Comments on: Shotgun Debugging http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/ Code Monkey and Grad Student Extraordinaire Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:52:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: devmorgan.com » Blog Archive » What Makes a Good Programmer http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-302 devmorgan.com » Blog Archive » What Makes a Good Programmer Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:04:58 +0000 http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-302 [...] understand the code you are touching, and be very explicit in fixing problems with it. Don’t shotgun debug, be precise about what you are trying to [...] […] understand the code you are touching, and be very explicit in fixing problems with it. Don’t shotgun debug, be precise about what you are trying to […]

]]> By: Paul Solt http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-50 Paul Solt Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:26:02 +0000 http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-50 Solid tips on debugging. It's really not that hard if you take the time to read the message. Java makes it frighteningly easy and I'm amazed when people just don't take the time to read the error message. They usually provide a line number and an error. Just play detective and back trace through what happened. If you wrote the code you should have a general idea of what you were trying to accomplish. C/C++ isn't as bad as everyone makes it seem. You just need to have a solid grasp of what you can do. And you have to understand that errors can propagate. Start with the first error and work up a bit. What it comes down to, is a learning process. You get better at programming/debugging from running into all the errors and fixing them. Then you learn not to make that mistake again. Solid tips on debugging. It’s really not that hard if you take the time to read the message.

Java makes it frighteningly easy and I’m amazed when people just don’t take the time to read the error message. They usually provide a line number and an error. Just play detective and back trace through what happened. If you wrote the code you should have a general idea of what you were trying to accomplish.

C/C++ isn’t as bad as everyone makes it seem. You just need to have a solid grasp of what you can do. And you have to understand that errors can propagate. Start with the first error and work up a bit.

What it comes down to, is a learning process. You get better at programming/debugging from running into all the errors and fixing them. Then you learn not to make that mistake again.

]]> By: Jessy http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-47 Jessy Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:10:59 +0000 http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-47 "Sometimes tutoring can be very frustrating, but I really do enjoy the moment when a student finally has it click." Please, help me make it "click." “Sometimes tutoring can be very frustrating, but I really do enjoy the moment when a student finally has it click.”

Please, help me make it “click.”

]]> By: Megan http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-46 Megan Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:08:52 +0000 http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-46 Was I really that difficult to tutor? LOL Was I really that difficult to tutor? LOL

]]> By: syp http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-45 syp Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:49:42 +0000 http://www.devmorgan.com/blog/2008/01/27/shotgun-debugging/#comment-45 excellent advice!! i was stubborn when i first started learning how to program. sadly, it took me a long time to realize that the errors actually were pretty telling of what and where the error was! i think we're so used to getting cryptic error messages (esp. from Windows!) that we've become pretty conditioned to ignore them. c'mon now, a compiler that could actually give useful error messages?! nonsense! now C/C++ is a completely different story... excellent advice!! i was stubborn when i first started learning how to program. sadly, it took me a long time to realize that the errors actually were pretty telling of what and where the error was! i think we’re so used to getting cryptic error messages (esp. from Windows!) that we’ve become pretty conditioned to ignore them. c’mon now, a compiler that could actually give useful error messages?! nonsense!

now C/C++ is a completely different story…

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