7 recommended debugging skills you should know as a software developer
In this article, we’ll be looking at some amazing skills for debugging and implementing workflows in building and managing software from my experience in the technology industry.
Bug: an error in a computer program.
Debugging: is the act of identifying the cause of an error (bug) and fixing it.
Debugger: someone who debugs (fixes) code errors.
Logic implementation: the implementation of what has been agreed upon or thought about on a feature
Debugging errors is the real deal in building technological solutions.
There are quite a number of cases where you could see developers, engineers, and system analysts struggling to implement the logic for a feature or solve a bug.
Make it a question to yourself:
What am I trying to achieve?
Why is the program failing?
At what point did the program start failing?
It’s good to be absolutely aware of what you’re trying to achieve either for a workflow or on a bug that’s persisting to be debugged.
For example, a carousel implementation isn’t displaying correctly. The first thing to review is to look over what the real interface or perspective is intended to look like by asking any of the following questions?
What should this view look like?
Or What’s the expected outcome of this view?
Is the code structure properly constructed to achieve this view?
Be patient (calmness)
This is the ability to wait through the process of debugging until it’s solved because being tensed, angry, overwhelmed, or quick-tempered in debugging can become a challenge. It’s important to be in a calm mode when debugging or implementing a feature. This may vary for some people but majorly I’ve seen three days of bugs solved in a few minutes just because the person was calm enough to look at the error message or have a re-think of the implementation. This does not imply that one should be slow. You can be calm and fast in solving code issues.
Pay close attention to error messages and logical implementation
Read the error message properly. I’d a situation where a fellow developer was having a challenge only to notice the error message says “missing } in the code on line 17”
It’s very important to review the error message. Sometimes an error can be thrown from a feature that’s dependent on an internet connection. If the error isn’t traceable or the message isn’t descriptive enough which always happens it’s recommended to split the implementation into parts.
Always use linting tools in your code editor or IDE (integrated development environment) suitable for the language or framework used in the project.
If you use Vscode as a code editor, you can take a look at any of these articles to explore the recommended extensions: Recommended Visual studio code extensions for Flutter developers, Recommended Visual studio code extensions for Javascript developers, Recommended Visual studio code extensions for Laravel developers,
Review the implementation causing the errors
In a case where the debugging of a bug persist, it’s absolutely fine to review the workflow or logic of the implementation. If possible remove the feature causing the bug and re-implement it. Another way is to implement the feature progressively (bit by bit). Writing about 40 lines of code before testing is likely to have errors even though some developers can actually code with such a level of accuracy and precision.
Ask questions
If the solution for a bug or implementation isn’t coming forth or working out as expected please ask questions! because someone else may have the solutions. Programming languages are quite large for one person to know end to end. Programming isn’t a flex of IQ capacity, mental and cognitive muscles but a flex of innovation and creativity in solving problems.
Moreso someone must have encountered such an issue before or may suggest a way to implement a solution that can offset the bug faster rather than debugging for days, weeks and months all alone.
Search the error on the internet
Copy and paste the exact error message on search engines directly because someone must have experienced the same or similar issue. If there are no search results you should try paraphrasing the error message. There are different search techniques like using boolean operators.
In relation to this, when solutions aren’t found, you can check or post the question on StackOverflow.
Take a break
If the bugs persist it’s also recommended to take a break which may include:
Finally
Don’t give up on bugs!!!
Bugs are unavoidable when building software solutions which is not a display of incompetence or lack of proficiency. I’ll like to also recommend the 7 ways to becoming Productive as a Developer.
Bugs prove that there’s progress and draws attention to a loophole or an issue that can become a challenge in the future.
The programming languages used for developing software applications have undergone several fixes which is one of the reasons for their upgrade and change of versions so it’s fine to have errors. It’s a core part of developing applications.
Thank you for reading this article.
Please kindly share with your network and feel free to use the comment section for questions, answers, and contributions.
Originally published at https://alemsbaja.hashnode.dev.
