debugging : Java Glossary

debugging

Dedugging means finding and fixing the flaws in computer programs. It is fun and challenging. I suspect some programmers are deliberately sloppy so they will have more fun in the debugging stage, however, the best way to debug a program is to write it so carefully that no bugs creep in the first place.

If you have a lot of bugs, that is a good sign there will be many more you have not found.

Hints

Document variables not code. Don’t be afraid to write a paragraph about each variable and how and where it is used, and what its expected values are. This is invaluable information for discovering anomalies.
Pepper your code with assertions, either formal Java version 1.4 ones or simple one like
When you get desperate you can single step via tracing. That link shows you how to get a stack trace without raising an Exception.
Just as in nature, the more bugs you find the more there are yet to find.
When you can’t find a bug, you are probably looking in the wrong place. When you can’t find your glasses, you don’t keep scanning the same spot because you are convinced that is where you left them.
When a newbie asks for help tracking a bug in a code snippet, the problem is usually is the code he did not post, hence the value of an SSCCE.
Just as in nature, the more bugs you find the more there are yet to find. Finding a bug is a sign you were asleep a the switch when coding. Stop debugging, and go back over your code line by line.

If you want more effective programmers, you will discover that they should not waste their time debugging, they should not introduce the bugs to start with.
~ Edsger Wybe Dijkstra (born: 1930-05-11 died: 2002-08-06 at age: 72)

Testing shows the presence, not the absence of bugs.
~ Edsger Wybe Dijkstra (born: 1930-05-11 died: 2002-08-06 at age: 72)

debugger
heisenbug
JPDA
JStack
paper over
Patrician Shanahan’s debugging tips
Telnet
tracing

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