Monday, December 3, 2012

Debugging Tools

Computer software developers typically require the use of so-called debugging tools. These high-level software tools are used by programmers to reproduce failures, explore the status of programs, and to search for defects within newly developed software code. They can also be used to provide diagnostics to study program flow to increase speed and efficiency. Such tools are essential to ultimately provide the end user with robust software that operates according to design with optimized reliability, predictability, and efficiency.

I recently sat through a software meeting at work and got to see some of the tricks of the trade. I was amazed at what they have available and how quickly it can help them to pinpoint exactly what line of code is leading to the problem and exactly under what condition the code is failing. Once the offending line or section of code is isolated, they can effect repairs and rewrites. This got me to thinking about the human program. Imagine if there were diagnostics that we could employ to help us not only to identify what coding in our brains is causing us trouble, but also would allow for someone to repair or reoptimize our underlying programming. I don't know about you but I get so tired of struggling with the same issues in my life time and time again, not fully understanding why I am having the troubles that I am and why I can't seem to get past them.