Abstract
Debugging remains one of the areas that have seen little progress since the early days of programming. We argue that the academic approach of observational studies is incapable of capturing the essence of debugging in complex software. Instead, reflections by programmers may provide a better description of the debugging nature and challenges. In this article, we describe a study where we capture the reflections of programmers on thorny bugs that exemplify the major sources of difficulties in debugging. More importantly, we provide suggestions on what could have been done to avoid such thorny bugs from occurring with the same level of difficulties. As a major conclusion, we argue that the best of what can be done to alleviate debugging difficulties has to be done during early program development.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | 2018 International Conference on Computer and Applications, ICCA 2018 |
Publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. |
Pages | 383-389 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781538643716 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 10 Sept 2018 |
Event | 2018 International Conference on Computer and Applications, ICCA 2018 - Beirut, Lebanon Duration: 25 Aug 2018 → 26 Aug 2018 |
Conference
Conference | 2018 International Conference on Computer and Applications, ICCA 2018 |
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Country/Territory | Lebanon |
City | Beirut |
Period | 25/08/18 → 26/08/18 |
Keywords
- debugging
- programming
- troubleshooting
- usability