Secrets of software debugging

© carlos castilla – Fotolia.com

One of the laws of cybernetics is ‘there is always one more bug’. This law suggests that it is virtually impossible to avoid bugs as a software developer. Consequently, developing the skill of software debugging is very important.
While software development is the process of creating new software, debugging is the process of correcting any mistakes that result from the development stage. The consequences of poor debugging skill include low productivity. You see, a poor debugger will spent more time removing bugs rather that enhancing the software. Additionally, since bugs are very tricky elements, a poor debugger will only identify a small percentage of the actual bugs leaving the rest to do catastrophic damages.
Developers with poor debugging skill will settle on changing the codes; this carries the risk of creating new bugs that may ultimately do more harm than good. However, bugs are useful in the sense that, they are at times the only way to test if the codes are working. To a software developer, bugs should be seen as symptoms that subsequently guide them to the actual disease. In addition , each bug is an opportunity to learn about bugs as each error is unique thus requires a different set of tools and skill to cure.
The first step in fixing errors is identifying them. Subsequently, the error should be reproduced on another platform. Reproduction helps identify the ‘error and effect relationship’. The behaviour generated by the bug should be studied to confirm that it is the expected behaviour. After identifying and fixing the bug, it is important analyze to error. This time round, begin from the solution to the error, rather than from the error to the solution.
As you can see, for an ordinary inexperienced person the process of software debugging can be very complex. As a result, it is wise for such a person to hire an expert to do it. It is wise to ensure that the person doing the debugging is not only qualified but also experienced.