Charles Proxy New release

This is one of those applications whose name you’ll always remember. Its name, Charles, makes you think of an English valet (Jeeves comes to mind), however its powers as a web debugger quickly puts that comparison to shame.

Charles is an HTTP Proxy/Monitor that once installed on your computer will record all the data that is sent or received via Internet so any application that accesses the Internet can be monitored for debugging purposes. For web developers it is usually quite difficult to see what information is being sent from the client to the server, so when in need to troubleshoot a particular problem in web applications, Charles can save the day. Using it you can see the flow of data and diagnose with the intent of fixing the problem.

Now, Charles Proxy is a very popular application not only for the fact that is an excellent web debugger, but also because it can be used as a way to cheat in online browser based games. By intercepting the information sent from the client, it is able to edit it and send a modified version to the server – this way various cheats can be manufactured, from increasing the availability of resources (in games like FarmVille, CityVille, FrontierVille) to unlocking hidden sections. This is why Charles and Cheat Engine are the most popular tools used to develop cheats for browser-based simulation/action games. It has somehow the same principle as CE, basically you establish break-points, edit the values to be altered, remove the breakpoints and “trick” the server.

This review is based on its capability of being a valuable web debugging tool, rather than a cheat creator, and these are the observations after using Charles Proxy.

Advantages:

It’s multi-platform. You can use it to debug not only from an Windows environment, but also for iPhone apps or Linux programs.
Easy installation, fully-featured interface. When you’re installing it, Charles will automatically define the proxy setting for your connection, and automatically remove those when closed. Offers lots of web development troubleshooting tools (combine it with Firebug and there’s a slim chance you won’t solve your problems).
Slow internet connection simulations. You can throttle the bandwidth to see how your web app would act when the internet speed is not that good.
Add breakpoints. A feature used intensely for cheating purposes, as it allows intercepting a request, editing it, and sending the modified version to the server.
W3C validation and AJAX debugging. Though these are features freely available on the web, it’s good to have access to them too from Charles.

Disadvantages:

Not that it counts for a web developer (maybe more for MAC ones), but the interface is a bit outdated, a refresh of style would be appreciated.
It’s not free. There are some free tools that could achieve partially what Charles Proxy does (Cheat Engine, Firebug, Web Developer Firefox Toolbar), but on the other hand $50 for a web development tool is not that much.

All things considered, Charles Proxy is one of the few professional web development tools that have a reasonable price.

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