Software Engineering | Debugging

What is Debugging?

Debugging is the process of finding bugs i.e. error in software or application and fixings them. It is a systematic process of spotting and fixing the number of bugs, or defects, in a piece of software so that the software is behaving as expected.

It is the process of detecting and removing of existing and potential errors (also called as ‘bugs’) in a software code that can cause it to behave unexpectedly or crash. To prevent incorrect operation of a software or system, debugging is used to find and resolve bugs or defects. 

Debugging refers to identifying, analyzing and removing errors. In software development, the debugging process begins when a developer locates a code error in a computer program and is able to reproduce it. Debugging is part of the software testing process and is an integral part of the entire software development lifecycle.

Debugging gets started when we start writing the code for the software program. It works stepwise, starting from identifying the errors, analyzing followed by removing the errors. Whenever a software fails to deliver the result, we need the software tester to test the application and solve it.

Debugging refers to finding bugs, analyzing, and fixings them. To debug a program, user has to start with a problem, isolate the source code of the problem, and then fix it. A user of a program must know how to fix the problem as knowledge about problem analysis is expected. When the bug is fixed, then the software is ready to use. Debugging tools (called debuggers) are used to identify coding errors at various development stages. They are used to reproduce the conditions in which error has occurred, then examine the program state at that time and locate the cause.