Supportsoft Glossary

Debugging Methods for Identifying and Fixing Code Issues

ebugging is a series of actions to track down and fix problems in a software programme. Whenever an application occurs, there can be glitches, unexpected results, incorrect calculations, etc. An example is if your application crashes or does not process its data properly; this is when you perform a debug. It allows you to determine what caused the application to crash instead of just fixing the symptoms. How much time it takes to perform the debug is dependent on how well you know the application's code and how much experience you have in debugging this type of problem.

The debugging process typically is to first replicate the issue, then examine previous logs if there are any, check for changes that occurred before you experienced the problem and lastly, 

Check if you have introduced new software or updated versioning of other software to the application; this will help to narrow it down to specific files. Software developers might use debugging tools, profilers and/or automated testing to trace and identify where something is not operating correctly in the code.

When debugging, you must possess the ability to be patient, be able to think analytically and thoroughly know the application architecture. When you successfully debug an application, you not only reduce the technical debt of the application, but the knowledge gained when you debug an application helps you to understand why the symptoms created the crash and/or problem; therefore, it will help you to prevent similar problems in the future.