Debugging: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:33, 11 June 2023

Revision as of 09:35, 11 June 2023

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==Scope==

As software and electronic systems have become generally more complex, the various common debugging techniques have expanded with more methods to detect anomalies, assess impact, and schedule [[software patch]]es or full updates to a system. The words "anomaly" and "discrepancy" can be used, as being [[euphemism|more neutral terms]], to avoid the words "error" and "defect" or "bug" where there might be an implication that all so-called ''errors'', ''defects'' or ''bugs'' must be fixed (at all costs). Instead, an [[impact assessment]] can be made to determine if changes to remove an ''anomaly'' (or ''discrepancy'') would be cost-effective for the system, or perhaps a scheduled new release might render the {{Not a typo|change(s)}} unnecessary. Not all issues are [[safety-critical system|safety-critical]] or [[mission-critical]] in a system. Also, it is important to avoid the situation where a change might be more upsetting to users, long-term, than living with the known {{Not a typo|problem(s)}} (where the "cure would be worse than the disease"). Basing decisions of the acceptability of some anomalies can avoid a culture of a "zero-defects" mandate, where people might be tempted to deny the existence of problems so that the result would appear as zero ''defects''. Considering the collateral issues, such as the cost-versus-benefit impact assessment, then broader debugging techniques will expand to detdetermine the frequency of anomalies (how often the same "bugs" occur) to help assess their impact to the overall system.

==Tools==