1513010 - `await foo` in console may do nothing while paused in debugger

Status: NEW

(DevTools :: Console, enhancement, P2)

Description

[Jason Orendorff [:jorendorff]]

Suppose we're paused in the debugger, and the user types `await foo` into the console. Imagine that `foo` is a local variable, a promise that isn't going to be resolved as long as we're paused.

I didn't check, but I think we currently attach some event handlers to the promise and that's it. So *nothing* happens in the UI in response to the user's `await foo`.

This isn't great UX. And later, when we unpause and the value *does* appear in the console, it's unclear where that value came from. So the user is surprised twice.

Comment 1

[Jason Orendorff [:jorendorff]]

Some discussion about this on the devtools slack:

<jlast> @jorendorff that is true. we assume it will be fast,
  but we should show some kind of progress UI
<jimb> Yeah, that's not so great. There ought to be a little notification
  that appears, and then get cleared away once the promise is resolved.
<jorendorff> @jlast but it won't be fast if it's a promise that's going to be
  resolved by something in the microtask queue which we have blocked because
  we're paused
<jorendorff> yeah maybe it should immediately show a placeholder with some
  dots, like jlast said
<jlast> very true. we should show that it is "in progress" maybe suspended
  in the console...

...

<jimb> @jorendorff But the user has asked us to pause the debuggee.
<jorendorff> yeah, and then they asked us to await a promise... they've
  kind of asked for two contradictory things
<jimb> Maybe the UI text should actually point this out, "Waiting for
  promise to resolve; this might require letting the program continue"
<jorendorff> it might be neat to have a :arrow_forward: button in the
  placeholder UI, like "let the debuggee run until this promise gets
  resolved"
<jlast> this seems like console ux now

Comment 2

[Nicolas Chevobbe [:nchevobbe]]

See https://github.com/devtools-html/ux/issues/40 for the UI discussion