What are the best debugging tools to fix your code?

In addition to general debugging tools, there are also many debugging tools that are designed specifically for certain languages and frameworks. For example, there are debugging tools for JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Python, and more. There are also debugging tools for popular web frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue. These specialized debugging tools can provide additional features and functionality for debugging your code. For example, a JavaScript debugger may provide features like stepping through code line by line, inspecting variables, and setting breakpoints. A PHP debugger may provide features like debugging server-side code and inspecting database queries.

Many of my past colleagues swore by complex setups involving debuggers, profilers, and all sorts of other external tools. However, the best developer I ever worked with would resolve the most complex of bugs, using only print statements to log program state at various locations. He really taught me that sometimes the simplest solution is the best one.

Logging is indeed invaluable when it comes to debugging. For me, logs have been an ultimate life saver especially when I am working with code that runs within a complex infrastructure. It is like using print statements but in a structured manner. Thats why I think they represent one of the earliest and most enduring forms of observability and monitoring.

One of the often overlooked difficulties in debugging complex enough systems is the asynchronous nature of it, we tend to look at code thinking on a very deterministic sequence of events but in reality, multiple tasks are running on background threads reacting to all sorts of events breaking our assumptions. In such situations, I would highly recommend using tooling, like debuggers that can step back on time. Debugging by printing/logging is often only useful for relatively simple bugs.

Popular debugging tools for mobile - Firebase Crashlytics - ACRA - Smartlook - UXCam - UserExperior - New relic Application development environments for mobile debugging - Android Studio - Xcode

In addition to debugging tools, I'd like to add that some simple self-care can work wonders. A good nap, a restful night's sleep, or even just a quick break can often do the trick. Sometimes, all we need is to step away from the code for a while and return with fresh eyes and a new perspective.

In my experience, when you are debugging your code, the fault will almost always be, either some bit of data is different than you think it is, or needs to be different than you think it is. I generally find logging is ultimately the most beneficial tool, though there are certainly additional tools to make it quicker and to not make mistakes to begin with, but being able to see if what I expect the data to be and what it really is align is priceless. Many tools can be useful in aiding debugging, and logging won't necessarily fix your code, it is absolutely my first stop in understanding 'why' a bug exists, and thus where I should be looking first and foremost.