Bugs are among the most unpleasant aspects of the software development process, whether you’ve worked on a little side project or a large corporate enterprise. Defects can develop from ostensibly innocent code changes and appear in unanticipated, frequently disastrous ways. For every software engineer, being able to locate and eliminate defects before they even have a chance to appear is a top priority and a crucial ability.
Sadly, it’s more difficult than it might seem to acquire the skills necessary to find and get rid of bugs properly. It’s not always easy to identify the specific issue you’re dealing with before it’s too late because there are various methods for them to appear and spread. Identifying and eliminating bugs must be done in a methodical manner that doesn’t rely on chance but rather on carefully considered tactics and repeatable procedures.
Let’s look at some practical applications for this crucial knowledge. Any development method will always result in software bugs. While bugs cannot be totally eliminated, there are tactics that can be used to reduce their frequency and effects.
Definitions of bug hunting, debugging, testing, and code review
Bug Hunting
The procedure of locating, isolating, and correcting flaws, faults, or bugs in software programmes or systems is known as bug hunting, often known as software bug hunting.
In order to make sure that the programme is stable, dependable, and functions as intended, bug hunting is an essential step in the software development process. Manual testing comprises testing the software by hand in order to detect any mistakes or issues. By running the programme and engaging with it, users can mimic a variety of user scenarios and input.
Bug hunting is a continual endeavour across the whole software development cycle. Early bug discovery and rectification aid software engineers in producing software that is reliable, stable, and functions as intended, minimising expensive issues and raising user happiness. Early bug discovery and rectification aid software engineers in creating software that is reliable, stable, and functions as intended, lowering expensive issues and raising user happiness.
Code Review
“Code reviews” are processes where developers look through one other’s code.
Code flaws can be found, code quality can be improved, and the consistency of the code base can be ensured. Manual or tool-assisted code reviews are both possible. Developers review code authored by their peers as part of manual code reviews. Collaboration technologies can be used to perform code reviews remotely or in person.
Although code reviews take time, they can help find issues that could otherwise go undetected. Automated code reviews employ software to examine the code and point out any issues. Code review tools can be included in development environments, such as text editors or IDEs, to provide developers with rapid feedback. Automated code reviews are more efficient and quicker in identifying errors than manual code reviews.
Debugging
In order to find and fix issues, debugging entails examining the behaviour of the software.
With debugging tools, developers can step through the code and observe the behaviour of the programme at various stages of execution. Finding and correcting software code faults is the process of debugging. Using a debugger is among the most efficient ways to debug. With the aid of a debugger, programmers can run a programme step-by-step while examining the behaviour of the programme at each stage. Compared to manual debugging, this can assist developers in finding and fixing errors more quickly.
Testing
A software application or system is tested to find any flaws, mistakes, or bugs that could affect its functioning or performance. The purpose of testing is to confirm that the programme complies with the criteria and performs as intended.
Unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing are just a few of the stages of the software development life cycle where testing can be done. Testing individual software modules or components to make sure they function as intended is known as unit testing. Integration testing ensures that the software’s various parts interact as intended.
System testing makes that the entire system works as intended in a variety of scenarios and environmental conditions. The purpose of acceptance testing is to confirm that the software complies with the requirements and specifications given by the client or end-user.
The following is a description of the debugging procedure:
- You are expected to solve a bug.
- You notice odd behaviour in the software or website you were developing.
- You try to determine the root of this bug and how to remedy it.
- To duplicate the bug and find it, you document each step you take.
- You put the patch you came up with for the bug to the test.
- You check your code to see if your debugging notes and the theory you came up with line up.
- Any bugs that your initial patch did not address are fixed.
Here is a description of the testing procedure:
- You are required to test a brand-new feature or a bug repair.
- To test the new feature or bug patch, you use the app or website you were working on.
- You test out the updated functionality or bug patch to see how it performs.
- To test the new feature or solve a fault and trace it down, you must document each step along the path.
- For various users, platforms, and devices, you repeat this procedure.
- You examine the code to determine if the theory accords with reality and the notes you made while testing.
- Any bugs that your initial patch did not address are fixed.
The following summarises the code review procedure:
- You’re analysing the code created by an additional programmer or team.
- Based on what you discover throughout the code review, changes will be made.
- To make sure the code functions as planned, you will test it out.
- You will then test the changed code after making more adjustments.
- You will keep doing this until the code is flawless.
- You will check the code for any security flaws.
- As you can see, these procedures are fairly similar and can be viewed as constituent components of the software debugging process, a greater whole.
- You will be better equipped to address any bugs that may develop as a result of the newly added feature or remedy once you have completed each stage.
- As a result, before beginning to code, it’s crucial to grasp exactly what each step entails.
- The debugging, testing, and code review processes are all covered in great detail in the eight guidelines that follow.
- The fundamentals, including what debugging is and how to perform it, will be covered.
- After that, we’ll get into some of the more complicated subjects, such as source code management and static code analysis.
8 Strategies for Bug Hunting, Debugging, Testing, and Code Review
1. Bug Hunting Configure a Bug-Finding Sooty
Any debugging procedure starts with setting a sooty. This individual or group will find and investigate bugs on your behalf. A group of software engineers or developers could serve in this capacity instead of a single individual.
To ensure that any defects are detected and corrected as soon as possible, this person or team will collaborate closely with you throughout the debugging process. The user feedback must be collected and analysed by the bug-finding sooty. The sooty will see how the app or website operates before identifying any problems they discover while testing. You can begin the debugging process as soon as you have configured your bug-finding sooty.
2. Bug Hunting Produce Bug Reports
You should create as many bug reports as you can once your bug-finding sooty is configured. All the bugs that Sooty discovered during their analysis phase will be located using these. The information required to reproduce and correct the bug should be included in these bug reports, which should be simple to find. The simpler the bug report, the faster you can repair it.
A bug-reporting tool should always be used to create bug reports. You may easily create and email bug reports using these software programmes. JaCoCo, JIRA, and MantisBT are a few examples of bug-reporting software. You must select the instrument that best fits the requirements of your project from among the many available options.
3. Bug Hunting Establishes A Test Plan
You should put up a test strategy while you work on fixing the bugs that your sooty found.
A test plan is a written description of all the testing that will be done. It will cover each stage, starting with testing the new functionality and ending with resolving any bugs that arose during testing.
All interested parties, including the designers, developers, and QA employees, should evaluate the test strategy.By going over the test plan, everyone involved in the testing process will be informed of what is happening.
4. Bug Hunting Establishes A Source Code Management System
The test plan can be put into action as soon as you have reviewed and approved it.
Setting up a source code control system should be one of your first priorities. A source code control system is a group of tools that enables you to keep track of any modification made to the code. When planning and logging the code-writing process, this can be quite beneficial. Also, it enables you to go back in time and view a particular code version.
Setting up a source code management system does not have a one-size-fits-all solution. The one that best fits the requirements of your project is the one you should pick. You might wish to explore more sophisticated features like integrated bug-tracking software and support for subversion.
5. Bug Hunting Uses A Debugger
It’s time to start taking debugging seriously now that your source code management system is set up and you’ve begun writing some code.
Downloading a debugger ought to be your initial step. A debugger is a tool that enables line-by-line code execution while allowing you to check the values of each variable as you go. Since you can only track the execution of the code whenever you step through it, using a debugger is quite similar to using regular source code.
For several systems, including Android and iOS, there are numerous debuggers available. On your own PC, you can download and utilise a few free and open-source debuggers. Following the debugger’s download and installation, you can use it to step through your code line by line while checking the values of each variable.
6. Bug Hunting Activate Debug Logging
Enabling debug logging is a smart move once you begin using the debugger. The logs that are locally kept make debugging considerably easier.Enabling local logging will make it easier for you to use a debugger to pinpoint the precise line of code that is causing the problem. It might also enable you to determine whether any errors are being produced by a certain process and why it is taking so long to complete.
7. Bug Hunting Determines Possible Problems Beforehand
Potential problems must be identified beforehand in order to be fixed before they materialise. Before you begin to study the code you have created, there are occasionally things that you are unaware of.For instance, while writing code to add two numbers together is quite simple, it can be extremely challenging to build code that will ensure that a specific check is carried out before the operation is completed.
It is crucial to test your code on every smartphone and tablet you anticipate your target audience will use if you are building code for a mobile app. This is due to the fact that not all smartphones and tablets are made equal, and some may operate in a different way from the code you have written.
Before publishing your programme to the app stores, you should test it on several devices to find any potential flaws.
8. Simply Go Over The Code When Bug Hunting
It’s time to review the code once the issues have been fixed and the new feature you were working on has been put into place. It might be very laborious and time-consuming to read through the code. That is nevertheless a crucial stage that shouldn’t be disregarded.
You should look over the code to see any areas where you might have done a better job. This is particularly crucial if you plan to maintain the code in the future.
A code review is something that some businesses choose to perform after each sprint, while others do it less regularly. Whatever option best suits the requirements of your project should be chosen.
