🚀 go-pugleaf

Robert Dewar (dewar@cs.nyu.edu) wrote:
: Ian says:

: "Besides, an interactive debugger is essential in the real world."

: Well in one sense this is true, namely the commercial sense. Since so many
: programmers are lost without an interactive debugger, it is certainly true
: that a compiler must have a debugger to be generally used.

  To:     List
  From:   Richard Riehle

  It is actually quite a lot of fun to use an interactive debugger
  just to enjoy watching what goes on with the code I write. It is
  such a delight to single-step through some arcane piece of code. 
  Perhaps it would be appropriate to write a book on debugging called
  "The Joy of Steps."  

  However, aside from the salacious pleasure I get from viewing these
  private places in the code, depending on a debugger to solve my problems 
  often relects my failure to understand what I am supposed to do before 
  I start trying to do it.

  (Or does the preceding sentence simply reveal that I have spent too many 
  hours reading nineteenth century German philosphers?)

  In practice, there are times when debuggers are useful. They are like
  firemen.  When needed, they really are needed.  But you do not want to
  call on them just to extinguish the friendly flames in the family
  fireplace.  

  Richard Riehle
  adaworks@netcom.com
  
-- 

richard@adaworks.com
AdaWorks Software Engineering
Suite 27
2555 Park Boulevard
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(415) 328-1815
FAX  328-1112