"It's always something." (as opposed to being mystically causeless) is a catch-phrase of mine when assisting new coders. I usually pull it out again after we find the mystery bug to reinforce the memory that mystery bugs are solvable.
In my many years of coding, I can't count the number of times that completely baffling bugs have eventually been traced down to errors that were concrete, understandable and usually embodied in just a tiny amount of erroneous code. My many, many experiences with this outcome gives me the confidence to keep digging even when I have no clue where to look. Without those experiences, what I do every day would seem like an unending stream of hopeless situations. That's why it's important to share that confidence with new coders --to help prevent them from failing due to despair just long enough for them to succeed.
Comments
"It's always something." (as opposed to being mystically causeless) is a catch-phrase of mine when assisting new coders. I usually pull it out again after we find the mystery bug to reinforce the memory that mystery bugs are solvable.
In my many years of coding, I can't count the number of times that completely baffling bugs have eventually been traced down to errors that were concrete, understandable and usually embodied in just a tiny amount of erroneous code. My many, many experiences with this outcome gives me the confidence to keep digging even when I have no clue where to look. Without those experiences, what I do every day would seem like an unending stream of hopeless situations. That's why it's important to share that confidence with new coders --to help prevent them from failing due to despair just long enough for them to succeed.