Everything I Needed to Know About Debugging I Learned in Elementary Physics

Abstract:

Has there ever been a time where you got a bug report and you didn’t even know where to start?  Have you ever felt overwhelmed with how code is behaving? You’re expecting one thing and it does the exact opposite? Situations like these can be some of the more frustrating aspects of software development. Solving problems is central to being a top-notch developer, it’s part of what separates the experts from the novices.

Over the years I’ve come to realize that problem solving isn’t always easy, but it can be broken down into some basic steps.  These same steps were taught to me when I first learned physics, and have helped me solve numerous problems.

By the end of the talk, you’ll have a mental framework for solving problems, and you’ll get to see that framework in practice as we solve problems that have happened on real-life software projects.

Conferences:

Nebraska.Code 2017

CodePALousa 2017

Feedback:

Loved the examples. Easy to understand even though I don’t work in that environment.

— Nebraska.Code 2017

Knocked this one out of the park! The code examples were hilarious and made the talk that much more enjoyable!

— Prairie.Code 2017