy JavaScript? And if such a tool doesn't exist, what's the reason behind it? I've heard there's a difference between client-side and server-side code, and since JavaScript can be client-side, why can't these tools capture all aspects of an element's code, including JS? Thanks!
2 Answers
The thing is, JavaScript doesn’t directly map to CSS elements in a straightforward way. A lot of JavaScript dynamically modifies CSS, and figuring out exactly what parts of JS are needed to replicate a specific style can be pretty complex. So, it’s tough for a tool to just grab everything and make it work seamlessly.
Every element in the DOM can have multiple event handlers. If you check out the Event Listeners tab in Chrome DevTools while inspecting an element, you can see which handlers are attached. Make sure to uncheck the 'Ancestors' box to narrow it down to that element specifically!
Thank you. If this narrows down the JS used on an element, wouldn't this mean a tool could reverse engineer it too? I tried your method, but after unchecking the 'Ancestors' box, the area was empty, though I know the element uses JS since I wrote it.
Thank you!