Coding errors are inevitable in application development, but they can also be frustrating, time-consuming, and costly. How you handle them can make a big difference in your productivity, quality, and satisfaction. In this article, we will explore some of the most effective ways to recover from a coding error, from identifying the root cause to implementing the best solution.
Debugging tools are essential for finding and fixing coding errors. They can help you examine the state of your program, track the execution flow, set breakpoints, inspect variables, and test hypotheses. Depending on your programming language, platform, and environment, you may have access to different debugging tools, such as IDEs, debuggers, profilers, loggers, and testers. Learn how to use them effectively and efficiently to save time and effort.
The debugger is a very powerful tool. This can directly point you to your mistake. For example, a division by zero error will be directly related to the variable (or expression) that caused it. But it's not always that simple - sometimes the exception can be caused by a command that was executed many, many ticks ago. Moreover, the debugger is not always available - for example, on an embedded system without an OS and JTAG. Sometimes you have to use an oscilloscope as a debugger. It is very tricky.
The scientific method is a reliable approach for solving problems, which involves making observations, formulating hypotheses, testing predictions, and drawing conclusions. You can use it to recover from a coding error by defining the problem, gathering information, forming a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, analyzing the results and repeating the process if necessary. To define the problem, you need to identify the expected behavior and the actual behavior of your code. Then you should gather relevant inputs, outputs and conditions of your code. After that, you can form a hypothesis about the possible cause of the error and test it by running your code with different scenarios. Once you have tested your hypothesis, you should analyze the results and see what they imply for the error. If your hypothesis was false, you need to formulate a new one and test it again. If it was true, then you can move on to the next step.
One such scientific method could be unit testing. This may sound strange, but it's true. If some part of your program generates strange data and you cannot catch the dependency between them, isolate this module and write a separate test for it. This is especially true for an embedded real-time system—you may not be able to run suspicious code in a debugger.
Once you have identified the cause of the error, you need to implement a solution that fixes it. However, not all solutions are equally good - some may introduce new errors, complicate the code, or violate design principles. Therefore, you should aim for the simplest solution that meets the requirements and maintains the quality of your code. To do this, avoid hard-coding values or parameters that may change in the future. Additionally, refactor your code to eliminate duplication and enhance modularity while using descriptive names for your variables, functions, and classes. Moreover, document your code with comments and annotations to explain the logic and purpose of your solution. Lastly, test your solution with different cases and scenarios to ensure that it works as expected and does not break anything else.
Your solution should address the cause of the error, not its consequences. The second is much simpler, but such a fix can become immortal - you will fix it again and again in different places in your code.
The final and most important step to recover from a coding error is to learn from your mistakes and prevent them from happening again. You can review your code to identify sources of errors, such as typos, syntax errors, logic errors, or assumptions. Additionally, you should adopt coding standards and best practices that promote clarity, consistency, and correctness of your code. Using code reviews and feedback from peers or mentors can help you improve your skills and knowledge. Moreover, applying testing techniques and tools, such as unit testing, integration testing, and code coverage, will ensure the reliability and functionality of your code. Lastly, keeping a record of your errors and solutions can track your progress and reflect on your learning. Coding errors are part of the application development process but with the right approach you can recover from them and become a better developer.
Once the coding error is solved, don't forget and get to the next development. Stop and write down the root cause in your documentation, whilst defining a preventive measure to ensure the coding error won't happen again (create a new manual or automatic test, add it on your release checklist, etc.)