Testing the software doesn’t reveal the cause of a bug, it just shows us the effect. Some error outputs try to make an educated guess to help the developer pin down the source of the bug, like Python’s interpreter. Others can be extremely frustrating and obtuse.
No software developer wants to write buggy c level contact list code, but it’s an inevitable part of the process. As such, debugging is an inherent part of software development. Fortunately, debugging can actually be a great asset in the development process. Leading to novel solutions and alternatives that will make the software better in the long run.
How long does debugging take?
It’s always surprising to non-software developers when they hear that debugging actually takes more time than writing the code itself. When building software, most of the time is spent either debugging or maintaining the code rather than actually writing it.
Obviously, the implication is that we should a solution to fashion’s industrial problems try to avoid bugs in the first place. One of the most common practices is what it’s traditionally known as “defensive programming.” Explaining in detail would require an article in itself, but for now, it’s enough to know that it’s writing code while having the worst-case scenario in mind.
Think of it like this: you are driving a car down a highway and you make decisions as if every other driver on the road is about to make a terrible mistake. In that analogy, the other drivers are the users and you are the software developer. For example, a function that may otherwise be perfect can break when the wrong argument is passed. What if the developer preventively builds it in such a way that it accounts for that kind of scenario?.
What causes bugs?
Generally speaking, bugs can be classified according to the kind of error:
- Logical or semantic errors: With these kinds of errors the code’s syntax is just fine, the problem is with the underlying logic. Something about the algorithm isn’t working as originally envisioned which leads to unexpected outputs. It’s like following a recipe to make pizza, opening the oven, realizing that you cooked chicken. When you check the recipe you realize that it was a chicken recipe all along.
What are some of the most common debugging strategies?
- Incremental development: The sault data developer tests the code as they build it, every few lines they run a test to see if the code is behaving as they expect. On the downside, this increases the time it takes to write code.
- Visualization: The sister method to incremental development, software developers print outputs or use console logs to see how the code is behaving. This is often done in small chunks to analyze how the data is being manipulated in each step of the process.