What is Debugging?
Debugging is the process of locating and fixing errors (known as bugs), in a
computer program, or
hardware device.
To debug a program or
hardware device, you start with a known problem, isolate the source of the
problem, and then fix it. When someone says they have debugged a program, or "removed the bugs" in a
program, they imply
that they have fixed the program, so that the bugs no longer exist in it.
Debugging is a necessary process in almost any new software, or
hardware development process,
whether a commercial product, an enterprise, or personal application
program. For complex products, debugging is done periodically
throughout the development, and again during the customer beta test stages.
Because most computer
programs and many
programmed
hardware devices contain thousands of lines of
code, almost any new product is likely to contain a few bugs. Invariably, the bugs in the
functions that get the most use, are found and fixed first. An early
version of a program that has lots of bugs is referred to as "buggy."
Debugging tools help identify coding errors at various stages of development. Some
programming language packages include a facility for checking the code for errors as it is
being written.
piesoftwareinc@piesoftwareinc.co.uk
PIE Software Inc. 31/05/2002
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