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Debugging

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Debugging is the process of identifying and resolving defects or issues in code. It involves analyzing and isolating the source of the problem, testing potential solutions, and fixing the underlying issue. Debugging is a crucial skill for software developers as it helps ensure the software or product runs smoothly and meets user and business needs.
What You'll Learn
  1. AI Challenge coach
  2. Industry-Standard Expectations for Debugging
  3. How to Debug
  4. Debugging Examples

  1. AI challenge coach

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  2. How to Debug

    Debugging is the process of identifying and fixing errors in software. It is a crucial part of software development and maintenance, as bugs can cause significant issues for users and damage a company's reputation.
    • Stripe logo
      What does debugging a program look like?

      Julia Evans, Software Engineer, Stripe

      Julia goes over some practical tips for debugging, including: • How to reproduce your bug • How to do so quickly • Experimenting in order to understand the bug • Checking your assumptions • Writing code to be easier to debug • Understanding error messages
    • Asana logo
      How to fix bugs that you can’t reproduce

      Greg Sabo, Engineering Manager, Asana

      Greg provides a framework for fixing even the trickiest bugs: • Always structure your investigations using hypotheses • Leverage your teammates and previous written communication • Be realistic that not every bug can be fixed

  3. Debugging Examples

    • LinkedIn logo
      Solving a Murder Mystery

      Paul Osman, Senior Staff Software Engineer, LinkedIn

      Paul recalls a challenging bug encountered at the observability tool company that required teamwork and good observability to resolve. A customer reported that a specific query was generating a timeout error, and the error message indicated a problem with Honeycomb's datastore. However, the issue was not with the database availability but with the data itself, as the same query with different time windows produced no error. After further investigation, the team found that a segment was missing from S3, which was causing the error. The article provides technical details of how Honeycomb's systems work and how the custom instrumentation helped identify the issue.
Career Framework
Debugging is part of our Engineering Career Leveling Framework. Explore next steps in your career from this industry-standard model.

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