Debugging for beginners

Where this idea appears

A surprising total or an action that appears to do nothing can have a small cause. Knowing what you expected helps make the problem less vague.

The symptom and the cause can be far apart

A wrong result tells you what was observed, but not necessarily which part caused it. A total that appears incorrect may involve the original values, the calculation, or the way the result is presented. Those are different responsibilities within the same visible outcome.

A useful explanation connects the observed behaviour to the intended behaviour. A program stopping with an error and a program quietly displaying the wrong amount provide different evidence. This makes debugging an investigation into a specific difference, rather than a general judgement that something is broken.

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Source

• Python tutorial: conditions, loops, and functions

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