Restoring console.log()

For some reason, the prototype framework (or another JavaScript code) that is shipped with Magento is replacing standard console functions, so I can't debug anything. Writing down in JavaScript console console I get the following output:

> console
Object
assert: function () {}
count: function () {}
debug: function () {}
dir: function () {}
dirxml: function () {}
error: function () {}
group: function () {}
groupEnd: function () {}
info: function () {}
log: function () {}
profile: function () {}
profileEnd: function () {}
time: function () {}
timeEnd: function () {}
trace: function () {}
warn: function () {}

I'm using Google Chrome version 13.0.782.112 on Linux.

Prototype JavaScript framework, version 1.6.0.3

Is there a quick way to solve this?

Since original console is in window.console object, try restoring window.console from iframe:

var i = document.createElement('iframe');
i.style.display = 'none';
document.body.appendChild(i);
window.console = i.contentWindow.console;
// with Chrome 60+ don't remove the child node
// i.parentNode.removeChild(i);

Works for me on Chrome 14.

For example,

delete console.log

would also restore console.log:

console.log = null;
console.log;         // null

delete console.log;
console.log;         // function log() { [native code] }

Magento has the following code in /js/varien/js.js - comment it out & it will work.

if (!("console" in window) || !("firebug" in console))
{
    var names = ["log", "debug", "info", "warn", "error", "assert", "dir", "dirxml",
    "group", "groupEnd", "time", "timeEnd", "count", "trace", "profile", "profileEnd"];

    window.console = {};
    for (var i = 0; i < names.length; ++i)
        window.console[names[i]] = function() {}
}

Just in case that someone face this same situation. I did not replied to the original answer for Xaerxess because I don't have enough reputation to do it. Looks like that is the correct answer, but for some reason I notice sometimes it works in my software and sometimes not...

So I tried completing deleting before running the script and looks like everything is working fine 100% of times.

if (!("console" in window) || !("firebug" in console))
{

  console.log = null;
  console.log;         // null

  delete console.log;

  // Original by Xaerxess
  var i = document.createElement('iframe');
  i.style.display = 'none';
  document.body.appendChild(i);
  window.console = i.contentWindow.console;

}

Thank you to everybody.

delete window.console restores the original console object in Firefox and Chrome.

How does this work? window is a hosted object and usually it is implemented with a common prototype between all instances (you have many tabs in the browser).

Some dumb developers of external libraries/frameworks (or Firebug, etc.) override property console of the window instance, but it doesn't corrupt window.prototype. By the delete operator we are back dispatching from the console.* methods to prototype code.

function restoreConsole() {
  // Create an iframe for start a new console session
  var iframe = document.createElement('iframe');
  // Hide iframe
  iframe.style.display = 'none';
  // Inject iframe on body document
  document.body.appendChild(iframe);
  // Reassign the global variable console with the new console session of the iframe 
  console = iframe.contentWindow.console;
  window.console = console;
  // Don't remove the iframe or console session will be closed
}

Tested on Chrome 71 and Firefox 65

Save a reference to the original console in a variable at the very start of the script and then either use this reference, or redefine console to point to the captured value.

Example:

var c = window.console;

window.console = {
    log :function(str) {
        alert(str);
    }
}

// alerts hello
console.log("hello");

// logs to the console
c.log("hello");

The solutions given in this question no longer solve this problem correctly in new browsers. The only one that (sort of) work is grasping the console from an <iframe> as told by @Xaerxess.

I wrote an userscript that protects console from being overwritten. It doesn't break any tools that override the console - it calls both the overridden and original methods. It can of course also be included in web-page.

// ==UserScript==
// @name        Protect console
// @namespace   util
// @description Protect console methods from being overriden
// @include     *
// @version     1
// @grant       none
// @run-at      document-start
// ==/UserScript==
{

    /**
      * This object contains new methods assigned to console.
      * @type {{[x:string]:Function}} **/
    const consoleOverridenValues = {};
    /**
      * This object contains original methods copied from the console object
      * @type {{[x:string]:Function}} **/
    const originalConsole = {};
    window.originalConsole = originalConsole;
    // This is the original console object taken from window object
    const originalConsoleObject = console;
    /**
     * 
     * @param {string} name
     */
    function protectConsoleEntry(name) {
        const protectorSetter = function (newValue) {
            originalConsole.warn("Someone tried to change console." + name + " to ", newValue);
            consoleOverridenValues[name] = function () {
                /// call original console first
                originalConsole[name].apply(originalConsoleObject, arguments);
                if (typeof newValue == "function") {
                    /// call inherited console
                    newValue.apply(window.console, arguments);
                }
            }
        }
        const getter = function () {
            if (consoleOverridenValues[name])
                return consoleOverridenValues[name];
            else
                return originalConsole[name];
        }
        Object.defineProperty(console, name, {
            enumerable: true,
            configurable: false,
            get: getter,
            set: protectorSetter
        });
    }

    /*
     *** This section contains window.console protection
     *** It mirrors any properties of newly assigned values
     *** to the overridenConsoleValues
     *** so that they can be used properly
    */

    /** 
      * This is any new object assigned to window.console
      * @type {Object} **/
    var consoleOverridenObject = null;
    /// Separate boolean is used instead
    /// of checking consoleOverridenObject == null
    /// This allows null and undefined to be assigned with 
    /// expected result
    var consoleIsOverriden = false;

    for (var i in console) {
        originalConsole[i] = console[i];
        protectConsoleEntry(i);
    }

    Object.defineProperty(window, "console", {
        /// always returns the original console object
       /// get: function () { return consoleIsOverriden ? consoleOverridenObject : originalConsoleObject; },
        get: function () { return originalConsoleObject; },
        set: function (val) {
            originalConsole.log("Somebody tried to override window.console. I blocked this attempt."
                + " However the emulation is not perfect in this case because: \n"
                + "     window.console = myObject;\n"
                + "     window.console == myObject\n"
                + "returns false."
            )
            consoleIsOverriden = true;
            consoleOverridenObject = val;

            for (let propertyName in val) {
                consoleOverridenValues[propertyName] = val[propertyName];
            }
            return console;
        },
    });
}